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This was my first outing after recovering from a stomach bug which kept me out of action for a week. After reaching Aberfeldy and stocking up with sandwiches, it took a full 45 minutes to drive the single track road through Glen Lyon and up to the Giorra dam at Loch an Daimh. I finally set off up the hill at 11.25am, on a sunny day, expecting to complete the circuit by 7.30pm at the latest.
- Giorra dam
- An idyllic scene before the climb
The path up towards Stùc an Lochain leaves the track soon after passing above the dam. It's quite steep for some distance, and although after my illness I didn't feel up to full strength, I managed alright. Half way up the first stage, Creag an Fheadain, the slope eased off a bit.
- Loch an Daimh from the ascent path
- Creag an Fheadain ahead, once up on its shoulder
- View east of Glen Lyon, with Càrn Mairg group (left) and Ben Lawers group (right)
From Creag Fheadain there is a small dip before a relatively flat walk to the short but steep climb up Stùc an Lochain.
- Stùc an Lochain seen from Creag Fheadain
- Stùc an Lochain seen from Pt927
- Stùc an Lochain with Lochan nan Cat below
It was pleasant to sit in the sun at the summit of Stùc an Lochain, and eat my sandwiches. The air was a bit hazy for distant hills, but the views were good.
- Stùc an Lochain summit view over Loch an Daimh, with Meall Buidhe (right)
- View south west from Stùc an Lochain summit: nothing but mountains
- View west from Stùc an Lochain summit: Glen Coe mountains in the distance rising above Rannoch Moor
I had to make the decision as to whether I felt fit enough to carry on round the loch, or to go back down (and still possibly climb Meall Buidhe from the car park). I thought that I'd manage the circuit, even if it might be pushing it, so I set off on a faint path down towards Meall an Odhar, the next hill on the route.
- Meall Odhar, and Sròn a' Choire Chnapanich behind, seen from the descent from Stùc an Lochain
From Meall an Odhar, there was a significant descent of 180m down a shoulder to what would normally have been a boggy bealach leading to Sròn a' Choire Chnapanich. Lower down, I flushed what I assume was a snipe. I had seen cow pats along the path, and now I saw the culprits: there were two groups of cattle, one south west of the bealach, and the other silouhetted near the summit of Sròn a' Choire Chnapanich. I felt a bit nervous in case there was a bull among them (as I once encountered by Loch Mullardoch). In the event I passed a good distance from the lower group, so there was no problem. From the bealach onwards, there would be no path until after climbing Meall Cruinn on the other side of the loch.
- Some of the lower group of cows
- Sròn a' Choire Chnapanich rising up from the bealach
There was a good climb of 200m up to the top of Sròn a' Choire Chnapanich, which with reduced energy I took slower than normal.
- Loch an Daimh seen from half way up Sròn a' Choire Chnapanich
By the time I could see them again, the higher group of cattle had moved to the west of my path, but they weren't all that far away. Some turned to look at me, and couple of them took a step or two towards me, which interestingly gave me the impetus and energy to walk at a much faster pace. In the end, I passed them without incident, and reached the top.
While at the top, I saw an eagle soaring in slow circles high up. Looking in the binoculars, I could see its pointed wing feathers, but no obvious markings underneath; at one point, it banked and I could see a pale coloured patch on the top of its wings. It was remarkable how the bird could soar and cover ground so easily, and to think that it could see prey from so far up.
Leaving the summit, I followed the route described by Cameron MacNeish, and headed down the northern shoulder before turning west to start down the side of the hill. It was all grassy, but until I started going down and over the edge, I couldn't see quite what I was walking towards. It looked a bit rocky towards the end of the hill, but I started to see a continuous steep grassy slope slightly back south, so I headed down in that direction. To avoid aggravating my knee which has been acting up a bit recently, progress was very slow.
- The steep descent from Sròn a' Choire Chnapanich
After nearly an hour, including a stop to refill my water, I was relieved to get down to the nearly dry burn at the bottom. I could now finally walk at a more normal pace, to the head of the loch. Wheatears and meadow pipits were calling, and there were lots of nice little yellow flowers mixed in with purple ones.
It was now time for the big push up the steep side of Meall Cruinn on the north side of the loch. Once up, that would be the main remaining climb done, with much smaller dips from there on. I had to use my hands to hold onto grass and heather sometimes on the climb until the slope eased half way up. Once up a bit, I could also see that the route which I'd taken down Sròn a' Choire Chnapanich was in fact the only possible route avoiding rocky outcrops. So I'd been right to be nervous at the top about where I was heading!
- Loch an Daimh seen from the ascent, with Stùc an Lochain (left), Sròn a' Choire Chnapanich (right)
- Sròn a' Choire Chnapanich seen from the ascent, with the grassy route down showing as a diagonal from top left
After an hour's climb, I reached the top of Meall Cruinn. This opened up the view north and west over Rannoch Moor and to the Glen Coe mountains beyond. Well worth the effort to see that vista.
- Meall Cruinn summit view of Rannoch Moor and (left) Glen Coe mountains
I then set off towards my destination of Meall Buidhe, with the immediate aim being Pt824 at about half way, which was difficult to identify in the distance, so I was never sure exactly where I was aiming until I was nearly there. Soon after leaving the top of Meall Cruinn there was a steepish drop past rocky outcrops, and as I was starting to go down, I noticed an eagle nearby to my right and level with me, flying away; I must have disturbed it while it was sitting among the rocks. Then there was a long crossing of a bealach with peat hags - again, the dry conditions made this easy. However, I was really flagging by this time, and eventually sat down and ate another sandwich. I hadn't realised that I was needing more food
, so to my relief, this made a big difference and I was able to continue at a more reasonable pace, even if not as fast as normal.
- Stùc an Lochain across the loch to the south
It seemed like it was taking forever to reach Pt824, but I got there eventually after an hour's tramp, latterly following slightly intermittent wheel tracks across the moor.
- The Pt824 summit cairn at last
It was nearly as far again to Meall Buidhe, but despite needing to climb higher, the walk didn't seem to take so long, perhaps helped by the wheel tracks which I followed for much of the way. (They weren't pronounced enough to necessarily see in the distance where they were headed.) I was also getting troubled by my heels and one toe getting rubbed due to my socks and/or boots.
On the approach to Meall Buidhe, a golden plover was sitting on a rock near the track, calling, and 3 times it flew on a bit further to do the same again. When it finally flew away, I saw a group of 3 of them standing near each other. After hitting the summit ridge too far to the south, I could see the summit at the far end of a well used path. The sight of the path was really welcome by this time - it made me feel that I was back out of the wilds, into known territory. It didn't take long to get to the top, reaching it at about 7.30pm, much later than scheduled.
- Meall Buidhe summit, looking south east
- Rannoch Moor and Glen Coe to the west from the summit of Meall Buidhe
By this time, it was beginning to get colder and I was tired, so my only thought was to get down and back to the car. Putting on something warmer made me feel much better (who would have guessed?). However, my knee was playing up much more by now, in addition to the blisters getting worse. So much use of poles again.
- Great evening views up Loch an Daimh
- View from just above the track along the loch
I lost the path once or twice, but finally made it down, slightly hobbling along the track to the car just after 9pm. Then a 33 minute drive down Glen Lyon before I got a phone signal to prevent any unnecessary call-out to mountain rescue. During the drive down the glen, at different times 6 hares ran into and along the road in front of me, some taking a while before they moved off to the side to let me pass without making a meal of them (food was definitely on my mind by now). It was just after 10pm when I reached Aberfeldy, where the only food still available was the Indian restaurant Chillies. What better than a curry to fortify me for the drive home?
