Rannoch and Glen Lyon: Schiehallion (59)

Walk date: 28/10/06
My Munro #'s: 98

Pronunciations - translations - heights:
Shee-haal-yan - Fairy Hill of the Caledonians - 1083m

Statistics:
Duration - 11:30 - 14:00
Distance - 10.5km
Weather - started with rain, but turned warm before cloud at ~800m. Rain in cloud.
Team - solo

I wasn't free-styling, they've moved the path!


Here we go again:


Looking SE along Allt Mor:


Tiny cairn upon one of the many summit rock slabs:


100th Munro commentary:


I kid you not; on the route, the hamlet of Dull*:


With weather forecasts predicting 55mph gusting wind and flooding, I took the light drizzle coming down as a fore-runner of the impending meteorological doom, and fully suited up, including my way-too-small waterproof trousers that make me feel like I'm being cut in half whenever I put them on. As I made my way along the solidly constructed path (a wise measure against erosion on this popular route) and started climbing, the rain stopped, the sun came out, and it became apparent that I was wearing about 50 layers more than I needed. A quick de-robing occurred, but I left the cheese-wire trousers on just in case!

The manufactured path continued until about 800m or so, when the incline starts to flatten out and the second part of the walk starts, namely the wide but heavily rock-strewn summit ridge of Schiehallion. This is quite hard going, especially in the wet, as very careful foot work is required (glasses that I could hardly see through really helped) and the pointy rocks are very slippery when wet (prophets them Aerosmith; I imagine they'd say that it would be even worse with ice).

There's not much else to say as there were zippo views by this time. I trunched on and the little rocks became big slabs, and on one was the cairn. I took the video and turned around. Once off the ridge, I partook in some jogging down the solid main path, and was back for a late lunch in the car after two and a half hours.

As this was my 100th Munro (and probable last of the season what with the clocks going back and the still-tricky toe), I resolved to return to the Moulin Hotel in Pictlochry and have a fine Old Remedial before returning. Mmm.

I will henceforth return to blogging about non-Munro rubbish to see us through the winter; paper in the boots time y'all!

*Could be worse, there's a place just north of Durham called Pity Me...

UPDATE: according to the wise man that is ANR:
The mostinteresting fact about Schiehallion was that it was the site of the first successful experiment to measure the mass of the Earth in 1774. As aside effect it was also the first mountain to be mapped using contour lines. Fascinating...

Rannoch and Glen Lyon: Stuchd an Lochain (197) and Meall Buidhe (248)

Walk date: 08/10/06
My Munro #'s: 91 and 92

Pronunciations - translations - heights:
Stoochk an lochan - Peak of the Small Loch - 960m,
Myowl boo-ee - Yellow Hill - 932m.

Original plotted route in blue, route taken in red:


E along Glen Lyon from Creag an Fheadain:


Stuchd an Lochain and in its corrie, Lochan nan Cat:



The easy walking to the summit:


The second hill, Meall Buidhe, across the Glen:


On the slopes of Meall Buidhe, Stuchd an Lochain far L:


Meall Buidhe (L) and Meall Garbh (R):


Across Rannoch Moor and Loch Laidon, the opening of Glencoe:


And the tall fella in the middle is Ben Nevis:


Walk 2. Sunday. 10:15 - 15:30. Solo. Weather - dry but with high winds on tops. Finding the walk itself is a little tricky! As you're driving up the glen, take the right turn marked 'Loch Estates', as Lochan Daimh is not sign-posted. Then once on this road, watch out for the cattle gate that you have to open and close as you go on your way.

My book recommended doing these two hills as part of a large circuit rather than as two separate walks, thus taking in the head of Lochan Daimh and, by necessity to get there, the steep descent off Sron a' Choire Chnapanich. The main draw for this alternative according to my book was the 'remarkable' feeling of remoteness offered by the head of the lochan, but considering that I hadn't seen a soul the whole of the previous day, I'd had my fill of remoteness, and what with the prospect of a long drive back to Aberdeen in the evening, I soon changed my mind and opted for the easier plan of 2x1 Munro walks.

