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After the recent run of poor weather, a forecast of 90% chance of cloud free munros was more than enough incentive to get of the couch, pack the rucksack and boots and get onto the hills. I toyed with the idea of parking at Derrydarroch to add Beinn Chabhair into the loop but with the prospect of a wee Saturday night out I opted for the shorter route.
I left the car in the lay-by at Glen Falloch at 9:15 and headed up the works road. After about a kilometre I turned up onto the steep grass slopes to reach the Sron Garbh ridge. From there any easy stroll with a little scrambling took me to the first munro of the day at 11:30. Lucky with the weather is a term sometimes overused but while sitting on the summit eating a sandwich and having a wee juice, I saw rain just to the north over Ben More and more rain to the east over Loch Voil. I did indeed feel lucky in the sunshine.
After that wee spot of lunch I headed down to the bealach between An Caisteal and Beinn a Chroin. There, when I saw the further drop and steep slope to Beinn Chabhair, I was glad of my choice of route today. The steep climb up the southwest crags of Beinn a Chroin threw in some tricky scrambling which was a bit of fun on this dry day. I was glad I didn't bring the dog though.
Once over the crags, an undulating ridge took me over both summits, the first, at 942m is the munro, but the second certainly looks higher. Another wee rest then the descent down the north ridge onto the flat boggy ground of Coire Earb and a tramp through wet ground along the early tributaries of the River Falloch. A large boulder with a piece of vegetation looking like a well manicured hedge on provided a bit of interest.
Further on, a jumble of earth moving machines and very large diameter pipes signalled some hydro works. The mess created was a bit of an eyesore but I am sure when the machines are gone and ground has recovered any evidence of them being there, with the exception of the road, would be minimal, unlike the sprouting up of wind farms around our countryside. The road did however make for an easy stroll back to the car.
Another great day in the Scottish hills and although I was walking alone the experience was enhance by the conversation and pleasantries exchanged with other walkers and dogs along the way. From the three guys from Greenock on the ascent, the chap from Stirling who I met on the summit, the older chap with the wee dog Rhuiraidh on Beinn a Chroin, the couple and their spaniel on the descent and the guy from Motherwell well through his target of 70 munros this year for Christian aid. An interesting and diverse group of people all engaged in the simple but extremely satisfying pastime of walking up hills. Magic.
