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My bagging of Beinn Ghlas and Ben Lawers

My bagging of Beinn Ghlas and Ben Lawers


Postby kevmcmahon1976 » Tue Sep 16, 2014 10:45 pm

Munros included on this walk: Beinn Ghlas, Ben Lawers

Date walked: 14/09/2014

Time taken: 3.5 hours

Distance: 10.5 km

Ascent: 960m

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This was my most recent Munro adventure on sunday there. I had been here 3 weeks before with my friend to do Meall nan Tarmachan and the tarmachan ridge which turned out to be one of the best walks i've ever done. We had awesome view's from the top of Ben Nevis and many more prominent munro's all around. When we got there it was hard not to notice the mighty Beinn Ghlas and knowing Ben LAwers was up there hidden by the clouds or haar at the top. I said to myself there and then i'd be back soon to conquer it. I arrived an the car park about 10 and set off about 10.30 am to begin my journey. I had read the night before in my munro book of the cairn that was built at the top in 1870 to try and take the hill over 4000ft and that this was not accepted. I also had this idea that the cairn would still be a big structure that would provide shelter at the top if the sky's which looked like they could have went either way didn't clear and bad weather set in. I set off through the nature reserve and walked quietly hoping to maybe see a deer or some other wildlife. This was not to be so i then started power walking up the hill. I passed a few people in the early stages but from there to the top of Beinn Ghlas i didn't see anyone else. I passed quite a few cairns on the way and even though i knew some of these were for bad weather condition's it got to the point i had no idea if i was at the summit or not as the fog had got worse and visibility was very very poor. The wind had also picked up so it was time for my waterproofs more for warmth really tho. I then seen a woman and thought great she will be able to confirm if i am at the summit or not. Unfortunately she wa foreign and had no idea either, neither did her friend who i met next. As i walked on i saw a man coming towards me and not knowing what to expect i said ' do you speak the english' to which he replied ' aye mate ' this made us both laugh and broke the ice for a nice conversation during which he told me i was on the correct path, had passed the summit of Ghlas and had about half an hour to the top of Lawers. I parted with a handshake and set off and met 2 women from aberfeldy one was waiting on her friend coming down from lawers as she was a bit too cold and not comfy with being up so high. Here i was told to expect heavy wind at the top. I decided here was best for a snack and a drink as i assumed i wouldn't be able to hang around long at the top. Now as i said earlier i had been thinking about this cairn that in my thoughts was a structure with shelter. Well when i got to the top all i found was the trig point and a very small cairn which was nothing like i expected. During closer inspection of the cairn though i found a rock with the word's Kev's Cairn on it. I thought what's the chances. This would have made me smile but it was dedicated to a young lad named Kevin Hasting's who had sadly died at the age of 18. I found this very tragic and payed my respects and my thoughts are with his family. I descende down the side of Beinn Ghlas to see the other part of the walk and this way i met more lovely people. This is one of the best aspects of doing this for me and near the bottom i met 2 other women and we had a good chat a laugh and they even invited me to join their facebook walking page which i have. Wherever i go it never ceases to amaze me how nice the people i meet are and to me hillwalkers are the nicest people in the world. Another double was in the bag and in a time i was surprised by and extremely pleased as i thought it would be a lot harder. I have done 9 munro's in 6 weeks now though and obviously it is paying off fitness wise. I'm not sure where i am heading next but one thing i know for sure is it will as always be an amazing adventure!!!!!!!
Attachments
kevs.jpg
ridge.jpg
law.jpg
lawers.jpg
kevmcmahon1976
Walker
 
Posts: 19
Munros:13   
Joined: Sep 2, 2014

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