). For this particular walk I had been offered the possibility of a Saturday pass – one of those rare opportunities when MrsR is happy for me to clear off early doors Saturday, spend the entire day stomping the hills while she hit the “vodka-with-a-splash-of-coke” with her mates
As it was she was feeling off the cola, so decided not to hit the town. The Saturday pass was still on offer……….but I decided not to cash it in, but to save it for another day……..Oh yes, I know how these women work……say one thing, but mean something different (and us men having to pick up on the signals
). Oh yes, I might be stupid, but I’m not that stupid So I was back to my usual Sunday Shuffle
I had a couple of ideas in mind. In the end I opted for the two Corbetts from Lochearnhead – Crag Mac Ranaich and Meall an t-Seallaidh.
Didn’t hold out much hope for my day on the relatively short drive from Ayrshire. Sky was black where I was headed and the rain was ranging between p**ing down and really p**ing down. As I parked up at Lochearnhead it was in a phase of really p**ing down……….so I sat in my car and waited for a lull in the wet stuff falling out the sky
P1120383 by Riedel2012, on FlickrEventually it relented sufficiently to coax me out and get myself kitted up. It even showed signs of stopping and I swear I spied some blue sky dotted about
It was still a bit chilly though and rain didn’t look like it would ever be far away, so I opted for the full scuba gear from the outset. I’d left the aqualung at home this weekend (sitting on the park bench…..and all that
) as I didn’t think we’d be in Noah territory despite the rain laden cloud I could see.As it turned out, although the deluge never looked far off for the whole walk, I never got hit by it. I did keep the full scuba gear on for the duration, as I was never confident I wouldn’t get a soaking at some point. As a result I still ended up soaked, just from the inside instead
I must have lost a few pounds in all that waterproof gear So what about the walk itself?
P1120387 by Riedel2012, on Flickr
P1120389 by Riedel2012, on FlickrOne for a George Clarke amazing Spaces makeover
I’ll be honest; these two hills hadn’t particularly inspired me when I’d looked at them on WH. I kept noticing them when I was looking for a walk………you know, in that “there’s two Corbetts in a single walk…..good for keeping the countdown going and all that” kind of way. But I just never felt the pull to get myself to Lochearnhead to do them.
This apathy toward them was certainly with me as I set off and the initial walk up the cycle track was a bit stop/start, stop/start as I struggled to find a good walking rhythm. You certainly need your wits about you in the early stages. A left at the first junction with a bridge and then almost immediately taking a right to double back on yourself under a bridge and then the zig-zags of the cycle path. There were some good views opening up looking back down Lochearnhead, despite the overcast nature of the weather.
P1120390 by Riedel2012, on FlickrTake a left here
P1120392 by Riedel2012, on FlickrThen a right
P1120396 by Riedel2012, on FlickrI then managed to miss the next turning at the point the cycle track levelled off
Another of those immediate about turns, this time to the left and through a gate. From now on it was a straightforward walk along an old railway track……….a tad boggy old railway track at that.
P1120399 by Riedel2012, on FlickrSharp left here
I then missed the cut off left before the track went under an old bridge
, but just past the bridge there was a turning back to the right and on to the final track of the route in.
P1120405 by Riedel2012, on FlickrMissed the gate to the left before this bridge!!
P1120406 by Riedel2012, on FlickrFrom now on all track option choosing was over
, which seemed to coincide with the walk starting to impress me a bit more, as views of my two targets opened up. As the WH report suggests, Creag Mac Ranaich looks impressive. I have to say at this point that Meall an t-Seallaidh looked a bit plain; a bit of an uninspiring lump compared to its craggy cousin.
P1120411 by Riedel2012, on Flickr
P1120412 by Riedel2012, on FlickrAs for the walk toward the two of them; well it was a fairly easy romp along a good landrover track
I was still a bit stop and start and huff and puff, but even the slight moisture in the air couldn’t stop my enthusiasm levels increasing as I made my way Eventually I was fording the burn and then tackling a final short section of zig and zag up toward the high point of the pass. It’s at this point I had a choice to make.
P1120420 by Riedel2012, on FlickrOriginally I had plotted a route that took me first up on to Meall an t-Seallaidh and then back down to tackle Creag Mac Ranaich, returning back to the car via a ridge walk talking in Meall Sgallachd and Meall Reamhar. If the weather had been nicer I may well have stuck to that plan. But the threat of rain never seemed far away, so I instead reverted to the standard WH route.
