Back to the walk and looking for the large metal gate. Found one only for it to take us to a lodge and a private house. The real gate is hidden by a safety fence as the old building which is in line with the gate if in a state of collapse. Anyway the signs direct you to a path and a route past an old mill. From here it is easy to find the original route. We met a couple of guys from Fife who had done exactly the same as us!!
We had thought about doing the route anti clockwise but did Carn Gorm first by following the invervar burn. The route profile does not lie and it is a bit of a thigh buster to reach the summit but there is a breather in between with a small plateau before the final push up. However the views are great and the first summit does not take too long to reach.
route to carn gorm (1 of 1) by dektasker, on Flickr
The next munro is fairly quick and it is a good path towards Meall Garbh. There is a fair bit of height lost . This is where we got lost again!!We avoided the big hill An Sgorr and it’s summit but missed the small cairn marking the exit from the path and almost ended up walking towards Meall Luaiche . A quick double back and we found the fence posts which guide you up to Meall Garbh. A fairly ugly summit, reminds me a little bit of the cairnwell.
Gerry and Ruby at Meall Garbh (1 of 1) by dektasker, on Flickr
Next is the good walk to Meal a' Bharr. It is a fair distance to the next munro and Carn Mairg. The fence posts are a good guide but there is a good path from Meal a' Bharr which avoids a steep climb down a corrie and recommend that you take this route. I never went to visit the Tor which is not far from the summit as it was still a bit dull but on a good day the views must be exceptional.
This getting lost thing was at us again. We had started to speak to a couple of guys from Fife who had convinced us to double back as this was the right route to Meall na Aighean . After 5 or 10 minutes we thankfully decided that the route was wrong and left the guys from Fife to do their own thing. Back up again to Carn Mairg and on the right route. We thought that Ruby would find this hard with so many boulders but she found it ok and we where soon on a good path. We did not lose so much height this time and the views from Meall na Aighean are very good. .
View from summit of Creag Mhor (1 of 1) by dektasker, on Flickr
Now the hike back to the car and yes it happened again, the reoccurring theme of getting lost!!. We over shot and miss the path west as to busy admiring the views.
views up Glen Lyon (1 of 1) by dektasker, on Flickr
It was a good day and learning for me is not only to read the reports and guides but to take them in and pay a wee bit more attention to the paths and maps!!
If you like the photos there are over 300 on my flickr page all in various sets. Have a look, there are a few corkers.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/67862513@N03/
Just a wee thought but is there any advice on high calorie food to take on walks that taste good. Fed up with the chocolate bars and sandwiches are never that great??
