The secret to selecting your last Munro
(assuming you want to share the event with family and friends) is to go for a
relative easy and accessible hill that won’t deter too many folks.
After sharing the Knoydart and Glen Coe peaks
with David in the past year, I’ve been fortunate enough to return to the hills again
with him to celebrate the ‘compleation’ of his first (and last, he insists) Munro
round. Sensibly, he’d chosen the 2 east
Drumochter Munros: A’Bhuidheanach Bheag and Carn na Caim. In return for choosing 2 sensible final hills,
a party of almost 20 set out from just south of Dalwhinnie and 11 of us made it
up to both summits. Wee Towser came
along again, eager to add to his Munro tally!
The track to the old marble quarry was
mercifully cooler than my last visit in late May and we soon reached the grassy
plateau – and the cloud that remained with us for the next 2 hours. Whilst we were to be denied any long distance
views for a while, closer to home the plateau was alive with ptarmigan, golden
plover and dunlin as well as quite a number of mountain hares.
These hills may be relatively modest in
height and blessed with a high start, but they can be bleedin’ difficult to
find in mist. Today was no exception and
I have to admit to a slight 10-minute meander en-route to the summit trig point
of David’s penultimate Munro: A’Bhuidheanach Bheag (936m; little yellow place). You don’t see the trig point until the last
minute in these conditions so it’s always an achievement to find it on this
featureless tableland of grass and peat!
A’Bhuidheanach Bheag - One To Go!
After a few minutes admiring the trig point’s
fine lines, we returned in a rather more direct(!) way and regained the plateau
track past the old quarry and headed north towards our 2nd peak. Here, a line of old rusting fence posts help
guide you almost the whole way to the summit - which is just as well as the
lack of a trig point (there’s only a very modest cairn) would otherwise make
this a challenging summit to find in thick cloud. Carn na Caim (941m; hill of the curve).
Finally, The Clouds Roll Back!
Today, it was a cool and breezy spot to
celebrate a last Munro but we didn’t let that spoil the fun and we toasted the
man of the moment in fine style. As if
to join in, the weather suddenly improved markedly and we descended in warm
sunshine with splendid views across the A9 towards the Ben Alder group and the
Monadhliath hills across the upper Spey valley.
That night we celebrated in fine style with a
BBQ at Forest Lodge in Glen Tilt (and what a treat it was to be able to drive
up it for a change)! A warm and sunny
evening, great company and a Hercules fly-past right over the Lodge all rounded
off a great day.
Man of the Moment!
Thanks everyone!
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