I woke up on Monday morning, remembering it was the Bank Holiday Monday, so a day for the hills! The day before we scampered happily over Amulree Grahams, but we agreed we should get some Munros done as well. So far this year, we were too distracted from our main target of M Compleation by obscure Corbetts and God forsaken Grahams, not to mention Subs in a** end of the world. As a result, we had only climbed 3 new Munros in the first 4 months of 2018, a dismal number to be honest. On the other hand, weather was not exactly up to scratch, especially in February and March (the Eastern Beast etc.) but some may say this was just a good excuse. Maybe so, but we didn't really care. We enjoyed climbing lower hills and didn't exactly suffer from lack of routes to explore in northern Scotland

With days getting longer and weather more friendly, we are now back into Munro business, and looking for maybe less popular routes up some hills. I have a plan written down for Cairn Dearg and Geal Charn that does not involve Culra, also an alternative route for Beinn nan Aighenan, but there is one round I had in mind last year and somehow didn't get around to doing it. It concerns two Munros on the edge of Rannoch Mor, Carn Dearg and Sgor Gaibhre. Whereas they can be climbed easily from Corrour, we didn't fancy the train journey, so the approach from the south was our choice. It's a long drive for us, once again, but we're getting used to 2-3hrs each way in the car. Not sure the car appreciates it, she's beginning to throw little tantrums now and then But the decision was taken to climb Carn Dearg and Sgor Gaibhre from Loch Rannoch side and no car tantrum was going to stop us

The advantage of the southern approach is that you can get a bonus Corbett (Beinn Pharlagain) for only 200m of extra ascent!

When we left Beauly, I was in excellent mood, singing all the way down the A9...
Free is all you gotta be
Dream dreams no one else can see
Sometimes ya wanna run away
But ya never know what might be comin' round your way...

What was coming round our way? The Rannoch Round!
We decided to start up the southern ridge of Carn Dearg first, then traverse to Sgor Gaibhre and conditions permitted, add Beinn Pharlagain to the circuit as well. Which we did:

When we reached Loch Rannoch, cloud was lying very low on mountain tops, but forecast was good so we hoped it would brighten later in the day. There is ample space to park at the start of the track from Loch Eigheach.
The parking area:

Walk on track begins here:

Rannoch Station and the viaduct, grey cloud still hangin' around...

The track is excellent, it can be cycled. A new bridge has been fitted to cross Allt Eigheach (to allow vehicular access to hydro works I guess) so no problematic river crossings. The ridge we planned to climb first starts just past a small plantation:

The track into the glen goes much higher than marked on the map, but we left it at its highest point to aim for Sron Leachd a'Chaorainn:

The ground is wet at first but very quickly it becomes dry and grassy, very easy ascent. It would be even more enjoyable if we had any views to savour, but at the moment, weather was still sulky and I was beginning to worry we'd end up doing a "triple cairn in the mist" round
The southern shoulder of Carn Dearg is very long and has multiple false tops, with several small lochans dotting the ridge:

On the ridge itself, we spied a grassy path and followed it over the neverending lumps and bumps... The clag was starting to lift and my hopes were growing. Maybe we would not spend a day in the mist after all!
This is NOT the summit, just another top!

Leum Uilleim and Blackwater Reservoir - is it going to clear?...

Eventually, after a long trudge over lumpy ridge, we saw the summit. And the clag was thinning!

I was so eager to reach the top that I didn't even wait for Kevin!

Summit cairn at last in Black Panther's sight!

Finally! Munro no. 221 (64 for Wee Lucy):

We sat on the summit and waited patiently, sipping tea and munching cookies. After maybe 10 minutes, the clag lifted completely and we were gifted with grand views of surrounding hills, slowly emerging from cloud...
On a day like today
The whole world could change
The sun's gonna shine
Shine thru the rain
On a day like today
Ya never wanna see the sun go down

Sgor Gaibhre, our next target:

Having filled her stomach with tea and sugar and her lungs with fresh mountain air, Black Panther was meowing impatiently for Kevin to come along and traverse to the second Munro!

The initial descent is steep-ish but a path can be followed, no problems. Lower down on Mam Ban col, there are some peat hags to negotiate but nothing drastic. Generally, very easy going. We met another walker heading the other way, he was doing the hills from Corrour side. We also saw a pair of walkers following our route up Carn Dearg, but they never caught up with us.
Carn Dearg from Mam Ban:

By the time we reached the col, the clag was completely gone from the ridge we were on, and from surrounding hills, too. Beinn Pharlagain looked like a nice addition to the traverse:

View north-west from the col:

220m of re-ascent from the col to the summit of Sgor Gaibhre looks as comfortable as it possibly could:

We were on the summit at half past one, half an hour ahead of schedule. Munro no. 222 for me, 65 for Lucy...

...and no. 226 for Kevin:

Lucy and Carn Dearg in the background:

Gazing in the distance, towards Loch Ossian and Beinn na Lap:

Sgor Choinnich and Lochan a'Bhealaich:

Now, with all the hard work done, we agreed we could easily add Beinn Pharlagain to our route. Indeed, it would be a sin not to climb it now. Weather was constantly improving and I heard that Adams song playing in my head again...
Somewhere there's a place for you
I know that you believe it too...
This is where we're going:

The easy southern ridge of Sgor Gaibhre leads to Bealach Leathann (675m). From there, it's less than 200 m of ascent to the summit of bonus Corbett
Sgor Gaibhre from the bealach:

Beinn Pharlagain and the S ridge of Carn Dearg:

Ben Alder was the last mountain to shake off the cloud. Still on our to-do list which is shrinking now...

The re-ascent to Bein Pharlagain is wet in places and we encountered some boggy stretches:

...but the hard work was rewarded with a nice sighting: a local bird

By the time we reached the final top of the day, it was a sunny afternoon, 50 shades of grey long forgotten On a day like today, who would refuse striking a happy pose on one's 139th Corbett (67th in case of the wee fluffy lamb):

It was hard to believe that conditions can change so quickly from total mist & murk to basking in sunshine. I think mr Adams was right...
On a day like today the whole world could change
The sun's gonna shine shine thru the rain
On a day like today no one complains
Free to be pure free to be sane
On a day like today
Ya never wanna see the sun go down
Panoramas from Beinn Pharlagain:





Loch Rannoch and Lawers Ridge:

Rannoch Mor and Glen Orchy Munros:

Glencoe peaks on the horizon:

View back to Sgor Gaibhre (left) and Ben Alder:

After a well deserved break and a final sip of tea, we descended the wet SW slopes into the glen. As we walked, we spotted several water voles but they were too fast to give us a chance for a good photo. Having reached Allt Eigheach, we found it easy to cross:

On the other side of the river, we located a wet ATV track which took us to the small dam. From here, much better track can be followed back to join the ascent route on the lower slopes of Sron Leachd a'Chaorainn. By now it was a lovely afternoon, full-on summer conditions!

Looking back to Beinn Pharlagainn from the access track:

As we walked back to the car, we discussed our options for the following weekend and we agreed that, weather permitted, we would tackle some Munros in Glen Orchy area.
Our next target:

Panther unleashed:

To sum up, an excellent round. Easy walking, grassy slopes, long ridges, superb views on a sunny day. Definitely worth saving for a clag-free day. It's always great to spend some time exploring paths less traveled, because...
... because as mr Adams sings...
Free is all we gotta be
Dream dreams no one else can see
But ya never know what might be comin' for you and me
Ya it's gonna be...Beinn Achaladair and Beinn a'Chreachain TR to follow soon.