Well after a long winter it was time to get back to the hills.
The forecast was to be glorious on Saturday, but certainly ok for Sunday also. However Rona was working nightshift Sat night, so in an effort to allow her maximum rest time agreed with Jon to plan something for the Sunday, and hope we'd get a break with the weather.
Agreed to head to the Lawers area as there were lots of decent paths and we wanted to ease ourself into 2011, neither of us having been out on the hills since about October. Decided on a single Munro, that of Meall Nan Tarmachan - a 1044 Meter Munro with a well defined path all the way up.
To our delight the forecast had improved over the weekend and Sunday was set fair with a high chance of good visibility. Woke up 2 mins before my alarm at 0638 and Left Anniesland about 0730 to get Jon in Greenock, then after a quick Tesco stop it was up the A82 to Crainlarich then along to Killin.
The beauty of the Lawers area is that there is a tarmac car road that rises from the main road through a forest and climbs significantly before there is space to park up. This means you begin the ascent from about 600m altitude and several kilometres away from what you might term civilisation. They are also part of the Ben Lawers National Park so there are a number of well maintained paths and routes that have been developed.
We arrived just before 1000 and there were a lot of cars around, clearly many people taking advantage of the good weather. We got set up and headed off just after 10 and there were a stream of people heading up before and after us.
There is a landrover path, then a footpath breaks off to the right from there. The path climbs at a steady rate and has clearly been well built and maintained over the years. No prospect of getting wet feet or getting lost at all.
The path heads over a ridge and we hopefully thought the top of the ridge may be the peak, but after getting to the top there was a drop down then a final steep incline. The final part has been built up with a lot of stones to form a rocky staircase and really it was no problem to get to the peak, even with our limited fitness.
We got decent views, although it was a little hazy and it was very comfortable on top with the sun shining and a light breeze. We ate a hearty lunch then headed back via the same route. It was now past 1pm, but still there were a stream of people heading up - perhaps having made a late decision to come out, or even attempting their 2nd or 3rd Munro of the day.
It really is great that a public interest body exists to create these paths and make these areas more accessible. Hopefully more routes will be taken care of and a lot of the Munro's will become more accessible.
I've now done 14 Munros and while some had no path other than the natural features and a beaten track, I'm well aware that most of what I've done would be classified as 'easy'.
As time goes on, if I am committed to doing more and more Munros I will a - have to start driving a lot further and b - take on more and more challenging routes that require more navigation and a lot more shoe leather.
I'm sure there are more than a few that will be very difficult to access and will require anything from 15-25km of walking. Perhaps as the years go on, more of these routes will be built up to the less accessible peaks. Although perhaps that would make it a lot easier to 'compleat' and this would then not be quite as selective a club of those who have done it.
No doubt there will always be some that remain difficult, and I will just have to get to them when the time comes.
Pic to follow later.
