Yay! So chuffed to have finally bagged some more Munros, a whole year and a bit after my last two. I’d been eyeing up the ‘Drumochter 4’ for a while, even planning to incorporate it into my Devil o’the Highlands training, but I hadn’t managed to make it work. With West Lomond on my doorstep, I default to that for elevation (although I did add in Benarty Hill a few times during my training plan!), and I couldn’t face the drive up the A9. I also didn’t want to go it alone given it was a much bigger effort that the two I did last year.
When I realised that I’d be off work on 31st August, I reached out to Julie to see if she was too, and the stars aligned that we’d both have the day off. We used to run regularly together but it is much harder in the school holidays, and we’ve both had things going on that have meant it has been harder to find the time. We were long overdue a catch up though!
I picked Julie up after school drop off, and we drove the straightforward drive to Balsporran Cottage, arriving just before 10.30am. We were on the go shortly afterwards, quickly realising that the route on Julie’s watch was the opposite way than we were doing it – that made for some interesting navigation and a few funny moments along the way!
Of course we went uphill pretty soon into the day, and I soon realised my lack of fitness was going to make this more of a struggle. I’ve just got over a head cold too, so I was even more snotty than usual. It felt hard, but we marched the ups and jogged most of the rest.
The first Munro, my 39th, was Geal-charn, was fairly straightforward and we got some views of Loch Ericht before the cloud swept in.
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| Munro 39! |
Then it was onwards – downwards then upwards – to the second Munro of the day.
The second Munro, my 40th (finally aligning my Munro count with my age again!), was A’Mharconaich and it wasn’t too challenging, but certainly made more difficult by the cloud coming down and the wind and rain picking up. We’d put on our jackets after descending Geal-charn, as it had started to get cool.
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| Munro 40 |
We retraced our steps slightly, then headed south-west. A minor mishap on my part as to where the summit was, we soon reached the third Munro, my 41st, Beinn Udlamain. A big pile of stones and some iron fence posts marked the summit. It was cloudy here but starting to lift enough that we started to get some amazing views around us. Given the cloud we’d been in earlier, this was an unexpected bonus!
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| Munro 41 |
I think I found the walk/jog between Munros 3 and 4, then the descent from Munro 4, the hardest part of the day, probably due to fatigue. I ate my sandwich and fuelled a bit more. It was boggy at times and rocky at times.
The fourth Munro, my 42nd, was Sgairneach Mhor. There was an actual trig point up here, and despite my hips protesting, I made it up for a photo.
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| Munro 42 |
We were so busy chatting that we somehow missed a turn on the descent and had to pick our way through the heather to get back on track. We weren’t massively off, and soon picked up the rough path back towards the A9. We soon crossed a bridge and saw a concerning sign, then were on a clearer path.
Under the railway, then on to the tarmac cycle path alongside the A9 for the few miles back to the car. This would be tiresome as a walker I reckon, but we were dropping under 10 minute miles and it felt very efficient (whilst looking out for a lizard…we think).
After 4 hours and 40 minutes we were back at the car. It had been a brilliant day out, lots of chat and the bonus of some incredible views too! Four Munros bagged relatively easily, and not being too knackered by the end (I am sore two days later though!).
Home by 5pm and the sense of achievement was great. Thanks Julie for a fantastic day out!
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