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Having been stranded in the SE of England at Uni for the last 3 months, it was with glee that I greeted my chance to get out into the hills again. This time, however, I had two new factors to consider - an opportunity to introduce my girlfriend, Helen, to the Scottish hills and an opportunity to test out my glorious new tent. Meall Buidhe, being one of the closest unconquered Munros to home, seemed like the ideal walk for this, although it was with reluctance, perhaps, that I chose this hill - what my older brother described as "a boggy lump" - to be Helen's first experience of the Scottish summits.
We set off from the car at 4pm, having just had a few near-misses with the sheep on the road. Planning to tie in the Corbett to the East of Meall Buidhe, Cam Chreag, with the walk, we aimed for the bealach between the two hills. Here, I learnt my first lesson of the day - ALWAYS CONSULT THE UP-TO-DATE OS MAP ON WALKHIGHLANDS BEFORE PLANNING A ROUTE!! My 1987 OS map does not reveal the track to the bealach, so, unaware of it's existence, we trudged through heather and bog (probably within 200m of the path), meeting the path after about an hour! Helen attempted to console my feelings of guilt by exclaiming that "the bog is much more interesting than the path" however, after she fell in a muddy peat hag later, she went noticeably quieter about the "interesting" terrain. So it was around 6.15 that we eventually reached the Cam Chreag summit - a wee rocky outcrop on a wide ridge. This provided a perfect opportunity for Helen to sample the staple Scottish hillwalker's delicacy - what some would refer to as a black and bruised banana, but that I prefer to call a "matured" banana. After all, everyone knows that bananas improve with age, right?
Towards Meall Ghaordaidh
Highland coo
Towards Stuchd an Lochain from Cam Chreag ascent
Eating liquid banana with a spoon on Cam Chreag
E from Cam Chreag
Towards Lawers range from Cam Chreag
N from Cam Chreag
Towards Loch Rannoch
NW from Cam Chreag
Meall Ghaordaidh from Cam Chreag descent
Glen Lyon and the Lawers range
Meall Buidhe from Cam Chreag descent
After brief photo opportunities, we descended down into the shadow and the peat hags between the two hills, retracing our steps back to the bealach. From here it was a fairly short but steep ascent up onto the ridge and then to the summit. From here, we saw the first great sights of the day - incredible light formations out on Rannoch Moor and towards Glen Coe.
Having reached 8.30pm, we found a campsite SE of the Meall Buidhe summit, just off the ridge. There was a massive deer presence around, much of which I expect will be demolished in the coming stalking season. Having set up my beautiful new two-man, it was then simply a matter of settling down for some couscous and chilli and a cup of tea. (I realise couscous may be a bit of a pretentious camping food, but it was ideal as it is so quick and simple, and so delicious of course). It was a fantastic camping spot with great views. As it got darker, we could occasionally see the odd set of headlights bobbing along the A82 at the far side of the Rannoch.
The views were somewhat less impressive in the morning, however.
We got up casually - first out of the tent at 10am, ready for a stroll back down to Loch an Daimh by 11ish. I hope Helen understood, for her own sake, that this sort of clag is much more representative of Scottish hill weather than the previous night's weather is.
We took the S ridge of Meall Buidhe back down the track alongside Loch an Daimh, descending out of the cloud at around 750m. There were some good views along the Loch and across to a cloud-tipped Stuchd an Lochain, although without quite the calibre of the previous night's views.
We arrived back at the car by around 12.30 and then it was down to Killin for a pint (or a half for me, as designated driver) and some lunch. Overall, it was a fantastic trip - great views, "interesting" terrain and a relaxed pace.
Oh, and I would say that the tent passed the test!