The Occasional Munroist

Routehttp://www.munromagic.com/RouteInfo.cfm?RouteID=47
Distance17.4km
MunrosCarn Mairg, Carn Gorm, Meall nan Aighean & Meall Garbh
After my previous total washout on 26th June I wanted to get straight back out there and complete the Carn Mairg round so the next chance I had on Sunday 24th July saw me taking on this route for the second time.

The weather could not have been more different from my previous outing. The sky was blue, the cloud was very high (not even close to the tops of the hills) and the temperature was warm without being too hot. To me this is the ultimate summer walking weather, as long as I remember to apply the sun cream it's as good as it gets.

As before I took the clockwise approach to the round starting with Carn Gorm and then heading over An Sgorr to Meall Garbh, I then took in Meall a' Bharr to reach Carn Mairg. Rather than going direct to the final munro - Meall na Aigean - I also took the chance to visit Meall Liath. In fact this was such a good day I was actively seeking out the top of every lumpy bit I could find. Meall Liath is a fun top to visit, it clearly gets very little attention from the majority of walkers doing this round but the views over to Schiehallion are truly excellent. One thing to note is that the climb down from Carn Mairg to reach Meall Liath is very rocky and rather awkward under foot, I would not recommend it on a day which is wet or when there is thick low cloud.

On such a clear day there was nothing tricky about this walk but that didn't make it dull and boring at all. The views were superb in every direction and it was possible to see most of the Highlands, certainly Ben Nevis and Glencoe were easily spotted (which must be about 45 miles away). Even in such good weather the hills were fairly quiet, I think I encountered about 10 people in total, which is a real bonus.

This was my first outing with my shiny new walking poles and they really did make a huge difference on this terrain. There is no doubt that I will be taking them out regularly now, particularly when the slopes are long and grassy.

Overrall this was an excellent day and it definitely reminded me of the best side of hill walking, it was a very welcome antidote to the effects of the drenching I suffered during my previous outing on these hills.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Occasional Munroist - Sron na Lairig

Distance 11km Height Ascended 850m Time Taken 9 hours Munros Stob Coire Sgreamhach (1072m) The weather has been truly appalling for the last 6 weeks, I can handle a certain amount of rain or snow and the cold doesn't tend to bother me but the whole of December was a write-off due to the incredible gales. The idea of trying to cling to the side of a mountain in the teeth of a hurricane just doesn't appeal. This means that I've not been out in the hills since November when I managed to do the grade II Sron na Creise ridge. I've been watching the weather forecast over the whole Christmas and New Year period hoping that there would be at least a couple of calm days and finally a short window (just one day!) appeared between the storms. I've had my eye on Sron na Lairig for a while now. I first caught sight of this ridge when I climbed Buachaille Etive Beag on a fine winter day last year. It's the sort of ridge which just looks so good it demands to
Read more

The Occasional Munroist - Cairngorm 4000ers Day 2

Distance: 16Km Height ascended: 1100m Time taken: 6 hours Munros: Ben Macdui (1309m) and Cairngorm (1245m). The second day of my trip around the Cairngorm 4000ers started fairly early. No matter how comfortable my chosen spot, I'm never a great sleeper in a tent, particularly in the middle of summer when the sun rises so early. I've found that using an eye mask (like those people have when travelling by plane) does help enormously, even so by 6am I was wide awake and ready to get moving. I guess these days, with an energetic toddler who likes to wake early, my body is fairly accustomed to it anyway. The bonus of getting out of the tent early was seeing the sun rise above Ben Macdui and start to reach into the Lairig Ghru. The sky was clear and blue and the sun slowly illuminated the steep sides of Devil's Point and Cairn Toul in front of me as I ate my breakfast, a truly stunning view. By 7am I was fed, packed and ready to be moving. Given that the day was to start
Read more