Two good

[tomyboy73]

A couple of hills i`d been saving for a possible solo because Jim had already done them with Tam a couple of years ago and i`d never heard anything remarkable about them. Well then.
But with so many Munros to do getting further and further away i asked Jim if he didn`t mind repeating them with me on sunday.
We got there for 9am and the weather was already better than forecast earlier in the week. Almost clear blue skies with just whisps of cloud spread here and there. There was still a bit of a nip in the air and it was jacket and shorts combo to start with. We crossed the bridge and into the farm to see a massive bull with 3 cows in the first field. Oh, he`s the daddy, we thought.

Feeling bullish

We carried along the path till we came to another field, this time another big bull with about 8 cows in beside him. Now he was the daddy !

Big Daddy

As we were admiring this fine specimen of masculinity, a guy popped out from a parked campervan to tell us the hills were in the other direction to which we were going. Okay man, that`ll be those big hilly things over there then ? Cheers mate
We walked over towards the main path and through the gate and met some more cows and their calves.

Nice earings

The path,track makes it`s way up alongside Beinn Eunich towards a`Chochuill, gradually rising and generating enough heat to make you take your jacket off. Swallows flew above us and some other birds like pied wagtails bounced around in front of us. And of course there were plenty of sheep.

Jim on track , a` Chochuill ahead

the view across to , what i would call the back of Stob Diamh and Beinn a Buiridh was great and back towards Loch Awe we could see Kilchurn Castle at the head of it.

Beinn a`Buiridh

Kilchurn Castle

We soon reached the point on the track when it was time to turn off and head up the hill and i adorned my gaiters. Not the greatest fashion statement when wearing shorts but hey, I hate ticks ! After climbing around the Arrochar caves two weeks ago , fully dressed i may add, i found one on my wrist on the way home!
Jim had described the ascent as steep but i found it not too bad. The grass was quite short and very dry with only the odd marshy bit en route. The higher we climbed the better the view of Cruachan appeared.

cruachan ridge appearing

Upwards we went and we reached some snow, which had a huge crack along the length of it, very tempting to go explore in the blue hue but probably more dangerous than it looked, don`t want to mess with that.
We were near the ridge to the summit now and the view was great as the snow cornices banked up on the north side giving great contrast to the natural yellow gorse on the hill.

snow cornices

Jim

We reached the summit and the views were extensive and amazing. Sometimes you get to the top of a hill and you can see one direction and not another or it can be quite hazy in the distance. But today it was clear for miles in every direction. Arran, Jura, Arrochar, Crianlarich, Etive hills, Bidean nam Bian, Ben Nevis, all clearly in sight. it was wonderful. There was a group coming up behind us so we walked on a bit to give them the summit.

Beinn Eunich

Mountains

more mountains

I took off my bag and dropped my camera to the floor and lay in the grass.Soaking it all in. I looked left , looked right and then straight ahead towards the small bit off Loch Etive and the hills reflecting in it. Then I saw two birds rising. Ha, Buzzards. Two big Buzzards. Feck me , two really big Buzzards. You know how it is, you see a big bird up in the mountains, you think, Golden Eagle. You hope Golden Eagle. You convince yourself Golden Eagle. You think of all the times you see a Buzzard and say to yourself Golden Eagle. You hear people behind you at the summit cairn say , "What`s that? Oh a Buzzard" and carry on their conversation. But I was going, "Jim, Jim, Jim, look, look, look" We both grabbed our cameras as thesoared higher into the sky, drifting in and out of sight. I was sure they were Goldies, then one of them broke off and divied down gliding by us down and out of sight. We centred attention on the one still circling. Jim managed to get a couple of good pictures before it flew away high above us in the direction of the blinding sun.

eagle

eagle

We were convinced it was a Eagles, first by their size, flight pattern, wing shape and lastly when Jim zoomed in on one picture to see the golden crown.
We then sat down to enjoy lunch, very happy indeed, then asked someone at the summit cairn to take our picture.

Beinn a`Chochuill summit

We headed back down and had a stomp through a snow covered ridge down to the bealach.

snowy ridge

No2 Munro of the day was now just a short steep climb away. It was hot and it was tough but i just kept going. We than it the boulders near the top and these were manageable.
The summit cairn sits just above the boulder field.
Was a wee bit windy before we hit the summit, but it had gone when we reached it. We could have done with it to blow away the critters flying about up there, smacking into us like stones with wings, they didnt look too pretty either !

monster fly

Beinn Eunich summit selfie

We had a good look around before the flies made us buzz off. An easy gentle descent until you have to dip down to the path. Which was very steep, and i just took it slowly with my dodgy knee.

Sun halo

it was good to get on flattish ground, as my feet were killing me. but happy with another two munros. Although the day was not over as wer were to go on and visit St Conan`s Kirk and Kilchurn Castle.
The Kirk is an ensemble of ideas and designs from everywhere , designed by a man who must have missed out on lego when he was kid.

St. Conan`s kirk

then we went to the castle, a fine example of keeping historic buildings open to the public.

Kilchurn Castle

from top tower over Loch Awe

Through the pistol hole

[gammy leg walker]

Underated hills if you ask me Tommy,feel your pain with the gammy knee

[tomyboy73]

Underated hills if you ask me Tommy,feel your pain with the gammy knee

I thought they were great, suppose on a dull day they might be "boring" but we didn`t have a dull day
I`ve just played fives tonight, was in agony operating the clutch on way home , but feels fine now, will see if i can sleep tonight though !

[jogilv16]

it was good to do them again and didnt mind at all as last time i had no views.great day,,probably one of the best sunny days....u should admit it tommy ur to old for that footie now

[tomyboy73]

it was good to do them again and didnt mind at all as last time i had no views.great day,,probably one of the best sunny days....u should admit it tommy ur to old for that footie now

lol, cheers Jim, had a guy half my age in my back pocket !