free to be able to rate and comment on reports (as well as access 1:25000 mapping).
Here we go it is time to tackle these two again. Both George and I looked through every walk report to see if there was an easy way to tackle these two big lumps, the bottom line - no there isn't. We opted to loosely follow bobble-hat-Kenny's route (thanks very much).
The usual arrangements were in place, meeting time and place with a special guest meeting up with us in Killin. Andy was up here for a week and bagged the Lochnagar five yesterday and would be sleeping in his car as he usually does. We haven't walked together since we were in Glencoe doing Bidean nam Bian 3 years ago.
We met up earlier than planned and then headed up the single track road to Kenknock and to the car park where the only other vehicle was a camper van.
As soon as the car door was open we were greeted by our friendly little biting friends, so it was a quick scramble through our kit to get our head nets on. After that we didn't hang around and were on our way within minutes, Andy being a tough guy opted to be welcoming to the Glen Lochay midge, however they didn't seem to bother him!
George and Parminder getting well prepared
Good to go
Special guest appearance from the one and only
The way ahead
The local info at the car park - which was overflowing when we returned
Bikes would have been useful, the way ahead
Kenknock Farm
Ben Challum in the distance with a dribble of cloud on top
Hydro pipes not exactly blending in with the surroundings
Our resident teenager
Quite substantial pipes, not seen them in B&Q
Looking uphill
Downhill
One of the drawbacks if you do utilise 2 wheels is the gates, there are at least three to negotiate
Slight incline
This really was rather random - mobile bothy?
With a great view
Another of the gates, big decision who will go through first!
Plenty of the locals, but none higher up
Allt Bad Odhar with not much water in it
Now the fun begins, time to leave the luxury of the track and head uphill off piste up Sron Nan Eun
Looking back down Glen Lochay
The plan was to head up to the deer fence and somehow get over it and continue uphill
Looking west, looks very remote, you would never guess this was Perthshire
Deer fence more visible, we were heading for the dip in the hillside
Luckily for us, no climbing of deer fence was required as it looks like previous walkers had somehow forced a hole in the fence
Looking back down
The fence has taken a bit of a hammering, not by us I hasten to add
Looking east to the massive lump of Beinn Heasgarnich
Much easier going now
Glen Lochay from on high
Looking west towards Orchy and co
Andy waiting patiently for the pensioners, Creag Mhor in the background
Creag Mhor from a bit closer, still a bit of going up to tackle
George adopting his usual pose whilst admiring the view
Loch Lyon appearing for the first time
Looking across to the massive lump of Heasgarnich
Not sure why this is here or what is signifies?
Creag Mhor summit cairn
Arty shot with Loch Lyon in the background
Video from the summit of Creag Mhor
Lunch time
Descending off Creag Mhor, looking back
Charging down to all the mush at the bottom, before the slog up the other side
The mush and peat hags that are lying in wait between the two hills
Looking back up to Creag Mhor
There is no path, it is just a matter of trying to stay upright
The fun that lies ahead
Looking back to the descent off Creag Mhor, the key is to avoid the crags
One of the many pauses for breath on the ascent, not sure what Parminder is doing?
Creag Mhor
We had finally made the broad summit plateau/ridge of Beinn Heasgarnich, still a few more undulations to tackle
Western end of Loch Lyon
Summit shelter on Heasgarnich from the north
We wandered to the northern edge of the summit in the hope of seeing Loch Lyon, but the huge mass of Heasgarnich doesn't let you - unless you descend and I wasn't doing that.
Another section of Loch Lyon
Video on the summit of Heasgarnich
[url=https://flic.kr/p/2jzgEBB]
The start of the long descent off Heasgarnich
The way ahead, pick your way through that - you can why these hills are magnets for walkers
Andy racing ahead - usually in the wrong direction
Looking back up
Confession time, I was the only one who failed to stay upright. Was attempting to multi task by checking my phone to see how we were doing on our route and failed miserably. I slipped on slimy wet grass and ended up on my back, my phone got a bit of a soaking but luckily that was all. The good news is that nobody caught the incident on their phone.
The plan was to cut quite a chunk off the route by starting the descent early along the summit of Heasgarnich
Very impressive, someone had too much time on their hands to reconstruct
From the other side
Still a bit of descending to go, but at least we can see the track now
Glen Lochay on the descent
Now for the tricky bit, there are a few crags to try and avoid
Looking back up
The final photo of the day - the River Lochay
This turned out to be a much better than expected return. I am sure these hills won't feature in many of the top ten hills in Perthshire, let alone Scotland. If anyone is thinking of tackling these two, I would recommend following our route - not to the tee, as both hills have plenty of crags that can catch you out.
