GPX of track truncated due to number of trackpoints:
I parked just down from the information point before the dam and set off towards Meall Buidhe.
Initially I followed the land rover track NW before changing direction and heading due north up Coire nam Miseach in the direction of Meall a Phuill.
The track was fairly boggy for large sections of the walk and I kept losing and regaining it. That said, walking on the heather and moorland instead of the track was fine.
There were good views back down towards Loch an Daimh and Stuchd an Lochain on the way up. However, the weather meant that the views weren’t very clear or bright. Further up I could see the north approach to Meall Ghaordaidh with its two spurs, Creag Laoghain and Creag an Tulabhain. Further up at around 839m, there’s a cairn (NN 504487) where the track splits and I headed NW away from Meall a Phuill to go up the west side of Glas Choire.
Once I had reached the 917m level the track started to head more northerly towards the top of Meall Buidhe. This is essentially a long wide ridge with a number of small cairns marking the way. There’s only a small rise form the start of this bit until I arrived at the larger summit cairn at the north end. Unfortunately the mist and cloud had rolled in and I couldn’t really see much.
After a short break, I headed back down the same way. I got a good view of Meall a Phuill over to the west and could also see Stuchd an Lochain with its own Lochan nan Cat to the SW.
I followed the track back down and was soon back on the landrover track at the loch side.
I took a shortcut over the ground to the east of the dam to the side of the trees then headed over the road past the dam which brought me round to the south side of Loch an Daimh. A short way along this track at NN508460 there’s a small cairn on the left which marks the start of the track up to Stuchd an Lochain.
The track rises fairly steeply and tends to be boggy and wet for much of the earlier stage up the hillside. This may have been because I lost the track in places and ended up walking up what was effectively a rocky stream bed.
Further up past the 887m mark the path became clearer and drier and it wasn’t long before I was up on to the west side of Sron Chona Choirein where I turned to more of a westerly direction on reaching a minor top on the way at 927m.
By this time I could clearly see the final approach up to Stuchd an Lochain and the ridge leading up to it. Its north side falls very steeply down to Lochan nan Cat. There is a also a line of old rusty fence posts which go all the way up to the side of the summit.
There are good views all round from the summit but the rather grey weather and approaching clouds meant that they were not very clear today.
To the NW up Loch an Daimh I think I could see Beinn Dorain and Beinn an Dothaidh in the distance while Meall Buidhe was over to the north.
The cloud was thickening with a little light rain so I headed off back down to the Loch. On the way down the steep north sides were even more evident and I got a good view of Lochan nan Cat which is close to being a perfect circle.
There were also views up Glen Lyon but again they were not that clear because of the weather as well as views of Meall Ghaordaidh to the south.
Lower down, as the track was covered in wet and loose rock, I often found it easier walking down the hillside on the side of the track - this was fairly straightforward on the grassy moorland.
Back down at the loch side, I headed round the dam and back to the car. The walks up the two hills had been fairly straightforward and I was back at the car by 2pm. If the weather had been better and sunset later than just after 6pm (as I'm not fit enough to do a "monty" and run up and down), I would have liked to have climbed Meall Ghaordaidh from its north side as it would have meant a short drive round to Glen Lyon. As it was, I was happy with the day’s walking and decided to leave it for another day with better weather.
