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This was the trip that should have happened at the beginning of May but for various reasons had to be postponed
But actually that was a Very Good Thing as it meant sister Shish and a friend who had never been north of Edinburgh could come along too
, so it was five of us who arrived after an eventful day of journeying from Yorkshire and the Borders to our campsite by the Giorra Dam on Saturday evening.
we were a bit (ok about 2 hours) later than planned due to some navigational problems on the roads and a hold up with road works, the less said about that the better, but it gave CWH, Shish and me the chance to scout out for a good campsite while waiting for the others to arrive, accompanied by the sound of the cuckoo and his echo.
CWH has been doing Duke of Edinburgh expeditioning, and she has been growing. Maybe she was worried we might make her carry all her kit, because it was she who suggested a base camp with some day expeditions, so we could sit on chairs and eat proper food!
Having come this far we were not going to be beaten by a wee travel delay and so it was that we set off up the first Munro of the year at 6.35pm with our tents quickly pitched and the stuff shoved inside out of the rain.
- tents pitched
The route really doesn't need any description from me. We followed the Walkhighlands instructions and found one path going up and a completely different one coming down. both with a wee cairn marking the spot from the track. Both wet and disappearing in places but it was a beautiful evening and we had no trouble at all working out where to go.
- looking down Glen Lyon
- The way we walk
- marsh marigolds?
It was gorgeous and cold on the top. The view over Rannoch moor was hazy into the evening sun and it looked like the lochs were floating in the sky. It was fun pointing out the other mountains we recognised. Especially the ones we planned to climb in the rest of the weekend.
- Stuchd an Lochan with Sheasgarnaich in the background I think
- Meall Ghaordie
- Shish, CWH and Rudolph on the top
- pretty pink flower
On the way down we had the setting sun behind us and a wee cloud rolled in so we nearly walked into a Brocken Spectre
- four person Brocken Spectre
As we came down there was a gentle sunset and the loch was calm and still. we got back to camp just as it was getting dusk.
- peat hags and hills behind
- looking out over Loch an Daimh
- elegant shaped loch
- sunset
After that, we could have eaten anything, but a gourmet meal of pasta with sausages and bacon and tomato sauce was definitely worth the wait at 11pm!
- waiting for tea to be ready - with real chairs to sit on!