A' Bhuidheanach Bheag and Carn Na Caim, 26th May 2017
I was finally on holiday, and it was shaping up to be the hottest day of the year, so I decided it was time to get back out on those hills! I had a few options, but time wasn't really on my side and as I may have mentioned, there's a fair old trek to get to any hills I've not done yet. I decided to go for the two Munros on the east side of the Drumochter Pass, and that would leave me with only one Munro left in that section.
I was up just after 6am and filled with coffee and breakfast and on the road by 7am. Made great time and it was starting to heat up, the car was saying 22 degrees by the time I got to Perth, so I knew I'd need my sun tan lotion.
I arrived at the layby at 9:20am, far quicker than I had anticipated, and was suncreamed up and ready to get moving by 9:30am. I crossed the A9 on foot and headed for the gate that takes you through the forest.
The path was easy going, a bulldozed track for most of the way and although it was warm, there was a nice breeze blowing from the South which cooled me off. I saw plenty of grouse, mountain hares and the odd sheep.
I climbed up the easy path, no bother at all, and made it to the bealach that's the high point between the two Munros. By this point, I'd only met a runner on his way down.
You can see from the pictures how flat it is up there.
From the bealach, it was a short walk dropping less than 100m to reascend a few more to reach the summit of A' Bhuidheanach Bheag, which might have been a challenge to find in mist.
I made the summit at 11:40am, just over 2 hours from the start of the walk. It was still breezy so that kept me cool, but I was aware of the sun starting to burn the back of my legs, so it was a quick skoosh of the sun tan lotion, then back on my way.
I stopped for a short lunchbreak in a little valley out of the wind so I was able to make the most of the sun without the breeze.
Before long I was on my way again, navigating easily enough over the humps to the tiny lochan 1km away from the summit of Carn Na Caim. I met a couple of other walkers, and there were a few small birds that might have been snipe enjoying the water and the sunshine. The haze over to Ben Alder was starting to fade as well, and it was shaping up to be glorious:
I made the summit of Carn Na Caim at 1:15pm
I had two options, either go back along the bulldozed track and risk meeting people and boredom, or head down the Coire Uilleim, out of the wind, so I plumped for the latter. It was steep, but keeping away from the burn and following the sheep tracks helped.
I made it down to the river and stopped for a few minutes to dip my head in the stream, and reapply the suntan lotion.
Then it was a straight walk over the heathery moor to the path that I had started on. I scared a load of grouse and sheep on the way down, but the solitude was rather pleasant. I was back at the car at 2:40pm.
Distance: 18km (ish)
Duration: 5h 10m
Ascent: not a lot
Munro Count: 132
I was up just after 6am and filled with coffee and breakfast and on the road by 7am. Made great time and it was starting to heat up, the car was saying 22 degrees by the time I got to Perth, so I knew I'd need my sun tan lotion.
I arrived at the layby at 9:20am, far quicker than I had anticipated, and was suncreamed up and ready to get moving by 9:30am. I crossed the A9 on foot and headed for the gate that takes you through the forest.
The path was easy going, a bulldozed track for most of the way and although it was warm, there was a nice breeze blowing from the South which cooled me off. I saw plenty of grouse, mountain hares and the odd sheep.
 |
| Low flyer |
 |
| Bealach marker |
From the bealach, it was a short walk dropping less than 100m to reascend a few more to reach the summit of A' Bhuidheanach Bheag, which might have been a challenge to find in mist.
 |
| A' Bhuidheanach Bheag on the horizon. |
 |
| Summit of A'Bhuidheanach Bheag |
 |
| Summit Selfie |
I stopped for a short lunchbreak in a little valley out of the wind so I was able to make the most of the sun without the breeze.
Before long I was on my way again, navigating easily enough over the humps to the tiny lochan 1km away from the summit of Carn Na Caim. I met a couple of other walkers, and there were a few small birds that might have been snipe enjoying the water and the sunshine. The haze over to Ben Alder was starting to fade as well, and it was shaping up to be glorious:
 |
| View to Ben Alder |
I made the summit of Carn Na Caim at 1:15pm
 |
| Carn Na Caim |
I made it down to the river and stopped for a few minutes to dip my head in the stream, and reapply the suntan lotion.
Then it was a straight walk over the heathery moor to the path that I had started on. I scared a load of grouse and sheep on the way down, but the solitude was rather pleasant. I was back at the car at 2:40pm.
Distance: 18km (ish)
Duration: 5h 10m
Ascent: not a lot
Munro Count: 132
Comments