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Yet again, I've gotten a bit behind with my Walk Reports: this one is from back in March 2022
. Although these two Drumochter Corbetts are neither the pointiest nor the most challenging of hills, they gave a surprisingly enjoyable Day Oot, in lovely early spring sunshine. Truly, what's not to like
?
Mindful of the still-short days at this time of year, I set off fairly early, but not ridiculously so, and got up to Dalnaspidal (to the west of the A9 just south of Drumochter Summit) by about 9:30 a.m. I think. I got parked not down near the level crossing as suggested in the website route description, but instead at a fairly big parking area just above some cottages - this is accessed by turning right immediately after taking the initial left-hand-turn off the A9 onto the minor road signed to Dalnaspidal. From the car park, the Sow of Atholl (which I'd decided to tackle first) was just sitting right there, not looking very far away at all, with the West Highland Railway Line very prominent in the foreground.
My plan was not a complex one
: I thought that I'd tackle The Sow first, then just head back down to the dam at the outflow of Loch Garry, cross it, and then head up Meall na Leitreach - pretty much as per the Walkhighlands official route descriptions for both hills.
I headed down to the level crossing over the railway (negotiated without incident, thankfully) and on over the sluice bridge. On the other side, I followed the track along the stream just for fifty metres or so before heading off on the easy but initially pathless stoat up The Sow. This first target hill was still looking straightforward enough, even seen up close from here, with the West Drumochter Munros looking very nice under snow behind it:
As I gained a bit of height, there was a fine view across the A9 to poor old A' Bhuidheanach Vague - no, sorry, Bheag - which was doing its level best to look pointy and interesting under a bit of snow, but failing miserably, bless it
.
Looking southwest to Meall na Leitreach, with the northern end of Loch Garry just creeping into view:
A bit higher up, Meall na Leitreach was still looking a big flat dome of a thing, but Loch Garry had come more clearly into view, making the second Corbett a wee bit more scenic:
The West Drumochter Munros were definitely looking their best under snow: I think the big hill in the middle here, as seen from close to The Sow's summit, was Sgairneach Mhor ("Big Stony") rather than A' Mharconaich as I initially thought.
There were some significantly pointier Munros visible out west in the distance - sad to say, I'm not sure which hills precisely - I'm always a bit rubbish at summit views
!
At The Sow's bigger-than-expected summit cairn now, with Sgairneach Mhor again in the background:
The Sow and I (never likely to be a hit musical):
After the inevitable summit photo-shoot, I just headed straight back down the way I'd come up. Actually though, it can't have been quite the same line, because I came upon some well-built stone grouse butts that I hadn't encountered on the way up.
What a lovely butt! Number Eight, apparently.
A nice view of Meall na Leitreach and Loch Garry from Butt Number 8:
I made my way uneventfully back down to the Allt Coire Luidhearnaidh and crossed the dam at the outflow of Loch Garry, then headed south-eastwards up the second Corbett.
Back down at the series of weirs at the bottom of the Allt Coire Luidhearnaidh, and heading for the outflow dam:
There was a grassy track to ease progress on this one, and it proved to be a very straightforward jaunt, although still enjoyable enough in the spring sunshine. Again, the views opened up quickly as I gained a bit of height. It was interesting to get a good look at the rather complex series of waterways around Loch Garry and the Allt Coire Luidheranaidh - I'm still not entirely sure exactly how they all join up, to be honest
!
There was a surprisingly fine vista north up the A9, with A' Buidheanach Bheag still doing its level best to look pointy over to the east, and still failing miserably:
Without much further ado, I was up at Meall na Leitreach's summit cairn (again larger than I'd expected). I think the massive snow-covered hill in the middle distance here must be Ben Alder:
The inevitable Meall na Leitreach Summit selfie:
Loch Garry is completely hidden from Leitreach's summit, but I got a nice peek at it by heading downhill just a wee bit to the east:
Looking east, with some Cairngorms in the far distance - Braeriach, Sgorr an Lochan Uaine and Cairn Toul, is my best guess...
As I headed back downhill on the grassy track, there was another good view back west to The Sow and the West Drumochter Munros from a smaller cairn beside the track a few hundred metres down from the summit:
On the whole, this walk proved to be just right for the time of year: a pleasant leg-stretcher and a couple of useful ticks, without being too taxing
.
