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After getting my first car in 2015, I was enjoying the new-found freedom, but most of all, I was enjoying the ability to get to big Munro rounds that wouldn't have been possible by transport. The Glen Lyon round was probably the best example (has there even been a bus down Glen Lyon? I don't think post-buses are even a thing anymore), but Drumochter was still sat there, unclimbed. It might be possible by train, but it's a heck of a long walk back to Dalwhinnie along the A9 cycle path. Dalnaspidal *might* be an option by bus, but same problem on the return.
Enter Mazda 2, stage left.
I almost crashed the thing leaving the A9, as the Balsporran junction caught me by surprise and I had to slam the brakes on. Typical newly-passed drivers.
But at 9.30am, I was ready.
Uh-oh. This is only a few miles from *that* level crossing as well. The OS map actually shows a tunnel. Have they suddenly fixed this one?
It's not the most beautiful start, but the first climb on a long day is always the biggest, so I always appreciate good tracks to help at this point.
My car is down there, just behind the train. Gonna be a *long* time before I see that again.
Just over half an hour in, and the track was getting muddy, but was still very clear.
And just after the one hour mark, I reached the 840m cairns. Balsporran Cottages are over 420m so it's a massive head-start, but it was still good to get the biggest climb of the day done.
I think the proper track (for the grouse butts etc.) ended here, but it wasn't long from here up to the summit of Geal-chàrn. There were views over to A' Mharconaich and Beinn Udlamain.
Number One! Just 1hr 20mins after leaving the car. Amazing what a 420m start and massive tracks does for you. Also Geal-chàrn is one of the lowest Munros, which also helps.
And suddenly the mighty Loch Ericht appeared over the other side, slowly emerging from the mist.
Ben Alder Lodge, perched on the opposite side of the loch like some other unreachable world.
Bit random.
Looking back to Geal-chàrn.
After cutting across the side of the hill from the col in a bit of a diagonal route, I reached the summit of A' Mharconaich 2hrs 30mins after leaving.
Now it was back into the clouds for quite a long walk over to Beinn Udlamain, the highest one of the day. Most of this route is following the Cairngorms National Park boundary (and this bit was following the 'border' between Perth and Kinross & Highland), so there were some old fenceposts and a track to help with this bit.
Finally the clouds lifted at the summit of Beinn Udlamain. It had just gone 1pm, but the timestamps say I stayed here 20 minutes, so maybe I saved my lunch for the third Munro...? It took just over 3hrs 30mins to this point.
It be windy.
One last proper gaze at Loch Ericht before turning East.
There was a faint track leading up from the col towards the plateau of Sgàirneach Mhòr.
Looking waaaay back to A' Mharconaich.
Number Four! 4hrs 55mins after leaving. Still a long old way to go, but this was a nice moment. And the weather was gradually picking up now.
Schiehallion, Lawers etc.
Beinn a' Ghlo and Vrackie, down Glen Garry.
There's a path down the North-East ridge at first, but I was going to be branching off to the right soon, as there was a Corbett nearby...
The col itself is *rather* steep. The Sow of Atholl was in reach now, though.
Looking back to Sgàirneach Mhòr. The worst steepness can be avoided by heading South first.
Number Five! Corbetts count!!
An exhausted me, 6hrs 15mins after leaving.
Ok my car's up there, can someone bring it three miles down the A9 for me? Please?
Just one more really steep descent to the track on the other side of the river. To my huge relief, I saw a bridge that wasn't marked on the map.
The Sow of Atholl, and some humans (the first I'd seen in a while, but then this was a weekday in Autumn) who'd probably come straight down from Sgàirneach Mhòr.
The track looped South then under a railway tunnel and back North, linking up with the A9 cycle path.
This was a long, long...... long walk back, and took an hour from reaching the railway. But the cycle path was good, and sometimes veered away from the road a bit.
Geal-chàrn finally returned to view (and, eh, a bit of a broken car in the bottom-left corner
).
Finally, 8hrs 20mins after leaving, I returned to Balsporran Cottages. It was a great day, as it was still a novelty to have the ability to reach random hills that don't have train stations or bus stops. The Drumochter / Dalwhinnie hills seem to have a reputation for being dull (or maybe that's more the ones on the other side of the Pass). But I'm not sure I've ever had a hillwalk that I'd call "dull". It's still such a great experience for me to be out and about on the hills, and I imagine it always will be...
