Thoughts of a good view are all in Mheadhoin

[snowdonia7]

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So day 4 of our late summer tour began cold and damp, and we cycled the increasingly familiar route from Linn of Dee to Derry lodge in full waterproofs, but the weather forecast suggested things would pick up and we were hopeful for a cloud-free munro (well we live in hope ).

We left our bikes just at the end of the wooded section, just before the footbridge and continued on foot up Glen Derry then branched off left towards Loch Etchachan, popping into the memorial hut on the way (it looked like a great spot to spend the night). Once we reached the level of the loch the wind was picking up and the temperature dropped, so we put on some additional layers.

The climb up Beinn Mheadhoin was straightforward enough with the path was covered in very fine scree. On reaching the first summit tor we met a lone walker and stopped to chat before all setting off together for the summit proper. We discussed our thoughts for compleation and our new companion said he was going to finish on Ben Challum as Calum is a variation of his name Malcolm. I have still to decide (well with over 80 to go I probably have a couple of years to think about it), but I quite fancy Schiehallion.

Anyway, we reached the summit tor and all climbed together.

Our hoped for views were not to be, so Neil and I headed back, whilst Malcolm remained on the tor.

Zoom of Mheadhoin summit tor - with Malcolm on top

Looking back to the summit tor.

We returned to the bealach at the head of the loch and sat in the shelter of a rock to eat our lunch, before heading south for Derry Cairngorm.

After leaving the summit we continued in a southerly direction for Carn Crom at which point we descended easterly back to Glen Derry. A very boggy section brought us to the footbridge and back to the bikes.

At Derry Lodge I put the hammer down and got back to the car park in 13 minutes, which was quite exhilarating (albeit seriously thigh burning and probably not the best idea with two longish days still to come).