Superb double Munro route from Loch Earn

[Hiking Kidd]

I climbed Ben Vorlich years ago with my dad in the snow one winter aged around 12... however we did not make the additional push to Stuc a'Chroin as I think one Munro was a great enough achievement for us both that day. I was delighted to have the opportunity to bag the 2 Munro's this time and absolutely loved the whole loop starting from beautiful Loch Earn. The initial ascent up from the loch was quite steep and relentless but the path is excellent and the views back down to the loch beautiful. Unfortunately it was pretty windy at the top of Ben Vorlich and cloud cover meant that our views were restricted from the peak a little and we didn't linger too long on the summit. Miraculously though as we descended the bealach towards Stuc a'Chroin the skies cleared and the panoramic views towards the north and west opened up in all their glory. The peak of Stuc a'Chroin is an impressive looking rugged and rocky outline which makes tackling it all the more challenging and inviting. We followed the path towards the steep rocky portion then traversed the grassy ridge above the boulder field and scrambled a little up to the top of the prow and on to the summit for more awesome views. A sheltered lunch spot looking back south over Ben Vorlich was perfect. The descent down the steepish scree path was quite tricky and a little boggy in places as we wandered around the side of Ben Vorlich to re-join the original path but very enjoyable. I would highly recommend this to all Munro baggers and would be keen to repeat the route myself sometime.