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Arrived at the car park just before ten and set off. The weather forecast was for a high cloud base with scattered sun but it was a bit more overcast than expected, but not too warm so probably ideal conditions for a first Munro.First part of the walk was straightforward enough, although the sweat was lashing off both of us.
- Mist covering the summit.
- View down to the Loch from around 2/3's of the way up
We paused for for some water just before the final steep ascent to the summit ridge, the midges made sure we didn't linger for long.
- Midge Attack!
Made it to the top in about 2hrs 20mins, unfortunately the low cloud cover minimized the views but we were both delighted anyway.
- Me at the Trig Point
- Natalie heading back down from the summit.
The midges also ensured we didn't wait to long at trig point. Walked back down the path to where it overlooks the corrie on the left and had our lunch there, a bit of a breeze kept the midges away.
- Natalie on Summit Ridge with Corrie behind
- Me with the Eastern corrie behind
Started to feel a bit chilly, perhaps more due to us cooling down than the weather, although i did notice that plenty of the people passing us as we ate our lunch had started to layer up. Then started the descent, noticing that the we had beaten the crowds with our early start. Also a much more sociable part of the walk as we weren't panting quite so much, speech was not a priority on the way up! Made it back down in about 1hr 45mins.
Overall an excellent first experience, demanding enough to get your heart pumping without being too strenous, think we are both bitten by the Munro bug!
Rgds
J