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I had seen this walk in the Grahams guidebook and had been looking forward to it for a long time.
As the forecast was for bright conditions in the morning, replaced by rain, I made an early start and enjoyed the drive over the Rest and be Thankful and down Loch Eck to Glen Massan. It was then a fairly short drive along the glen to the parking place near Stonefield.
The early part of the walk was along the track leading to Garrachra and past the fishing pools. I then headed for the firebreak that heads up to the ridge. The crossing of the River Massan was fine today, but after heavy rain it might well be more challenging. Initially, I had to make my way through the trees and needed to cross the burn a few times. It was quite a sweaty pull up through the trees, although I did see a woodpecker at one point. When I did emerge from the forrest, the cloudy conditions had arrived!
- Looking down to Glen Massan from the forrest
It didn't take too long from here to get to the broad ridge from where I could walk to the summit.
- Looking south from the ridge
At this point, low cloud came in and I had no view at all from the top - although on a clear day I would imagine that the view would be quite rewarding.
Made my way back to the col and decided to walk south over the ridge to Meal Dubh and Carn Ban. Not very pleasant walking on tussockly grass and quite wet underfoot. On the plus side, the cloud had risen a bit.
- Looking back to the summit from the ridge
- Glen Massan from the trig point
From the trig point at Carn Ban I decided to take a direct line down to the felled forrest, where I could see a track fairly high up. This section of the day was arduous to say the least - lots of tussocks and long grass. It seemed to take an age to reach the track.
Once I had gained the track, it was a straightforward walk back to the car.
Not the most enjoyable day I have had, with challenging underfoot conditions all day - but at least the rain stayed off!