No 60 in glorious sunshine

[Bmg99]

A couple of years back I'd set out to do Beinn Dubhchraig and Ben Oss in deep snow. However, I hurt my hip / groin so after reaching the summit of Dubhchraig I headed back to the car.

So there was some unfinished business to do on these hills and it was nice to return in very different weather conditions. This time round there was also the very welcome addition of a splendid wooden bridge crossing the river. The walk through the ancient woodland follows the river and even the boggy underfoot conditions could not dampen our joy at the pleasure of walking in such a wonderful landscape.

The glen was quite sheltered from the wind, so even although it had been a cold night the late September sun still had some warmth to it. Once above the tree line it is worth turning around to see where you have come from and enjoy the views of Ben Challum, Meall Glas and Beinn Dorian. It is also pleasing to see the height you have gained as the path through the woods is not steep, so it comes as a bit of a surprise to see the height that has been gained.

When I did this walk in winter I had not followed the river so closely, but had gone up the easterly shoulder of Corie Buidhe. So, following the river meant it felt like a new walk rather than a walk I was repeating.

Once we'd reached the lochan we headed for Ben Oss rather than Dubhchraig. The wind was not only cold but very strong. Walking toward Oss it is hard not to be mesmerised by the imposing Ben Lui and it's deep north corie. We stopped for lunch on the rise up to Oss using some large boulders to shelter from the wind. It was good to finally have reached the summit of Oss which also marked my 60's Munro.

Climbing up from the low point of Bealath Buidhe was not as dispiriting as I thought it would be, however, as we neared Beinn Dubhchraig the wind got even stronger. Fortunately, the summit cairn on Dubhcraig provides ample shelter for a couple of people to hunker down, escape the wind and enjoy a cup of tea.

The walk back was bathed in wonderful golden autumnal sun. Progress was slowed by (a) trying to avoid the worst of the boggy ground and (b) trying not to slip or trip on the numerous exposed tree roots.

A fine day was rounded off by a nice cutty at the Tyndrum Inn before driving back to Glasgow.

Sorry there are no photos - I'd previously used Flickr as this was an easy way to embed photos, but I've reached the capacity limit there. Any advice on how to now best share photos in these reports would be most welcome.