P1120435 by Riedel2012, on Flickr
P1120436 by Riedel2012, on FlickrMy second target of the day
First port of call was Creag Mac Ranaich. I took a short pit-stop before tackling it. It’s a craggy beast and on approach I was wondering just how I’d get up it. The reality is that, despite its steepness, it’s actually not too bad a climb up grassy rakes. There’s an old line of fence posts and if you locate these early on you’ll find yourself on what I believe is described as “a developing path”
What this actually means is some muddy indentations in the grass, which if you look carefully provide a reasonable line of ascent. 
P1120445 by Riedel2012, on Flickr
P1120446 by Riedel2012, on Flickr
P1120448 by Riedel2012, on FlickrLooking across to the route up on to #2
P1120449 by Riedel2012, on FlickrTo be fair, locating the developing path did ease the climb considerably. The alternative over grassy, lumpy, boggy, rocky ground would have been turgid, so I was happy enough with the small mercy I’d been granted.
After a short climb I was on the summit plateau. I’d seen this described as “confusing in mist” and I could see why. I was lucky, despite the damp the cloud was above the summit, but it was still a lumpy, bumpy affair which could have been confusing if the cloud was down. As it was I quickly made my way to the 808 summit, which then revealed the true 809 summit a little way off. A pleasant little walk though, so no worries there.
P1120456 by Riedel2012, on Flickr
P1120458 by Riedel2012, on FlickrI was to be treated to a pretty moody set of views, with the cloud down and much of the good stuff hidden from me. I still got some nice views in the Killin direction with Meal Ghaordaidh and Meall nan Tarmachan
P1120462 by Riedel2012, on Flickr
P1120469 by Riedel2012, on FlickrIt was a bit chilly, so I didn’t hang about and soon back to 808 and the steep descent back down to the track.
The decision that now confronted me was to find the best point at which to launch myself across the bog-fest in front of me. Again the reality is that if you stick with the old fence posts you’ll pick up another “developing path”
This at least got me across the bog. On the short climb up to the bealach below Cam Chreag the path didn’t appear to be so well developed, so it was a bit of a trudge up that lumpy, bumpy, boggy, rocky stuff, but eventually I was on the relative flat 
P1120479 by Riedel2012, on Flickr
P1120480 by Riedel2012, on Flickr
P1120481 by Riedel2012, on Flickr
P1120486 by Riedel2012, on FlickrAnother choice confronted me. Take the by-pass around the back of Cam Chreag or simply go over it? I’m a simple man, so I simply went over it. A bit of additional climbing, but I quite enjoyed it.
P1120494 by Riedel2012, on Flickr
P1120497 by Riedel2012, on Flickr
P1120501 by Riedel2012, on Flickr
P1120503 by Riedel2012, on FlickrThen there was an almost imperceptible drop before the final climb onto Corbett #2 of the day. With its two cairns and a trig pillar I had a few moments setting about visiting them all just to make sure I could truly claim the summit. I have no idea which is the highest point myself – there’s that strange phenomenon on summits, where the cairn you are looking at always looks higher than the one you are on……….until you get there and the one you were on originally now looks higher
P1120511 by Riedel2012, on Flickr
P1120518 by Riedel2012, on Flickr
P1120519 by Riedel2012, on Flickr
P1120523 by Riedel2012, on Flickr
P1120526 by Riedel2012, on Flickr
P1120536 by Riedel2012, on FlickrAgain, despite the weather (or perhaps because of it) I enjoyed the views from this hill. At one point the Crianlarich Munros of Ben More and Stob Binnein were on view (if a little cloud covered on top) and then a few moments later I could hear the clippety clop of the four horsemen as the sky around them turned black
Any poor souls on either hill would have been getting a soaking unfortunately. I really thought the rain would hit me too, but I got no more than a few spots at this point. For my descent I dropped off the summit toward point 783 and then contoured left descending past some summit crags and the picking up the WH line back to the main track. All a bit nobbly and bobbly and boggy, but the main track arrived soon enough. Then it was a good frog marching pace back to the car. Given a slightly later start to the day I arrived back just as the light was fading and the rain that had threatened all day was starting to settle in.
P1120544 by Riedel2012, on Flickr
P1120547 by Riedel2012, on Flickr
P1120548 by Riedel2012, on Flickr
P1120549 by Riedel2012, on Flickr
P1120557 by Riedel2012, on Flickr
P1120559 by Riedel2012, on Flickr
P1120564 by Riedel2012, on FlickrI really do have to say that I enjoyed this walk. As I mentioned near the top, I hadn’t held out much hope for the two hills, but they really delivered. I could imagine that on a good clear day the views must be superb. Just goes to show you can’t judge a book by its cover
