Who'll Stop the Rain

[ScotFinn65]

When you're planning your hillwalking days, do you picture clear skies and bright sunshine? I do. Of course I prepare for the worst but hoping for the best seems to be the overriding picture that comes into my mind. Then you wake up and see the skies covered in cloud and that persistent drizzle that hangs over Scotland on 90% of the days that were meant for hillwalking

It was my third Munro bagging day of my career. The first two felt great but the weather was varied and here I was on the morning of the third day looking at the greyness once again. However, learning from yesterday and filled with an optimism from the clearing prediction from the man on the TV, I packed my daybag, got into the car and headed for Lochan na Lairige through the rain.

My plan was to do the two westerly summits of the Lawers 7, Meall Corranaich and Meall a'Choire Leith. This seemed a reasonable length of walk for a beginner and it was my third walking day in a row, so the minimal ascent and low milage felt like the right decision to still bag two Munros.

Cloud covered Meall nan Tarmachan through the rain on the car window

I parked at the starting point just north of the damn, the rain was still persistent and the visibility was uninspiring. When I pulled up to the lay-by, there was a small campervan also parked there. It had the curtains drawn and had ovbiously spent the night there. I was conscious that the arrival of my car may have woken the occupants of the car, so tried to remain as quite as I could. As I was not intent on getting prepared yet, I just sat in the car, watching the drizzle run down the windows, looking at Meall nan Tarmachan and trying to browse the weather forecast on my phone. Was this ever going to stop?

Occasionally I had to clear the steam from the windows and wipe away the rain. I was not trusting the battery in such a location so started up the engine to esure the clearing was not resulting in me getting stuck here. I hoped that the noise didn't wake the occupants of the van but started to notice it was rocking a little. Oh! Perhaps a young couple were enjoying the remote Scottish countryside However, after a few minutes, an edlerly gentleman came out of the side door. I tried to not look his way, feeling a bit guilty that I might have woken him up. However, he approach my window in the lessening drizzle and enquired if I planned to walk.

We struck up a conversation and after about 30 minutes I had leard a lot about the life of this man and how he came to be parked alone in a remote lay-by. He had lost his wife a couple of years previously, in the process of selling his house and buying a boat and had now done almost 200 Munros. I felt quite; sad, humbled and insired all at the same time. It was my first encounter on the hills of someone wanting to talk openly about themselves. What an experience this was. I will never forget the old man or his stories. His wisdom about the Munros was going to hold me in good stead in the coming days as I gathered pieces of invaluable information about some of the hills I was planning to do.

Whilst we were talking the rain had cleared. The old man packed up and left and I started preparing myself for the walk. Just then, a van appeared with two men and a large dog. They looked "very professional". All the gear and the way one of them was looking at his map and using his compass, I guess they were very experienced in hillwalking. They told me they planned to do the Lawers 7 and had left their other car back a the Lawers hotel. They were planning the logical start of Meall a'Choire Leith, while I had planned to do Meall Corranaich first. So we started at the same time but headed off in different directions.

The gradient was not too bad but the walking was a little more boggy than I encountered before. The route was as described in the WH reports and guides and visibility was good. Navigation was easy I trudged over the heather and rough grass aiming for the fence posts in the description.

As I proceeded, I could see my 2nd Munro of the day and the return route straight down the side of M a'CL. But something else occured to me........... I could see the summit. Clear skies. could it be true!

It looked like a big rounded pudding and nothing like a Munro. I has read other accounts and saw the "rating" on WH but this was a but more "plain" than I considered. Onward and upward!. I found the fence posts and started the ascent to the first Munro.

The line of fence posts to Meall Corranaich

It was getting a bit steeper but looking over my shoulder at the views opening up kept me full of optimism and the walk didn't seem at all bad.

The views back to Meall nan Tarmachan

As I progressed, the sun came out and the sky cleared. I was not at the top of a Munro with clear views for the first time

I believe this may be the two Munros that I had been up the day before, Lawers and Ghlas. It was really nice to be able to see the tops and get some perspective to the landscape. Views were opening up in all directions and it was exciting for me to try to recognize the tops. With my limited knowledge and experience I wasn't able to recognise by sight alone. I used the map to work out what was what. This was the beginning of something that I have built on since this walk but still feel in awe of the guys on Youtube vlogs that seem to recognise all summits immediately.

I was happy and was enjoying my new pastime. I looked around for a long time, up toward Glen Coe, over to Glen Lyon and down to Crianlarich. I was as happy as I have been in a long time. Mountain therapy


Now for a bit of controversy. Since this day, I have done a few walks and more than 50 Munros and it confuses me why Meall a'Choire Leith would be considered another Munro. Separation? Re-ascent? An example of my case in point. If Meall a'Choire Leith is not a subsidiary top of Meall Corranaich, why is Sgor Eilde Beag a subsidiary of Binnien Mor? Re-ascent I guess but seems a bit unfair.

Now for the the next one. I couldn't believe that it was downhill all the way This was fantastic. A clear line and full visibility and downhill too.

The path to Meall a'Choire Leith from Meall Corranaich

Of course this wasn't the case and in the end there was a short ascent but Munro #6 was an easy transition from #5.

On my way from one Munro to the next, I met the two men and the dog that had left from the car park at the same time as me. We chatted little and they told me that they had made a rookie mistake. In their hurry to start their 7 Munro journey, the guy, who left the car at the Lawers hotel, had left the keys to that first car in the van parked at the start point. They were now debating to order a taxi or hitch from the end back to the start. I offered to come and get them as I had nothing else to do all day after my 2 Munors but they declined and said they would find their own way back.

From the summit of M a' CL the views were even clearer than from the previous summit. I couldn't believe my luck after the poor start to the day and almost thinking to return to Killin before my conversation with the old man.

Lawers, Meall Garbh and An Stuc from M a'CL (I think)

Meall Garbh and An Stuc zoomed

What a day this was now and the sense of elation was quite overwhelming. I was dizzy with happiness. This was a much changed feeling from my previous 2 days walking around in the clag. Tops were great, bagging was fine but the views are what it is all about for me.

The full Tarmachan Ridge with Ben More and Stob Binnien in the distance, from M a'CL

With this feeling, I started my decent. It was pretty steep off the big pudding and heading into the bog below. The return to the car was short and easy-walking. A bit wet in places but still enough scenrery and flora to keep a skip in my stride.

All-in-all a fantastic day after the rain stopped and enough to keep me motivated for Day 4, my final day in Killin area. I think I will try to finish the Lawers 7 by doing the 3 from the east. Seems like a plan

East Lawers 2 Actual.gpx Open full screen  NB: Walkhighlands is not responsible for the accuracy of gpx files in users posts

[Sgurr]

Why are certain hills Munros and some not? Apart from the 3000ft height, it is all a matter of what Sir Hugh Munro felt OUGHT to be a separate mountain. The SMC have also made their mark, but taking into consideration what he might have thought had he been in possession of latest surveys. Corbetts and Grahams are much simpler as those gents stuck to objective criteria 2,500 feet with 500 feet of reascent and 2000 feet with 500 feet of reascent.

What a great day you had for this walk. Last time I did it was with a US friend who always wants at least one Munro on his visits, but is pushed for time with other commitments. We set off very early to beat the rain, but as it turned out would have got better views had we hung on until later.

[LoveWalking]

Great report...your enjoyment and enthusiasm shines through