free to be able to rate and comment on reports (as well as access 1:25000 mapping).
I had the honour of being joined by my dad for this walk, not only does he bring good company but also a car, useful considering this impoverished student is yet to learn to drive! It did mean we argued about walking to fast/slow, but it was also useful to have a second checker when it came to navigation. The weather was grim and we decided to go off route for a small section.
We parked at the standard car park just up the road from Auchlean and used the obvious path up through the forest and onto the northern slopes of Allt Fhearnagan. Sadly the clouds surrounded us when we reached the height of 600m - this wasn't going to be a day for pictures or stunning views. The track continues all the way to Carn Ban More where we decided to get a bit of bearing and pacing practise and avoid the land rover track. I'm undecided on building paths into hills - it makes them more accessible for non-walkers and less adventurous people (like my mother) but ruins the remoteness and difficulty that brings the sense of achievement for the advanced walker.
The view from the plateau:
The route we cut across the Mor turned out to be very boggy, it appears flat land next to rivers at high altitude where it rains a lot can be quite wet - even if it isn't marked as marsh or bog on the OS map. Lesson learned. However, in very low visibility we did arrive exactly where we planned which was the only other learning point of the day. We caught up with the Land Rover track, had lunch in a little hollow next to the Ford and plodded along the track all the way to Mullach Clach a' Bhlair where we were greeted by views that consisted of the cairn and a bit of moss within a 5 metre radius.
We headed down a different route, next to the Coire Garbhlach, which was absolutely stunning. The views weren't amazingly spectacular but comfortably beat staring through mist. We followed the track down to Glen Feshie and walked along the track next to the river. I found the last bit the hardest to navigate - there were tracks pointing in all sorts of directions which weren't mapped on my very old 1:50,000 OS map of the area. But we followed our nose and came out fine. I found the last section a bit of a slog, whilst it was very picturesque, I was pretty tired after a long walk and simply wanted to get a seat in the car!
Coire Garblach:
Not the best panaramic shot you'll ever see:
Sadly the weather let us down, but I don't think it was going to be the most spectacular munro anyway. Easily accessible because of the Land Rover track so a good challenge for first timers (who are relatively fit).
