[Trip Index] [Munro Index] [Home] 27th May 2004   Geal Charn Map The most westerly of the Monad Liath range. Another fine, blue sky day. Trisha dropped me off in the afternoon after we'd spent the morning in Fort Augustus. The weather forecast was changeable for Friday so I wanted to take advantage of the last good day of the holiday and complete my first munro section - section 9 of the SMC book. The start of the track to Geal Charn   We drove along a narrow unclassified road from Laggan as far as Garva Bridge. There's nothing at Garva Bridge, just the bridge and a few sheep, but I got out, booted up and set off at 2.35. I could see Geal Charn's rounded summit in the distance and it looked like a fair walk. The path by the stream I followed a path along the stream, arcing round from north to east in its direction. It was a couple of miles, all fairly level over meadow and grassland until the stream split at the foot of Geal Charn. From there it was just a case of heading NE up the broad, easy slopes, through heather mostly, following a path whenever one appeared. Ascending Geal Charn Higher up I saw a party of 8-9 pensioners on their way down. They called out to me, saying there was a path where they were. I trudged over and sure enough it was better there and I was able to bash on apace up the rounded hillside to the top. The summit plateau - cairn in the distance There's a moss and boulder plateau at the top and a small cairn which in a cloud you might mistake for the summit. As it was a clear day though I could see the real, very impressive cairn standing in isolated spendour a full ½ mile further to the NE. I plodded on and reached it at 4.35. It's about 7 ft tall in a regular beehive shape. The summit cairn, Geal Charn A quick bite to eat and photo and I set off back down at 4.55, returning exactly the same way I'd come up. The way back down Got back to the starting point at 6.25, just as Trisha rolled up.