Once again accompanied by workmate Big Jie the walk began at the tiny carpark in Invervar in Glen Lyon where the skies seemed bright enough and the temperature was just okay for June.
The ascent through the trees and clear fell at the start of the walk wasn't too bad with limited amounts of mud and insect life. I took the precaution of carrying a printed copy of the WH route which i felt we might need at the start and was glad i did as we found the waymarked path a little haphazard. Soon we were over the old rickety iron footbridge and out into the open hillside heading up Carn Gorm where the going underfoot was still good though the temperature was a lot cooler.
- Approaching Invervar
- Clear fell near the start
- Footbridge over Invervar Burn
- Glen Lyon from Carn Gorm
We reached the summit of Carn Gorm about 1h 45m from the car and by that point the skies had really clouded over but the views were still there with the expanse of Loch Rannoch being a highlight.
The walk up to the 2nd Munro of the day, Meall Garbh, was straightforward and by omitting the minor top of An Sgorr it took us just under an hour. The summit cairn of Meall Garbh seemed to be a hybrid of stones and old iron fence posts both of which were in abundance over the hilltop. It was here we had our first pit stop as the distance to the 3rd Munro, Carn Mairg, looked a good bit further away than the previous summit.
- Approaching summit of Carn Gorm
- Path around An Sgorr
- Summit of Meall Garbh
- View of Carn Mairg
The combination of a path over short cropped grass, overcast skies and cool air had enabled us to walk at a steady pace which only really slowed as we approached the summit area of Carn Mairg where the terrain was a far more uneven mix of rocks and stones which seen from the neighbouring hills made this one really stand out. The highlight here was the terrific view of Schiehallion which lay under the same overcast skies as Glen Lyon did.
The descent of Carn Mairg was slow and careful over stone strewn slopes and eventually the final Munro of the day, Meall nan Aighean (Creag Mhor), was tackled at our previous pace with a very straightforward hike across the moorland and up grassy slopes to the summit which took us less than an hour though a pair of hill runners flew past us like we were standing still !
- Carn Mairg summit ridge
- Summit of Carn Mairg
- View of Schiehallion
- View down from Meall na Aighean
As always once the summits are bagged its a long walk out but at least the final descent was gradual and the views up Glen Lyon were great albeit hazy. The Carn Mairg group were a fine round of hills and although we didn't get bright sunshine i think the conditions were perfect for a longer walk like this.
