[Trip Index] [Munro Index] [Home] 12th April 2004   Creag Mhor Map Refreshed by our hearty meal of the night before we broke our fast with a bit of cereal in the bunkhouse and set off to do Creag Mhor and Beinn Heasgarnich from Glen Lochay. We parked at the end of the road near Kenknock (10.55) then walked along the cart-track by the river for 3 miles with the impressive mass of Ben Challum rising up directly ahead of us, until the bend in the river indicated that we should be by Sron nan Eun, a spur by which we intended to make the ascent. Ben Challum Actually it was difficult working out which spur to go up and we couldn't see any sign of a path. The track we were on wasn't on the map - according to that it should have stopped at Batavaime (a farm) but in reality we'd passed there and the track was still continuing ahead of us. I think now that what we should have done was go behind the buildings at Batavaime but in the end we picked a hill (fortunately the right one) and set off directly up it. Up the steep grassy hillside The way up was grassy and in places very steep, with some crags further up but we got past all this and eventually reached the top of the outlying ridge (2.00) at which point we collapsed, gasping and panting, to recover. In the meantime the two girls in red anoraks who'd been following us, crazed by lust or possibly because they too were unsure of the route, overtook us on the other side of a hillock. Spot the red anoraks After that the ascent was easier along the top of the ridge (where we met up with a path) until the final, steeper, rise to the summit (3.00). A man and a woman turned up shortly after us to take our photo. The girls had carried on though, and were nowhere to be seen - fine strapping thighs they must have had, to be sure. Creag Mhor Myself and Andrew at the summit It had been a hard slog, what with the initial walk then the steep haul up the mountainside and when cloud began to close in and obscure our next target, Beinn Heasgarnich, Andrew wasn't very keen on doing it. From the top of Creag Mhor it did look to be an awfully long way down and up again so I didn't argue and we decided to just return pretty much the way we'd come. Andrew descending from Creag Mhor For the way back we followed the path, which we'd found on top of the ridge on the outward trip. It didn't last though - from being really distinct and well-trodden it just vanished as these things so often do. We kept on, heading slightly south of east, descending very steep grassy slopes and having to backtrack at times when confronted with a sudden craggy drop. Eventually we reached the higher of the two cart-tracks along the northern side of the glen and followed it all the way back to the car (6.10). The two girls turned up 10 minutes later but we never saw the man and the woman again. (Cloud Monster). The way back along Glen Lochay It had been OK weatherwise with no rain and the tops clear, at least to start with - just a bit of cloud while we were at the summit. We drove back to the main road north of Killin and had a meal at the Bridge of Lochay hotel - some kind of egg noodle vegetable stir fry for just under £6. A feast compared to the previous day's offering. Then it was back to the Bridge of Orchy (we'd booked 2 nights) for the usual wild, drunken carousing. The next day was raining and cloudy - we drove along and parked for a while, gazing yearningly at the mist-wreathed mass of Meall nan Tarmachan in the Ben Lawers group, hoping things might clear up. I did even get as far as booting up but it's dispiriting setting off in the rain, knowing that all you'll see for your efforts will be the inside of a cloud. So in the end we jacked it in. Drove down towards Callendar but stopped before that in the village of Strathyre. Not much more than a row of houses along the road but boasting 3 pubs. Stayed at a B&B (£17) and drove back the next day. Stayed at Glynis's that night and came home on the Thursday.