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The plan for Wednesday was to find a hill that would be cloud free. So after checking various weather predicting sites I ruled out the Munros and thought I might have success with a Graham instead. Creag Gharbh was selected as I enjoy a run up to Killin and it only takes about an hour to get there depending on what type of vehicle you are following.
I had checked google street view the night before and it showed a big parking area opposite the road heading up to the Dam etc.. But on arriving I found that it had been fenced off, so a quick 3 point turn and went to my second choice parking spot which is just over the bridge on the left.
It was about 10.40am that I finally headed off and started my trek up the tarmac road, which had me huffing and puffing in no time. I met a small group of walkers and a lone dog walker heading down and wondered to myself where their cars were as I was the only one parked up near the start of the walk. But I suppose its not that long a walk from there to Killin.
I reached the big gate at the end of the trees and thats when the views opened up over to Loch Tay and the hills beyond.
And the dam and road ahead.
I decided not to take the road over the dam and headed instead along the road in front of it, across the bridge and through the next gate that takes you level with the dam and Lochan Breaclaich.
Looking ahead and Im starting to think that I might not get my cloud free summit after all but at least the sun is a shining.
Looking back at the Lochan the clouds are starting to hang lower on the other side of the Lochan.
So on upwards into the clouds I went and decided that it was time to put my jacket back on and my hat. I reached a small waterfall on my left and just round the corner from it was where I left the track and headed up the hill.There is a faint path at the start that then disappears not far in.
I walked up hill running parallel to the small burn that feeds the waterfall and once I approached the burns source that was time to change direction and head roughly NE towards the direction of summit. Eventually ahead through the clouds I could just see the trig point.
I just had to navigate a boggy bit in front of me and then it was up to the summit and the trig point.
I had thought about hanging about up there in the hope that I would get a view but just decided to head back down instead. I think I must have taken a slightly different line back down of the hill because I seemed to be hitting every soggy bit of ground there was. Although I couldn't have been out by much as I ended up at the burns source yet again and followed it back to the track.
As I was walking back down the hill I kept looking back to see that the cloud was definitely getting lower, so I had made the correct decision not to hang around at the top of the hill hoping to get a view.
The walk back to the car was uneventful, just follow the track back to the dam and then the tarmac road back to the car.
Ill definitely come back here another day just to see the views from this side of Loch Tay
