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Munros: Geal-charn, A' Mharconaich, Beinn Udlamain, Sgairneach Mhor
Corbetts: Sow of Atholl
Date: 15/11/2020.
Distance: 24km.
Ascent: 1305m.
Time: 5 hours, 15 minutes.
Weather: Calm and claggy; rain on and off
I thought my island hopping for the year was complete, but I discovered my boss had lined me up to do a site visit on Arran next week. Usually I'd be pleased with that, but given that Arran itself (and Glasgow, where I would need to stay on the way down and up) were in areas of high infection, and I would be sharing accommodation with my colleagues, I wasn't overly keen. Still, it needed to be done and I saw a chance to get a longer walk in with a bit more ascent than usual on the way down to Glasgow. I can't say I was too fussed about routes - the weather wasn't looking particularly great and all I needed really was the chance to go up and down things at a relatively fast rate to prove that I still could.
Jackie wasn't currently capable of doing a walk of this length and she wouldn't be joining me in Glasgow either since travel down there was restricted, so I dropped her off in Carrbridge with her bike - she would pedal back to Inverness via the Findhorn. By the time I had parked up at Balsporran, it was 1pm - more than an hour later than I had wanted to start this route. I had about 3.5-4 hours of daylight left so I knew I would be finishing in the dark.
Balsporran 
Some blue sky! The first and last of it Other than a lone walker at the cottage who had just finished his walk, I didn't meet anyone else out today at all. No surprise really - once I was halfway up the Geal Charn ridge I was in the cloud, and other than a brief glimpse of Loch Ericht from between Geal Charn and A' Mharconaidh, there was little to see until later on. In many ways this was like my last wander over some of these hills a couple of years back, but without the benefit of snow high up and a short sunny spell looking over to Ben Alder. On the plus side, there was almost no wind and the going underfoot was really straightforward and fast. What follows looks like some abstract art exhibition, and is pretty much the entire interest encountered over the next couple of hours.
Geal Charn summit 
A' Mharconaidh - erosion control? 
Fence post sculpture on the way to Beinn Udlamain 
Damp Beinn Udlamain summit - someone needs a haircut! By the time I reached Sgairneach Mor the light was going, but at least I was able to get a peek into the rocky Coire Creagach. In fact before long I was free of the cloud with a view of the Sow of Atholl and Drumochter Pass in the gathering gloom.
Coire Creagach of Sgairneach Mor 
Down Coire Creagach 
Heading for the Sow Feeling like I needed to make the most of the walk, I decided to go over the Sow as well for the extra ascent. By the time I reached the summit, the daylight had all but gone, and I found my way down the north face of the Sow largely by feel. Fortunately the ground is good until lower down, and it was only when I reached the roaring Allt Choire Dhomhain that I decided to get the torch out.
Steep glen between Sgairneach Mor and the Sow Unfortunately I had messed up as the river was flowing quite high today and the bridge that most folk use when descending from Sgairneach Mor was almost a mile upstream. Nothing for it but to wade across - easily enough done, but undoing all of my efforts to keep my boots dry (I had planned to use them for stomping around boggy forests on Arran tomorrow). After that it was a squelchy walk in the dark back to the A9 and then the 30 minutes or so along the cycle path to Balsporran. Not an especially memorable day, but the descent in the dark and river crossing livened it up a bit, and it was certainly a decent leg stretch.
