Creag Ruadh (Dalwhinnie)

20 July 2014

Participants: Just me
Where: Creag Ruadh (Dalwhinnie), 658m/2,159', Graham, Map 42, NN 685882

The day of the MBA meeting was dull and misty with rain spreading in late afternoon. When I got up on the following morning, it was still dull but looked like brightening up. By the time we finished the agenda items that we had not managed to discuss the day before, it was only the back of 10 am, the cloud had lifted and the sun was showing signs of appearing. It was an easy decision- I would do another hill on the way down the road. I still have a few to do in this area but the Graham of Creag Ruadh has always seemed like a good one to do to break up a journey up or down the A9. It is the hill just to the north of  the Munro, Meall Chuaich, both seen here from the walk in along the hydro road that goes to Loch Cuaich.....

I left the car in the lay-by that is the usual parking place when doing Meall Chuaich. After about half a mile, I spotted a gate in the deer fence that surrounds the hill. So I left the road, dropped down to the burn, crossed it, and headed for the gate. And got a very pleasant surprise when I went through it- a 4WD track that headed up the hill. This is a heathery hill, clearly used for grouse shooting, so it was great to be able to follow the track and avoid the thick heather. The track went well up the hill and above it the heather was short so it was an easy ascent. This is looking back past the start to Loch Ericht and distant Ben Alder....

There was an amazingly large cairn for what I guess is a hill that doesn't receive many ascents plus a stone built shelter. As I was looking around, another walker arrived from the opposite direction having climbed up from Loch Cuaich. She was from Edinburgh and we had a good chat before descending the hill together. And, a rare occurrence for me, I got my photo taken at the cairn! The first pic has Meall Chuaich in the background and the second the Monadliath.....

It wasn't as clear and sunny as Friday but still not bad. This is looking down on Loch Cuaich with the Munro above it.....

across to Carn na Caim.....

and across the A9 to the Monadliath with Friday's hill, Cruban Beag in the foreground.....

The track wasn't very distinct, especially from above, but I somehow managed to find it again and so avoid the heather on the way down. I suppose that the walk took just over 3 hours in total, including a good stop at the top. Continuing down the A9, I came across heavy rain around Pitlochry, but it was brilliant sunshine from Perth home. I had made the most of my weekend.

Cruban Beag

18 July 2014

Participants: Just me
Where: Cruban Beag, 590m/1,935', Sub-2k Marilyn, Map 35, NN 668924

It was the summer meeting of the MBA Trustees and this year the venue was Laggan. The south of the UK was due to experience thunderstorms and torrential rain but it looked as though Scotland was going to miss that. However it was to be hot. The day before the meeting looked the best bet for a day on the hills so I set off early with the aim of climbing Cruban Beag, the highest point of a triangle of land between Dalwhinnie, Newtonmore and Laggan, This is a photo of the hill taken from Laggan on the following morning.....

The cloud was down as I drove north but as so often happens, there was a complete change when I got past Drumochter. Blue sky appeared, the sun came out and it was clearly going to be a nice day. Cruban Beag is a craggy hill but the map suggested an easy way up from it's north side. So I took the narrow unclassified road that passed Glentruim caravan site and managed to get the car off the road at a bridge over a burn at about 659935. I walked back along the road for a few yards and crossed a gate into a field. I followed a track across the field and through some trees and reached a fence which was heading up the hill in the direction that I wanted to go. So I followed it and in fact there was a rough path beside it which avoided any potential vegetation problems. The fence went most of the way up the hill and where it turned away I was only 10 minutes from the summit.

It was a pleasant walk up. Here, I am looking west up the Spey valley to Creag Meagaidh.....

but the most striking view was over the valley to Creag Dhubh west of Newtonmore. The full extent of the rock climbing area is well seen from here. Fortunately, for non-climbers like me, there is an easy way up avoiding all that!

The summit was marked by a round trig on a rocky knoll and it was another good view point......

I took a wide angle shot of the view to the west. Some well known Munros and Corbetts here- from the left it shows Ben Udlamain at Drumochter, the Fara, the Geal Charn hills, Binnein Shuas and Shios looking tiny in the middle of some of the bigger ranges, and Creag Meagaidh with the window clearly visible.....

and back on normal focus length, the Fara, Geal Charn and the Shuas and Shios twins.....

and Creag Meagaidh.....

the trig with the Monadliath and Creag Dhubh in the background.....

and the view east to the Cairngorms, with their tops still in cloud.....

It wasn't actually as hot as had been forecast, just pleasantly warm with a faint breeze that kept the flies away. So I was able to sit at the summit for a while and admire the view. Another little known sub-2k had turned up trumps!

Cruach Tairbeirt

30 June 2014

Participants: Neil and Ben
Where: Cruach Tairbeirt, 415m/1,362', Sub-2k Marilyn, Map 56, NN 312058

I have climbed Cruach Tairbeirt a number of times, it is a very fine viewpoint above Tarbert, Loch Lomond. I followed my usual route which I wrote up in February 2011 so I'll just post a few photographs this time. I crawled my way up the hill rather than walked it; I'll blame the hot and humid weather, either that or I'm really getting past it! There had been a fair bit of wind fall since my last visit but a bypass path had already formed round the obstacles, proof of the popularity of this hill.

 

Looking to Ben Reoch just after emerging from the trees.....

 

 

 

Ben Lomond and Loch Lomond from just above the tree line; it's worth climbing the hill just for this view.....

 

 

The Brack, the Cobbler and Beinn Narnain......

 

 

Looking down Loch Long.....