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Creag Meagaidh was a hill on my fella's list. He said he'd headed up it when working at Ardvereckie but the conditions were dreadful so he'd got as far as the lochan pretty much, then turned back. Today wasn't much better, apparently. But we had no other plans for the day, so tough!
It didn't look too bad to begin with in fact, but the forecast wasn't promising...
003 Moon in the morning over CM by
Emma Kendon, on Flickr
The path up is easy and pleasant, and it was a real shame that when we got to the lochan the clag was down and hiding the headwall. We'd had a black grouse fly-by though, so that was a bonus.
005 Gentle rise NW above Loch Laggan and Ardvereckie by
Emma Kendon, on Flickr
008 Ardverikie House by
Emma Kendon, on Flickr
009 Allt Coire Ardair - after black grouse fly-by by
Emma Kendon, on Flickr
008 Even more claustrophic lochan than usual by
Emma Kendon, on Flickr
009 Towards the Window by
Emma Kendon, on Flickr
010 Cowberry and blaeberry by
Emma Kendon, on Flickr
013 Meall nan Eagan - Graham - moment in the sun by
Emma Kendon, on Flickr
011 The Window today by
Emma Kendon, on Flickr
013 Window needs demisting by
Emma Kendon, on Flickr
So into the abyss we went, the window looking very un-window-y, and curled round at the top until it seemed about the right point to strike off to the summit. In the clag it was just a plod, for the most part over boggy grass to a ring contour, and then on to the cairn.
014 Above the corrie and still smiling by
Emma Kendon, on Flickr
015 Half a claggy hour later at the summit cairn by
Emma Kendon, on Flickr
017 Discovering a Grey Man of Meagaidh mimetolith by
Emma Kendon, on Flickr
My fella was up for making it a circular rather than simply plodding back, andI had one of my navigating-with-another moments. On my own I'd have stayed high I think, but in company (with me map-n-compass navigating) I listened to the request to get down towards the loch. So we had a bit of a brutal healther-bash.
018 Sight restored on steep heathery descent by
Emma Kendon, on Flickr
019 Loch Laggans smaller beaches by
Emma Kendon, on Flickr
020 Just how much more of this is there by
Emma Kendon, on Flickr
022 Lochan na h-Earba and Moy Burn above Loch Laggan by
Emma Kendon, on Flickr
023 Feel that pain by
Emma Kendon, on Flickr
Others were quite enjoying the conditions though
025 Bog asphodel and fox moth by
Emma Kendon, on Flickr
Back with our sight restored and the worst over, we made for the burn with its joyful birches and finally followed ATV-chewed up mud back, through the woods, to the start.
027 Down the Chomharsain Corrie burn by
Emma Kendon, on Flickr
028 Horsehoof tree by
Emma Kendon, on Flickr
030 Old woodland by
Emma Kendon, on Flickr
The next day we were up at Loch Fleet near Dornoch, enjoying a beautiful sunrise, talkative seals and preening merganser.
033 Euans Loch Fleet pano by
Emma Kendon, on Flickr
040 Noisy seals by
Emma Kendon, on Flickr
038 Merganser by
Emma Kendon, on Flickr
Little did I know we wouldn't be back up this way until March 2022. Weather and work!