Friday was a
longish day, from early morning tea for a welcome visitor (Anne Y), to a late
night rendezvous at Cruachan campsite near Killin, via a busy day at work, a
lunchtime trip home to pack and load (Anne had stayed until 8:30 en route to a
hash bash in Exeter). Dick and Martin S arrived at my office at 4:30. Tesco's
in Carlisle for nourishment and shopping, and
finally prolonged exploration of the campsite before Julie eventually spotted
us.
Mike, Sue and Phil soon appeared from the boozer in Killin
(this campsite is 3 miles east of Killin), and a good sleep was eventually
enjoyed on this £2 a night site.
Saturday morning
was good for a lie in as Melinda and Rupert were not expected until 10 - 11 am.
I managed to contact Nick to give him a third rendezvous point (I'd thought
Blair Atholl, then central Killin, were the sites where we would meet). Bacon
and sausage butties were duly consumed and eventually the star of the day
arrived, armed with lots of goodies.
Schiehallion was the choice of mountain, on a cloudy day
with intermittent views and indeed drizzle. Suitably atmospheric, but not damp
enough to spoil the occasion. Julie lasted out in shorts, and there were no midges.
It's an easy mountain, and lots of summit photos
portrayed Melinda and her beloved Gordon, together with a well earned bottle of
champagne.
Soon Mike encountered some acquaintances who
kindly photographed all nine of us on the summit, with all our cameras. We all
hope this couple didn't suffer from camera shake! A tablecloth was laid and goodies were consumed - cake, wine,
port, champagne, numerous 'dips', and even my fudge brownies were appreciated.
We spent about an hour on the top then strolled down, and
were back at camp in time for an enjoyable game of rounders, thanks to Julie
who seemed to have a car full of sports equipment.
Nick arrived a few minutes before we were due to leave for a
celebratory meal in Killin, and so he joined us on this most pleasant occasion.
Sunday
Up a bit quicker today, but it was after 11 am when we
eventually set off from south of Tyndrum (Dalrigh) on a hot sunny day, having
left two cars at the Glen Lochy car park below Ben Lui. Melinda had gone into
temporary retirement with a visit to Blair
Castle, with parents who had never
been to Scotland.
Martin S and Rupert went up Ben Lui and Ben a Chleibh via Cononish, in an
attempt to reconstruct a previous incident in which Martin 'fell off' Ben Lui's
eastern face.
The remaining 7 of us slogged up Beinn Dubhchraig.And then Ben Oss, where we waited 30 minutes for Mike, who
wisely decided to descend back to Dalrigh, via the Ben Lui col and Cononish.
This was a beautiful day so long as not too much
time was spent lingering, as midges tended to be attracted.
On up Ben Lui and steeply down then gently up to
Beinn a Chleibh, where the low sun gave wonderful lighting and views. The descent through the woods did not 'go' and we resorted
to the main path down boggy Eas Daimh. My left ankle was twinging badly and the
right knee had had more than enough. A simple crossing of the river on stones
avoided wet feet, but in the 5 minutes the others had waited for me to arrive with my car
keys, those who had not got spaces in Phil's car we're becoming upset by midges.
It was 8:20 pm.
By 9 pm we were back at a midgeless campsite, where a
pleasant meal was enjoyed by all our little enclave. Nick and I combined
efforts to produce a most excellent 'nosh'. Melinda arrived, somewhat
unexpectedly, having had an early dinner and escaped from her parents. It was
interesting to see the dynamics of the campsite change to focus on Melinda's spot
for a while.
Monday
After another really good night's sleep (except for
Mike), we slowly packed things away. Nick and Rupert went off to climb some Crianlarich hills. Most
of the rest of us wanted to summit An Stuc. So cars were liberally distributed
at Lawers (the village) and the rest of us found ourselves at Ben Lawers Visitor
Centre.
The pleasant walk, on a more cloudy but steadily improving
day, soon brought us to Beinn Ghlas summit, where Melinda turned back as she
wanted to get back early to Hull. She has a 'pacemaker', which halves her heart
rate when it gets to 175, and she is much admired. (Strange girl - allergic to
plasters but works for an adhesive company.)
The remaining six of us strolled up to Ben Lawers.
And then to An Stuc, a newly promoted Munro
which we hadn't been up before. Dick and Julie then shot off to recover my car from the
Visitor Centre and get an early start home for Julie. The rest of us soon
caught them up, despite their 10 minute start, on a difficult section which
would make the traverse of this mountain extremely tricky in winter.
Once on the col, I ambled down to Lawers village
behind Dick and Julie. My knee was very sore but it eventually recovered. Martin, Sue and Phil took the opportunity to knock off the
remaining two Munros on the ridge. This was a very productive break for Sue and
Phil who now have 50 plus (Munros) each to their names, but are taking their time. Phil seems
to have the same attitude as I have had - to savour these mountains over many
years.
We eventually returned to the campsite. Julie was still
waiting for Nick and her passenger, Rupert, to return. They eventually left at 5
pm, and Dick and I got off an hour later after a pleasant pot of tea at the
campsite cafe, and cheerio to Martin, Sue and Phil, who had successfully
achieved their objective.
Dropped Dick (thanks to him for sharing the driving) at his
dad's in Kendal. Home by 11 pm. Martin returned next day with Sue and Phil.
A most enjoyable weekend in excellent company. Thanks to Sue
for the introduction. (We all missed you, Sue.)
Historical Note:This is a verbatim diary transcript of one of my first encounters with Sue's RAMSOC (Nottingham University Walking Club) friends, and my first 'Final Munro' party. I hope everyone enjoys the reminiscence - I think we have email addresses for all but Mike. Nick of course is one of my old Uni friends (happy birthday Nick) who is now based in Germany.
Melinda thus became 'Munro compleater' number 1831.
My right knee was still recovering from its ACL reconstruction in 1996, and both knees were recovering from arthroscopies to sort out damaged cartilege in May. Hence I was slow and careful!
