Glas Tulaichean & friends

[PeteR]

This weekends excursion was planned for Glas Tulaichean and at least one of his palls - Carn an Righ. With the weather forecast this had the makings of a good day out and if the strength was there I was also hoping to go off piste a little and sneak in Beinn Iutharn Mhor as well

As preparation for my day I had spent Saturday on the paddle steamer Waverley cruising up the Clyde to Dunoon, which apparently required me to drink copious amounts of alcohol Well, not wanting to appear rude.....I did as instructed and joined in

So, it was a bit of a sore head and leaden legged me that was woken up by his alarm at 4.30 on Sunday morning The temptation was to turn over and forget about the walking, but the opportunity to get out in the fresh air was too much and so it was I was heading on my way at 5.30, via a supermarket, for Glen Shee for the day.

Parked just away from the entrance to Dalmunzie hotel and set off walking at about 8.45. Already the signs were, it was going to be a scorcher

Met a little pal on the way out for an early sunbathe.

The first of many amphibians on the day

The walk to the hotel was a good warm up. It was lovely and peaceful. The perfect start to the day and I was soon at the hotel.

Heading toward the hotel

It was a good walk up into Glen Lochsie, up to the ruined lodge and onto Breac-reidh. At the first ford I made my way up onto the the line of the dis-used railway. Rather than zig-zag up as suggested, I just went straight up the side of the hill. Not a great deal of effort, but enough to make me realise just how stifling it was. No air at all, which was pretty much how it stayed for the rest of the day. And me all dehidrated from drinking the day before

Up Glen Lochsie from dis-used railway line

Met a chap ahead of me while walking along the dis-used railway and eventually, after a bit of leap frog along the path, we walked together to the summit of Glas Tulaichean and on to Carn an Righ. Turns out he was a user of WH too, but unfortunately we didn't exchange names. Did the usual hill walking thing of talking hills all the way If you are that man, it was a pleasure to have your company on this route. Hope the wife wasn't too cross that you sneaked in Carn an Righ to your day.

Eventually arrived at the ruin of Glenlochsie lodge. Ok, it's a ruin, but what a fantastic setting

Ruined lodge

The burn coming down at this point was something else too

Allt clais bheag

After the joy of the dis-used railway line it was back to the landrover track It was a bit of a shocker to start with. Fairly steep and just not much fun really Nice views opening up behind

Back down glen lochsie

But look at the route up Even the beers the day before couldn't make this look appealing

The road ahead

Height was soon gained though, before a more gentle stroll to almost the summit

Another look back

Toward the GT summit

Got a nice view open up of the Beinn a'Glo group too

Beinn a'Glo

And then we were on the first summit of the day. Views from the summit were a bit limited I though, given it was a big, dome of a summit.

GT summit with Beinn a'Glo behind

Coming down off the summit gave a good view of the next target of the day - Carn an Righ

Toward Carn an Righ

We dropped down off the side of the hill and took a bit of a shortcut up to the obvious path which you can see cut into the land. Don't think the frogs we disturbed were too happy. Man, there were hunners

Path

Reaching the saddle between Carn an Righ and Mam nan Carn and the good,if eroded, path up CaR continued. Could also see the possible path contouring round Mam nan Carn to Beinn Iutharn Mhor should I still have the energy.

Possible route to Beinn Iutharn Mhor

Things weren't looking too good though. By now the effects of the alcohol the day before was kicking in I was flagging quite bad and arriving at the summit was something of a relief

Carn an Righ summit with Beinn a'Glo behind

Unlike GT the views from CaR were much more extensive. Had a good view of Beinn a Glo as well as toward the Lairig Ghru

Beinn a'Glo from CaR

Toward the Lairig Ghru from CaR

It was time for a bit of a rest on this summit, gather my strength and see if I had it in me to attempt Beinn Iutharn Mhor

To the summit of CaR had been about 4 hours from the start, so despite the slightly sore knees and feeling a bit groggy from the day before I knew I wanted to add a third hill for day. So off to Iutharn Mhor I went. A nice easy trip down CaR to the saddle with Mam na Carn. All was well so far. Then a short climb up the path on Cam nan Carn to contour left around the hill and on to the saddle with Iutharn Mhor. Immediately my knees suggested this trip as foolish, but it actually wasn't long till I was on the level path and contouring round easily.

Path to Iutharn Mhor

Sadly, the path eventually petered out and it was a case of making my own way onto the saddle. This turned out to be a bit painful for my feet and I soon had sore soles to add to the sore knees

Once on the saddle with the munro the final push onto the summit is actually quite easy. As I arrived I met a couple of women who asked me perhaps the strangest question I have ever had on a hill before (and apologies if either lady is reading this). It went something like "I know this is a stupid question, but what hill are we on?" Apparently we were on the wrong one

After they left to make there way back down Glen Ey I had the summit to myself and spent a good while just sitting there taking in the piece and quite. Miles from anywhere? Miles from everywhere

Beinn Iutharn Mhor and Beinn a'Glo behind

Toward the Lairig Ghru

An Socach

An Socach.......! Now there's a thought ......!







