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There’s a nonet of Munros north of the A86. I had been up here a fortnight earlier and done the four Monadhliath ones.
It was time to come back and complete this chain with the weekend forecast looking favourable.
Prior to that, I’d travelled up on the Friday straight from work and done Meall Chuaich, the outlier on the Pass of Drumochter.
I then stopped off at the chippy at Kingussie as I’d done two weeks ago for an alfresco feed - it’s satisfying sitting here after an outing, before heading back to Braeriach hotel at Newtonmore, similarly again to my last visit here.
- Bliss
On that occasion, I had put in the start point for the Creag Meagaidh loop and as was less than half an hour and was under 20miles away so I kept a mental note to stay here for my return visit. The guy remembered me and we swapped numbers to make it easier to book for future visits. He even has his fridge stocked with Guinness 0% and the San Miguel equivalent.
This was ideal as I’ve been undergoing a sobriety spell since Christmas Eve and enjoy the alternative ones at times during my hiatus. The accomodation is affordable too and worth considering if doing the routes as fairly local to them.
An early start saw the alarm go off at 0315. Boiled the kettle for my porridge, coffee and had a banana too and it was time to hit the road. I prepared a packed lunch and rucksack was ready to roll and pulled into the generous sized car park just before 0430. There was a lot of campervans occupying spaces from previous night but still ample room for many vehicles. Grabbed my bag, a trekking pole and started my watch, it was time to go.
There are paths next to the track with signs encouraging you to keep off the road. As it is a natural beauty spot, I can imagine it’d be bustling with tourists much to the chagrin of motorists using the access road for the nature reserve.
Passed the building with a toilet - handy - and then made my way onto the path that led me to Carn Liath. It was a good morning but the chill in the wind coming in from the north when exposed was cold. I went into rucksack and was annoyed that I left my gloves in my holdall back at the car. My hands were cold but going at a good pace so was fine otherwise. I mitigated this by holding trekking pole with the foam part below handle and other hand in pocket for a heat then swapping hands when necessary.
- The Window
The elegant incision of ‘the window’ caught the eye on the way up to Carn Liath.
- Carn Liath on a fresh morning
The path was obvious, boggy but fair under these conditions, although I wasted no time in the cold and got to the top when I took a quick summit photo and made my way along the obvious route to Stob Poite Coire Ardair and its tops. Plenty of deer were roaming the landscape and charged past nearby, all the while I was closing in on a Munro major milestone.
I was on the cusp of a century and started questioning and reflecting on the ones I had done by now:
Do I want to do them all? Of course, but it’s still a massive undertaking and commitment. Long, often lonely drives (I’ve done more than half of them on my own), fuel costs, accommodation as I’m very reluctant to camp which could be problematic for the Fisherfield and Ben Alder territory. Also, the fearsome ones such as Liathach or the Cuillin ones which I’ve yet to lay a glove on.
I also was thinking about some of the highlights with some of the colourful characters and fun memories we’ve created as I was closing in on treble figures.
- My 100th Munro: Stob Poite Coire Ardair
It dominated my thoughts for little over an hour til I was on the highest point on Stob Poite Coire Ardair. A century. I was happy at the milestone and took a photo and a drink before moving on. No histrionics. I had more to take in on what was developing into a nice day now weather-wise.
Sporadic snow spots still stuck to hillside, however, the mercury was now rising as I was descending into the cleft in the landscape known as the Window. I was glad the weather was turning out to be as good as the views on offer.
- Lovely views
Before the ascent up the path towards Mad Meg’s cairn where the path splits and leads over to Creag Meagaidh. I had the summit to myself as the previous two. I hadn’t saw anyone else up til this point so sat down and had some of my packed lunch.
- Mad Meg’s Cairn
- Creag Meagaigh approach
- Summit
Munro 101, I thought. Whether I do them all or abandon the idea there’s no way I’d be sending this hobby to room 101 anytime soon. I love the spirit of adventure and had plum conditions today. I was in my element and sent a couple of texts out at this unsociable hour letting people know I was okay and doing great.
I made my way back down to the Window and eased my way forward through the slim narrow path.
- Window descent
I was completely awestruck at the cliffs to the right hand side of me. I took more than my fair share of photographs and couldn’t help but keep looking up every ten steps or so as more of the natural amphitheatre opened up around me. It’s one of they ones that you have to keep turning around every so often to appreciate the surroundings. The best of the photos taken are shown here:
- Looking back up
- Clingy cliff cloud
- Fine views on offer
- Lovely lochan
Having considered linking up Beinn a’Chaorainn and Beinn Teallach, if you do this as a chain of five then sadly you’re missing out on the fantastic views and best part of the walk.
I got plenty of photos and when you’re on the path back out to the plantation, the path itself is the solid, reliable kind you can depend on after a morning on the hills.
By now many people were making their way up to this fantasic viewpoint.
There are also benches and seats dotted on the walk back at strategic positions to take in the wonderful views. This served as a reminder to look back as I got further away and zoomed out.
This is a classic route which no doubt benefits from a clear dry day.