The Mamlorn Hills: Ben Challum (106)

Walk date: 5/7/14

My Munro #'s: 243

Pronunciations - translations - heights:
Byn cha-lam - Callum's peak - 1025m

Statistics:
Duration - 13:15 - 17:45

Distance -  14.5 km
Total ascent -  960m
Weather - warm at start and end, but cold and blowy at height.  Wet for quite a while after summit until lower slopes.
Team - with Paul P
Other hikers: several others

New software for the mapping as Sonia's laptop died after this year's hiking!

Day 1 - Saturday

This was the inaugral Munro hike of 2014.  With our 'family commitments' Paul P and I now get just this one week a year (although we are very grateful for that much!), and so even the drives to and from the hills require some additions to the Munro counts!  This year saw us drive through the Crianlarich and Tyndrum areas and so the solitary hill of Ben Challum was right in our sights, especially having seen it from afar on a very snowy day last year.

We parked a little further away across the road and had to walk along a verge for a while, not being sure whether or not the signposted farm shop and 'wigwam' accommodation would have had even parking for the passerby, although we shouldn't have worried.  The only problem at the start was finding a route up past the farm buildings and such, but we soon managed and passed under a tiny arch under the railway.

After that steep and sweaty slopes awaited and without any real path to follow we did our best to weave through the grassy mounds and streams that made up the hillside.  Eventually the incline lessened and a nice bit of open ground emerged from which we could see the attractive summit area well.  Once up at height, the real summit lay a little way along and a nice rocky outcrop gave some character to the proceedings.

At this point the weather did turn and it was chilly for a while.  After the summit and our studies of last year's neighbouring hills, we made our way back to be greeted with a fair bit of rain.  However, given last year's snow troubles, we pretty much laughed it off, and it was warm again by the lower slopes.  The only trouble on the way down was some significant pain in my toes, but I didn't give it too much attention, and blamed it on the particular nature of the incline.  However, worse was to come!

Gentle grass slopes lead to a pleasant summit mound:

We have panoramas this year, get used to them!  On the summit.

A nice bit of rock as the summit is reached:

Just before the rain came on!