Trailblazing on Meall na Fearna
Posted: Wed Dec 17, 2014 8:57 pm
Trip number 46 for 2014 and probably the last one.
This was a last minute outing purely because there looked like being a decent weather window and as Meall na Fearna was the closest Corbett, that would be my target.
The forecast was for a less than 5% chance of rain, a bit breezy with a temperature high up feeling like -12c, but us walkers can cope with that
So off I set at 7.45 was hoping to meet Geo (munromadmen) at the parking area on the south side of Loch Earn as he was planning to walk up Ben Vorlich. I had anticipated arriving at the parking area for 9am but after the usual heavies and Tuesday morning drivers held me up, I was 10mins later than planned
I noticed Geo's car parked so I kitted up and set off at a nice brisk pace, mainly to keep warm
The route up Meall na Fearna follows the well trodden track up to Vorlich, once across the wooden bridge the track splits into two, I was heading left which would take me down Glen Vorlich. Once on the 'new' track the surface underfoot got a bit squidgy, this all changed once I reached a nice new wooden bridge. The surface was icy which wasn't too bad going up, I was making a mental note of the conditions in anticipation of the descent which I knew would/could be fun The bridge itself was like being on Kirkcaldy Ice Rink (where Fife Flyer's play ice hockey), not that I have been to the rink I had to hold on tight to the handrail as the bridge was on a slight slope and I would have been across the bridge on my backside
As I got slightly higher the icy surface changed to snow patches which was fine initially, however as the snow got a bit deeper that made the path invisible, so I was now blazing my own trail. The weather was superb, bit blowy and cold but the visibility was excellent and I could see my target so it was just a matter of picking what hopefully would be the best and easiest route The whole of the walk is dominated by Ben Vorlich on the right hand side and it's ever changing shape
If you look at the OS map you will notice that the approach to Meall na Fearna has lots of undulating humps and bumps, the final approach to the foot of MnF is covered by a large expanse of peat hags
As we all know peat hags is not the best terrain to walk over, however I was very fortunate, snow and ice covered the area. I still had to be very careful because I could hear ice cracking under my body weight, so I was using my poles to great effect. I was concious that I could easily be knee deep in either snow, mud or water - snow I don't mind and that did happen a few times, but mud and water yuk
Once the peat hags were conquered safely I was then surveying the way up to the summit, there are a few craggy bits and the going got quite steep, but I knew it wasn't far now so I soldiered on to the summit.
The summit was a small pile of rocks, I was going to put a snowball on top but the snow was too powdery and not suitable for snowball making, so making a snowman was never going to happen
The views from the summit were superb, however it was a tad chilly, so I found a sheltered bit out of the wind and drank ALL my coffee Took a few photo's and then headed to the edge of the summit and made a mental note of what looked like the best way down and across the peat hags
I even surprised myself and found myself walking across the snow in the footprints I made on the ascent, I can assure you it wasn't planned that way
The only problem on the descent was the icy section, as we all know going uphill on ice isn't much fun but downhill is a nightmare, so I opted to wade through the heather. The only dangerous bit was crossing the wooden bridge, it was worse going back because it was sloping down and as soon as I put one foot on the wood I almost ended up on my rear end, so great care was taken
The descent down the track is very pleasant as the views of Loch Earn are excellent, arrived back at the car in just under 4 hours. Was surprised not see Geo's car there, so guessed he didn't tackle the Stuc
Great day and that was probably the best sort of weather tackle Meall na Fearna
Probably my last outing of 2014
Wonder what's next