The thought never entered my head

I was pleased enough hitting Beinn Iutharn Mhor on this trip. Although I'd been drinking plenty I was definitely dehydrated and had a long walk back to the car to look foward to

Coming down off the hill was easy, with the plan being to contour round between Cam nan Carn and Beinn Iutharn Bheag. All easy stuff, even though my legs were really feeling by now. Spooked some deer in the process.

Deer

Catching sight on Loch nan Eun took my breath away. What a stunning little loch set up in its remote high position. Absolutely fantastic

Loch nan Eun

I would have stayed here longer, but my trip back beckoned me The initial path down Gleann Taitneach is a propoer hill path. A bit steep and eroded in paces, but what a hill path should be. Ordinarily I would have loved it, but it killed my knees By now they were very cross with me and so it was slow progress initially to get me down on to more level ground. There were nice falls where the water made its way down the gleann.

Water in Gleann Taitneach

Eventually I made it onto the landrover track, but it was still a way to go yet. In the end it became a case of head down and just get it done. When I heard the motor bike in the distance I was thinking it was almost done, and as I made my way over a slight rise I spied the bridge at Glenshee ....... it was miles away Well it seemed it to me.

Just time for one last adventure.

Close to the end of the track I spied a field of cows - all congregating around the landrover track I was walking along. Now, I don't get spooked by cows. Big lumbering creatures that just stare at me. Bulls though. I don't like bulls As I approach I was looking around and it all looked safe. So I headed along the track and through the herd of cows. So far so good. Then one got spooked, which set off a chan reaction. And there he was He'd been sleeping next to his playmate.

Hugh Heffner.

And I had woken him up Suddenly my knees weren't so bad Suddenly my feet not so sore Suddenly I was shifting And very quickly I was over the gate at the other end of the track And then I was back at the roadside.

Final view back

By the time I was back at the car I knew I had been on a walk. It had been a good day all round. Plenty of sunshine. great views and some good company along the way. I was chuffed to have made the three hills on this walk too, so it was a happy man creaking into his car for the (long) journey home

[mountain-ju-drop]

Great report and fab photos - these hills are on my hit list and had been wondering about getting the 3rd one in too, seems such a long way to walk in from the north, so very interested to see your pics. Weather looks gorgeous altho maybe not the best after a few too many.

Cows would have spooked me let alone a bull - no wonder you found another gear to get you outta there!

[Gable Gable End]

Great report! I love these hills; i ended up bolting on An Socach which was a truly dreadful idea

Great hills and Gleann Teatnitch is a cracker on a nice day

[PeteR]

Great report and fab photos - these hills are on my hit list and had been wondering about getting the 3rd one in too, seems such a long way to walk in from the north, so very interested to see your pics. Weather looks gorgeous altho maybe not the best after a few too many.

Cows would have spooked me let alone a bull - no wonder you found another gear to get you outta there!

Cheers Mountain-ju-drop. Adding in the third hill on this route makes it a long day, but certainly worth it. I think the weather just made it that much better - especially after what we've had to put up with recently

Great report! I love these hills; i ended up bolting on An Socach which was a truly dreadful idea

Great hills and Gleann Teatnitch is a cracker on a nice day

On another day An Socach might have been on the cards for me too GGE, but from the BIM summit it looked just a little too far away And you're right about Gleann Taitneach - it's a cracker. I really love these glens, but I think it was Stretch who mentioned in his report how long this particular one went on for. He wasn't wrong there

[davetherave]

PeteR,

Once again a good report. Well done on getting the 3 in the bag. . 2 of the 3 you did was enough for us when we did this route.

[Stretch]

Huge day Pete, but you had some fantastic views to keep you going. I did two of these back in the spring and it felt truly remote!

[monty]

Great walk Peter. Done these three but went in and out Glen Taintneach in fantastic sunshine. Its a long walk but I cycled in and out of the glen. Would have been a nightmare walking out Also revisited from glen ey in the snow. Nice set of hills and the loch is fantastic.

[gammy leg walker]

Great report Peter * timely also,got these tow on my radar soon & good to see whats in front of me looks a loooooong way

[kevsbald]

That's a great effort, Pete - especially after the imbibing of the day before.

[rockhopper]

well done Pete - great to get good weather on these hills with the views Loved Loch nan Eun when I was up there and a nice sheltered spot to camp

[Lightfoot2017]

Great report Pete, full of useful practical advice.

I printed this out when I did my own solo traipse of these three hills on the first day of June 2013. It was a great help to me. The long walk back from the loch is a killer, on such a warm day. I don't think my feet will forgve me for months!

A word of warning though: £4.20 for a pint of SHANDY at the Dalmunzie afterwards!!?? Outrageous!!!!!

[jhibbs]

Thanks very much for this, Pete.

I wanted to get Beinn lutharn Mhor into my GT and CaR trip, and this helped me very much indeed! I was staying at The Cambs, just east of the Spital of Glenshee and did this walk in 8:20, 20.8 miles door to door. I was however NOT prepared for that long trek back from the Loch! Very steep in places beside the waterfalls. I stuck to the north of Shee Water as it came out at the A93 and I was looking for any reason at all to shorten my route home.

Thanks once again for your useful walk report and gpx file too!