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I really need to sit down and write all my backlog TRs, this is beginning to look like "Last year's diary" rather than a mountain blog...
This one is from the last weekend of April, when weather turned sour for a short time. Rain and low cloud returned after a couple of weeks of summerlike conditions around Easter. We didn't really feel like going for anything long and remote, but a shorter walk over some easy Munros, well, why not. The best forecast was for the south-east, so we decided to visit part of the Lawers ridge.
Our first visit to Meall a'Choire Leith and Meall Corranaich was
in spring 2015 when we walked over them in the mist, no views whatsoever. It was a wet, gloomy day, no wonder we didn't fancy adding the neighbouring Corbett, Meall nam Maigheach. This time we hoped to rectify this omission. Will panther get her extra Meall?...
Meall nam Maigheach can be easily added to the classic route over the two Munros - just cross Gleann Da-Eig and climb the extra 200m to the summit:
We started from the usual point, a small car park near the summit of Lairig an Lochain. We got up at 5am to arrive there early, so we could grab a space. If the car park is full, there is more off-road parking on the verges a bit further up the road.
Cloudy morning over Lochan na Lairige:
I remembered from our previous visit, that the lower reaches of Meall Corranaich are boggy and peat haggy - nothing surprising in Scotland!
The way up:
We preferred to do the circuit anticlockwise, to walk over the Munros first then add the Corbett. Which by the way, was now cloud free...
...whereas the summit of Meall Corranaich was still hidden in the lingering mist:
Not much to say about the ascent of the first Munro. A bit of a slog, there is a well-worn path, squelchy here and there, one slightly steeper sections just before the summit. There were two other walking groups, one before us, one just behind, but we could hardly see them in the clag...
We reached the summit cairn and didin't even bother taking photos, it was still cloudy and we had been here before. Even Lucy couldn't be bothered to celebrate a new Munro
Kevin was fed up with the morning cloud and headed straight down along the ridge. It is important to be careful with navigating when leaving the summit, as the more obvious path heads for Ben Lawers not for Meall a'Choire Leith. We almost made that mistake four years ago, this time we knew we had to turn left and follow the less obvious path:
The best part of the traverse of these two Munros is the lovely ridge connecting them. As soon as we started the descent, views began to emerge from the mist:
Looking back to the summit of Meall Corranaich, the mist still hanging on:
The path was now more than obvious and I was beginning to feel like meowing!
Across the glen to the right hand side, An Stuc and the other two Mealls emerged from the mist:
We took our time wandering down the easy slopes, as the clag slowly lifted, revealing the surrounding landscape of mountains and glens...
Gloomy Ben Lawers:
Meall a'Choire Leith is actually just "a pimple on the ridge" by my standards. One of those hills, you see it and can't stop wondering, why was this promoted to be a Munro?
Kevin facing the giants:
The ridge drops to 775m then a short climb of roughly 150m leads to the summit of the second Munro. We took ample stops for photos. Yes, the cloud still lingered but there is something magical about partially misty landscape:
Closing on the summit, Ben Lawers nad An Stuc behind me:
The summit of Meall a'Choire Leith was clag free as it's much lower than its neighbour. Lucy celebrated her 105th Munro, Kevin marked his third visit to this particular hill:
Nothing new for me, but so far I really enjoyed this easy mountaineering, and the new hill was still to come!
Lucy and the view west to Loch an Daimh:
At least we got some views from this duo the second time! Our next target in the foreground:
The mighty Lawers ridge:
Back to Meall Corranaich:
To add Meall nam Maigheach to the tally, we headed west down the grassy slopes, to cross Allt Gleann Da-Eig below:
There was little water in the stream, but this is not a big river and should be easy to cross in any conditions:
"Somewhere up there wanders a headless deer" said Kevin when I spotted a deer skull in upside-down position. Spooky
The climb is easy on grass, moss and short heather. When we emerged on the main ridge, we wondered about the return route. It is possible to drop to the road on the other side of the hill, but we decided to walk down the ridge back to the starting point.
...but first we had to reach the summit. The main ridge is peat haggy but nothing too drastic, would be a nightmare in winter conditions though, so easy to step into a wet hole hidden under snow! Views from the Corbett are nice though, the two neighbouring Munros dominating the view to the east:
Clag burning off above Tarmachan Ridge:
The summit is marked with a small cairn and doesn't really have anything special about it, apart from the good vistas, mainly to the nearby mountains, including Meall nan Tarmachan. Lucy ticked off her 97th Corbett...
...and for us it was no. 159. Next one will be a round no. 160, Kevin said, I wonder which one we should pick for that purpose?
Looking north towards the hills of Glen Lyon:
The ridge of Stuc an Lochain:
Panther happy, she's got her extra Meall!
To return to the car park, we descended the peat-haggy southern shoulder of Meall nam Maigheach, following sheep paths and jumping over boggy puddles. Maybe dropping straight to the road from the summit is a drier option, hard to say. The whole walk, done at a leisurely pace, took only 5.5 hours. It might not be an exhilarating circuit with narrow ridges and mind-boggling views, but it's nice enough especially with the addition of the Corbett.
................
In my next TR, I'll tell the story of our 160th Corbett and how it made us long for brother Lui
