Is that a huge cairn or are you pleased to see me?

[Jaxter]

With 2 days of glorious weather forecast I had a 2 day trek planned; however when I woke up first thing on Saturday I could feel a niggle in my knee. After wandering around the flat and stretching it improved but a 2 dayer didn’t seem like such a great plan after all

Throwing a dart at the map (not literally – I’d miss ) I hastily grabbed a different rucksack and jumped in the car, only an hour behind schedule

Arriving at Loch Rannoch the weather was incredible and the views down Loch Rannoch were awesome


I parked near Craiganour and headed up the track towards the house (not before applying liberal amounts of suncream

A few climbed fences later I was past the house and looking back on Loch Rannoch


I crossed over the wee bridge as I’d noticed a short-cut…


The bridge led to a weird structure


I climbed up the side of the bizarre building and crunched my way across heather, which soon became short and very spiky trees which were ripping my legs to shreds And then it turned out that someone had planted an actual forest since the map was made…. I then had to climb a high deer fence and I was back on the track… so much for shortcuts

Looking back


I wiped the worst of the blood from my legs and the sweat from everywhere else But at least I was now on a good track and was able to make some actual progress now

A first glimpse of Beinn Mholach


Looking back – Schiehallion dominating


It was very very warm and I was noticing the lack of water in all the burns – usually a good thing for me but potentially an issue for refilling

Arriving at the Ruidhe an t-Sidhein (which was a wee tin shed) I managed to find some running water for a top-up before turning right on a much less distinct track towards Beinn Mholach.

Schiehallion was still the most striking hill around!


I had scoped out my route up Beinn Mholach as I approached, but now arriving at my hill I actually picked up a wee track which was a bit intermittent but it was nice to have something to follow.


It was somewhere around here that my ribs started hurting….typical I slowed my pace right down and plodded my way upwards. Plenty of excuses to stop for photos


Bridge of Orchy and Black Mount hills


Finally at the top I was rewarded with awesome views


Looking down Loch Rannoch towards the Bridge of Orchy and Black Mount hills


Loch Rannoch and Schiehallion




I did wonder this at the time but after checking the map I think this is towards Nevis & the Mamores


This could be the Glencoe hills


Ben Alder


Loch Errochty with Beinn a’ Ghlo behind


Schiehallion


Schiehallion and Loch Rannoch


I sheltered behind the MONSTROUS summit cairn to rest for a while and shelter from the wind (and sun )

Ben Alder again


The views actually seemed to be getting clearer as I sat in the sun




Jaxter pose!


Quite a striking summit (yes of course I climbed it, sore ribs or no!)


Drumochter hills


This gave me an idea of where I was going next!


After I had sat in the sun for ages I reckoned it was time to get going. I headed down the ridge towards Creag nan Gabhar, following a nice wee path this time.

Looking back, the cairn looked insanely huge








Looking to Ben Alder again


Schiehallion again


The descent here was a joy – there was a path and the estate had put planks of wood across the boggy bits (which weren’t boggy as everything was bone dry ) and before long I was able to see Duinish Bothy


Meall na Leitreach and Loch Garry – which gave me a few ideas for when I come to climb this hill


Crossing over the track I made a wee diversion to Duinish Bothy which was very clean and tidy and well stocked. There were a lot of newspaper cuttings in one of the rooms which was a wee bit odd….


I had another wee rest (I mean suncream stop ) outside the bothy as I contemplated the 8km walk back to the car (Yes, I got the map out and counted )

Looking back to Loch Garry (and the A9 in the background)


Beinn Mholach


Loch Garry again


Loch Garry and Meall na Leitreach


Duinish Bothy


I’ll admit that this section wasn’t my favourite bit of the day The scenery was lovely but my ribs were hurting and it was SO hot

Looking back – Beinn Mholach again


A last glance


Oh look who’s back


Loch Rannoch again


Any excuse for a breather – a panorama


Nearly back at Craiganour….


Back at the car I discovered that my Twix had melted Gutted…. After cooling off I drove down the road a bit and found myself an awesome camp spot with a wee sun trap




It was a gorgeous spot, with enough of a breeze to keep the bugs away. I had an awesome evening with no phone signal
















It was such a lovely evening that I finally crawled into bed and left the tent open to enjoy the fresh air….which meant when I woke up at 2am I was able to play with night mode from the warmth of my cocoon


The next time I woke up it was light and shaping up to be an awesome morning!


