by Walking George » Sat May 29, 2021 10:53 pm
Fionas included on this walk: Meall Garbh
Date walked: 29/05/2021
Time taken: 5.5 hours
Distance: 14.9 km
Ascent: 850m
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Weather description: Partially cloudy skies, 5-10mph wind, temps ranging from ~9-12 degrees Celcius depending on altitude.
Began the hike around 10:30am, finished around 4pm.
Stage 1: Followed signs for "Meall Nan Tarmachan" left (generally West/Southwest) out of the parking lot. Walked on a narrow foot trail for about 1/4-1/2 mile until we encountered what appeared be a narrow vehicle track/road. We proceeded straight across this road and continued along the foot trail leading up the slopes toward the peak. There were blue/green metal signs posted along the foot trail. The weather was warm enough to walk comfortable in shorts and t-shirts along this section.
Stage 2: Just a slow and steady climb to the first summit. Took about 90 min, including breaks for water/adjust layers. Great conditions at the peak. Sky was partially cloudy, wind was mild, and the trail was dry (A few small patches of snow were still visible, but nearly all of it had melted). Most members of the group wore shorts, windbreakers, and light gloves at this elevation.
Stage 3-5: We chose to continue along the ridge toward Meall Garbh. Very simple and easy-to-follow section of the trail, as the weather was nice. Group still wore shorts and windbreakers. Warning: this section of the trail flies by very quickly, but slow down as you approach the decent between Meall Garbh and Beinn an Eachan because it is easy to miss the "bypass" of the steep and rocky scramble.
Stage 6: Our group missed the bypass and went down the rocky descent, which required very careful sliding/climbing to navigate. Would not recommend this option. Take the bypass if you are able to spot it!
Stage 7-8: These sections of the trail were like the Walk Description states. The trail was faintly visible for most of the remaining climb and the start of the decent, until the terrain flattened out and became very boggy. Our group lost the trail for about 100 meters, but quickly spotted the quarry road/track that the description mentions. We just followed this road for about 3 miles back to the car park. We shed our windbreakers and resumed walking in shorts and t-shirts at some point along the decent.
