Munros and mist on a day to remember
Heavy mist and showers of rain were very much the order of the day for Our Lady of Lourdes Hikers whose recent outing took them to D a l w h i n n i e f o r s o me Munro bagging.
The high group were dropped off first at Dalnaspidal and made good time on the earlier part of their climb.
It wasn’t l ong before t hey we r e e nv e l o p e d i n mi s t s o after about five kilometres and some very careful navigation the trig point on A’ Bhuidneanach Bheag located at 936m above sea level came into view and the group knew they had achieved the first part of their aim for the day.
On leaving the summit, the group kept going north and very soon accessed a well made track which greatly assisted speed of progre s s t owards t hei r next objective, the summit of Carn na Caim.
It was on the final approach to this summit that the high group met the low group, who were descending at this juncture.
The last 500m before reaching the summit of Carn na Caim is c o mplet e l y wi t hout f e at ure or indicating marks and this, coupled with t he t hick mist, made it quite difficult to make c o nt a c t wi t h t he a c t ual t o p but the group succeeded and thus their second target was achieved.
Considering the conditions there was no time wasted in turning round and starting the descent, which i n effect was their third target - to get back down to the bus safely, which was achieved.
The low walkers, from their start point, struck out to the east on a wide but rough mountain track which climbed slightly at first but which changed to quite steep on its way to the top of the wide ridge at a height of 902m.
Long before this point was reached the group had entered the mist zone.
A sharp turn to the north was made at 902m on to another well made track heading in the direction of the summit of Carn na Caim.
Unfortunately the mist thickened towards the top and a decision was made to abandon further efforts to locate the small cairn as time was beginning to press and i t was considered prudent to start the descent.
To get within 100 metres of the summit, in the conditions as they were on the day, was considered a good eff or t f or the low walkers and they were quite happy with t heir achievement even though they had no views whatsoever and were thoroughly wet from their immersion in the mist.
The bus was reached safely and i t was t hen on s outh t o Pitlochr y and the social hour with its food, refreshments and warmth.
Perhaps not a good day from the weather point of view but a satisfying day never the less.
The club’s next outing, on July 23, will be to the Tarmachan Ridge area near Killin.
Member s c a n s i g n - u p a t tomorrow (Thursday) night’s meeting.
For more information go to www.ololhikingclub.co.uk or e-mail ololhikingclub@yahoo. co.uk or call Charles on 01355 222464.