Camping and bagging on the Ben Lawers range

[djwhyte11]

First time wild camping when bagging munros.

Had already completed Beinn Ghlas and Ben Lawers a fortnight ago followed by a barbeque by the water at Loch Tay. This prompted the four of us to return to complete the next three in the Lawers range (Meall Greigh, Meall Garbh & An Stuc) with the view of camping somewhere near the Loch. Without a specific place in mind I was sure there would be plenty of places to park up and pitch a tent, however I was very wrong. After driving round the whole Loch, passing only two potential camping spots that were already too busy, and losing precious time and daylight, I head up just beyond Ben Lawers' car park, hoping to camp next to Lochan na Lairige. It was also too busy here so we eventually found a spot between the lochan and the car park. I dug a hole out to have the fire in rather than stone off a patch on the ground, so I could refill the hole the next day and it looks like we weren't even there. I learned that ash is good for the dirt as it raises the pH level, therefore it would leave no damage and would have no problem growing back. As you can see from the photos, once we had packed up and left you wouldn't know where the fire had been and wouldn't know people had even camped there.

On Sunday we parked at Ben Lawers hotel in the farmers yard and of course put our £5 in the honesty box. We started the walk just before midday and once we got through the initial woodland area at the beginning of Meall Greigh, what caught our eye was the unmistakeable and intimidatingly steep incline of An Stuc in the background.

What we also found impressive among the many incredible views was the sight of Ben Lawers which you can see for pretty much the whole walk.

Achieving the first summit was only met with a slight relief as we knew there was a long way to go and we couldn't help but glare over at the steep ascent on An Stuc every so often.

We plodded on through the boggy descent then ascent to our second summit of Meall Garbh to capture my obligatory cairn picture and enjoy our second lunch of the day before the final scramble.

The sun seemed to be in the perfect position when taking a photo of the ascent from the bottom of An Stuc, making it look like some sort of stairway to heaven - a very apt metaphor.

There may be a lot more difficult and dangerous climbs among other munros, and many experienced baggers may not have found this difficult however great care is still required even if there was a clear path the majority of the way up. I am still a relatively inexperienced hill walker/climber, these munros being number 9, 10 and 11, so I proceeded with great caution however I did not find it too difficult but rather enjoyable. I summited a lot quicker than I thought and was, as always, relieved to have reached the peak of another munro.

The rain came on pretty heavy just as we started the descent down the boggy, winding path, which was more difficult and dangerous than anticipated. By the time we got on to flatter ground we could just see a break in the clouds ahead but had to endure the rain for another hour or so. By the time we reached the lochan we were already soaked through so I decided to have a little walk through the water to cool my feet down.

Shortly after, the sun broke through the clouds, allowing me to capture this rainbow that was visible for the last hour or so of the walk.

Just after 7pm we returned to the car and got changed into warm, dry clothes before preparing for the 2 hour drive home. All in all a very enjoyable trip and currently planning our next climbing/camping journey. I have been looking at Mount Keen as there seems to be plenty of land in that area with possible wild camping spots. We are not into summit camping or caravan and camping parks. Somewhere that we have our own space but also close to the car as I have lots of camping equipment. I like to be as comfortable as possible when camping and have plenty food, utilities and of course fire wood packed into the car - as well as the crates of beer

Any advice on munros to climb that offer good camping spots nearby would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks for reading!