Once safely parked, I headed for the more difficult Munro first, taking a path marked with a cairn as it leaves the grit-track along the lochside. This path is all that is needed for the peak, but it keeps at a short height for a stretch until the boat house is passed. There was no need to fear the lack of climbing however, as the path then makes a tight turn upwards onto Creag Fheadain, from where the route ahead to Stuchd an Lochain is clear. Easy walking then lead to the summit, with fine views all around and into the steep corrie. A trotting pace back along the path saw me back by the car within an hour after 1:45 up!

The second Munro has a much more subtle path leading from the grit-track, and a keen eye is needed to see its faint start. Once on it however, the going is straightforward and well marked, with just a short stretch of bogland to slow you down. There are various small paths all around, but they all do seem to be going in the same general direction. Once the first cairn of the broad summit ridge is seen, then its all plain sailing with enjoyable walking on top. With a good day for views like this one, the opening of Glencoe can be seen across Rannoch Moor as well as Ben Nevis itself, standing proud over its neighbours. the summit is soon taken in and an about-face brings forth another rapid descent.

Rannoch and Glen Lyon: Carn Gorm (103), Meall Garbh (186), Carn Mairg (91) and Meall nan Aighean (Creag Mhor) (169)

Walk date: 07/10/06
My Munro #'s: 87, 88, 89 and 90

Pronunciations - translations - heights:
Kaarn Gor-om - Blue Hill - 1029m,
Myowl Gaarv - Rough Hill - 968m,
Kaarn Mairg - Hill of Sorrow or Boundary Hill - 1041m,
Myowl Yan Yaan - Hill of the Hind - 981m.

The route:


Not a Munro, but still pretty; An Sgorr:


Hill 1; the rounded top of Carn Gorm:


Hills 3 and 4; Cairn Mairg (L) and Meall nan Aighean (R):


Hill 2. Interesting cairn on top of Meall Garbh:


An example of the gentle breeze:


The weather was truly in on Meall nan Aighean:


And only getting worse; the moody and wet descent:


Despite the toe still giving me problems, I was determined to get some more Munros under my belt before the clocks change and winter truly comes in. With a long weekend for me this weekend and the confidence boost from Ingleborough, now was the time to act! The plan was to drive from the 'Deen on Saturday direct to a walk and then back on Sunday after another, with an overnight stay at Pictlochary on the Saturday night.

Walk 1. Saturday. 11:30-17:30. Solo. Weather - windy and wet. This first day then was a circuit of four. Parking in Invervar after some interesting driving along twisty and narrow country roads, I followed the river upstream until I hit the forest path and then out onto the slopes along Invervar Burn. A made-up river crossing took me onto my western heading and Meall Ghlas, from which the exposed top of Carn Gorm is soon reached. It was here that I had first taste of the bad weather of the day, as high buffeting winds welcomed me to the summit bringing with them some sharp, but light rain. Not hanging about, I dropped some height quickly and had a long-overdue spot of lunch on the sheltered northern side as I slapped on some layers.

After what seemed like a long approach to Carn Gorm, Meall Garbh with its metal-clad cairn was soon reached, and it gave way to some nice walking over grassy rounded crests towards Cairn Mairg. When I say nice however, I just mean underfoot as the weather had changed for good, with the wind only increasing and bringing with it some stinging cloud water; if this had been ridge-walking then it would have caused some serious headaches. Fortunately, even the rocky top of Cairn Mairg was relatively safe.

Following Cairn Mairg, a quite steep but safe descent gave way to an easy climb onto Meall nan Arghean, the last peak of the day. As I dropped back below the cloud I was looking forward to better weather, but instead it just seemed to keep getting wetter. The descent back to the forest was quite lengthy and the uneven ground was giving my right knee quite some trouble, so it was with some relief that I finally arrived back in Invervar and could start the drive to Pictlochary with the car's heater whacked up to max!