I dozed for a while before getting a brew on


Eventually I got myself together and packed up. Looking down Loch Rannoch from Kinloch Rannoch


I had decided to preserve the ribs by not walking today so went for a relaxed drive home, stopping off for a wander followed by tea and cake in Kinloch Rannoch….

The church where I did a concert about 5 years ago…


The same shot of Schiehallion that I got 5 years ago


The one from 5 years ago….




Loch Tummel


Loch Tummel from the Queen’s View


It was nice to be home nice and early, although I still didn’t manage to get my washing done

Beinn Mholach.gpx Open full screen  NB: Walkhighlands is not responsible for the accuracy of gpx files in users posts

[malky_c]

Was waiting for this to see where that weird building was - took a slightly different route up from Loch Rannoch last time I was at Duinish so wouldn't have gone past it. Odd indeed.

Nice day out, although like me it seems you will never learn about daft shortcuts . While the hills don't look overly exciting,there's a great mixture of remoteness and glimpses or Glencoe etc. Duinish is a great bothy too, if you're ever back there again.

[Mal Grey]

Well, that's a pretty remote one to have such a massive cairn on top! Somebody must love it.

That building thing is weird. I assume its this, which makes it arguably even weirder: http://craiganour.co.uk/skyspace.html

[walkingpoles]

Great trip and report! I am always puzzled to find these humongous cairns on top of hills. I never found a sensible explanation for their existence nor an indication of their age.

[Jaxter]

Was waiting for this to see where that weird building was - took a slightly different route up from Loch Rannoch last time I was at Duinish so wouldn't have gone past it. Odd indeed.

Nice day out, although like me it seems you will never learn about daft shortcuts . While the hills don't look overly exciting,there's a great mixture of remoteness and glimpses or Glencoe etc. Duinish is a great bothy too, if you're ever back there again.

Yes - I shoud have learned by now
Duinish does look great! I'll have to find an excuse to go back

Well, that's a pretty remote one to have such a massive cairn on top! Somebody must love it.

That building thing is weird. I assume its this, which makes it arguably even weirder: <span class="skimlinks-unlinked">http://craiganour.co.uk/skyspace.html</span>

I know right...imagine all that effort
That is a bizarre building....

Great trip and report! I am always puzzled to find these humongous cairns on top of hills. I never found a sensible explanation for their existence nor an indication of their age.

Thanks - aye it does seem a bit overkill.... Some of the hills nearby also looked like they had massive cairns on them. Maybe something about the area...

[past my sell by date]

It sure is a good cairn and a nice remote hill, but how come you left out Creag a Mhadaidh. Yoiu were within a km and 150m of it. Not like you to miss out on a "defenceless" Graham

[weedavie]

First time I was on Beinn Mholach I was coming back from Stob an Aonaich Mhoir. It's pretty undulating so you can see that monstroso cairn from a long distance. So you think it's a small cairn and you're nearly there..... Arrival feels like hours later and you're wondering where your fitness has gone (even more so when you reach your bike at Loch Garry.).

[Jaxter]

It sure is a good cairn and a nice remote hill, but how come you left out Creag a Mhadaidh. Yoiu were within a km and 150m of it. Not like you to miss out on a "defenceless" Graham

I was in pain I figured unnecessary walking was a bad idea. And another "excuse" to go back

First time I was on Beinn Mholach I was coming back from Stob an Aonaich Mhoir. It's pretty undulating so you can see that monstroso cairn from a long distance. So you think it's a small cairn and you're nearly there..... Arrival feels like hours later and you're wondering where your fitness has gone (even more so when you reach your bike at Loch Garry.).

Haha i could see that on the way back down, but on my way up I only saw it when I was a couple metres from the top

[past my sell by date]

It sure is a good cairn and a nice remote hill, but how come you left out Creag a Mhadaidh. Yoiu were within a km and 150m of it. Not like you to miss out on a "defenceless" Graham

I was in pain I figured unnecessary walking was a bad idea. And another "excuse" to go back
:

But that's never stopped you before - I seem to remember you carried on up Cruachan with broken ribs

[Jaxter]

It sure is a good cairn and a nice remote hill, but how come you left out Creag a Mhadaidh. Yoiu were within a km and 150m of it. Not like you to miss out on a "defenceless" Graham

I was in pain I figured unnecessary walking was a bad idea. And another "excuse" to go back
:

But that's never stopped you before - I seem to remember you carried on up Cruachan with broken ribs

That is a very good point