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Beinn Mhanach from Achaladair farm

Beinn Mhanach from Achaladair farm


Postby gman » Sun Mar 11, 2012 2:13 pm

Route description: Beinn Mhanach

Munros included on this walk: Beinn Mhanach

Date walked: 09/03/2012

Time taken: 6.5 hours

Distance: 16.5 km

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Forecast was heavy rain & wind clearing into the afternoon, thought river crossings on Auch Glen would be dodgy so left from Achaladair farm. Made up a rough route the night before:

mhanach.gpx Open full screen  NB: Walkhighlands is not responsible for the accuracy of gpx files in users posts


Path from the farm up to the bealach was boggy and meant crossing a few streams. Had been here in autumn but rain & thawing snow was now gushing off the hills so had to detour to find reasonably safe places to cross. Also discovered that standing in a torrent looking for a submerged stepping stone will push gaiters past their tolerance leading to squelchy boots.

Finally made it to the top: there's a small cairn that marks the path up Achaladair then a larger cairn just behind it at the start of a faint stalker's path that traverses Achaladair towards Mhanach. Couple of streams to cross here too, one was snow covered:
beinn mhanach 9-3-2012 001.jpg

Visibility was poor so kept following compass & looked out for a raised part of the valley below, was boggy here too & a few pools to avoid:
beinn mhanach 9-3-2012 002.jpg

Got down to this point & took another bearing, I went straight to the bealach between Beinn a'Chuirn & Mhanach but heading slightly left to go around the ridge of Chuirn would avoid unnecessary ascent/descent. There's a ruined wire fence that's easy to cross but look out for coils of rusted wire on the ground. More fence between a'Chuirn & Mhanach with wooden gateposts to head through. After this it's an easy walk up to the cairn:
beinn mhanach 9-3-2012 003.jpg

Rain was easing now so got the camera out on the return, here's the fence between a'Chuirn & Mhanach - wooden frames slightly right of centre:
beinn mhanach 9-3-2012 005.jpg

Path up Mhanach:
beinn mhanach 9-3-2012 006.jpg

Between a'Chuirn & Achaladair:
beinn mhanach 9-3-2012 007.jpg

Looking towards Auch from the side of Achaladair:
beinn mhanach 9-3-2012 014.jpg

I didn't follow the stalker path on the return, this was probably a mistake as the ground was a bit rougher & I forgot to go uphill, so had a steepish final ascent to the bealach. Started to get a few views on the way back to the farm:
beinn mhanach 9-3-2012 019.jpg

There were also dozens of deer out on on the hills, glad I could provide interest as I squelched past. :D
Last edited by gman on Mon Mar 12, 2012 4:27 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Beinn Mhanach from Achaladair farm

Postby mrssanta » Sun Mar 11, 2012 9:11 pm

looks like a lot of surface water right enough! It's nice to see a different route for this hill, seems like a lot of people have been up there lately
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Re: Beinn Mhanach from Achaladair farm

Postby Johnny Corbett » Mon Mar 12, 2012 11:50 am

mrssanta wrote:looks like a lot of surface water right enough! It's nice to see a different route for this hill, seems like a lot of people have been up there lately


Yes i agree it looks an interesting route and saves on the long walk along the track :)
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Re: Beinn Mhanach from Achaladair farm

Postby ChrisW » Mon Mar 12, 2012 4:36 pm

Great effort Gman, shame about the bog-fest and the gaiter 'test' ....but at least you provided some entertainment for the deer :lol:
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Re: Beinn Mhanach from Achaladair farm

Postby jonny616 » Wed Mar 14, 2012 12:31 am

Nice route there gman. The weather was pish on sunday
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