Take A Hike
A personal triumph for a young lad – his first Munro!
ONE of the first things I thought of when my children were born was how exciting it would be to show them the joy of walking up mountains – especially the Munros, Scotland’s mountains above 914 metres (3000 ft).
I knew it wasn’t something I could rush, though. My daughter was at primary school before I tested her on some Trossachs hills, then up the Cairnwell Munros at Glenshee.
Then it was my son Eric’s turn. He reached the ripe old age of nine before realising he had not been above 3000 feet, and was lagging behind his big sister.
Geal-charn above Drumochter was chosen – a Munro that’s relatively easy to scale, but with superb views across the Highlands including Ben Alder above Loch Ericht.
A little gulp came from Eric as I pointed out our objective – to him it was impossibly high. A quick slice of flapjack settled his nerves, and we set off.
The crossing over the Inverness to Perth railway line caused another dent in confidence but having a fear of going on the tracks is no bad thing for a youngster.
A bulldozed track then led us up to the broad northern flank of the mountain. Practising how to avoid slipping on the loose stones delayed us a few minutes and nearly caused a minor landslip. It also tired out little legs and created the need for an early lunch.
One thing about walking with children is that you cannot rush them. Forcing the pace can wear them out and mean an early return. So, after lunch we set off at a steady, relaxed pace – counting our steps and having a breather after every 100.
Eric’s boots seemed to have a magnet in them that pulled him to the squelchy bog to the side of the path, tiring him further until he “just wanted to roll back down to the bottom”.
More flapjack helped push us on to what looked like the top – in fact it was an outlier with some fancy cairns. At this point it would have been understandable if Eric really had wanted to pack it all in.
But no, his inner mountaineer took over and off he strode towards the real top. I took a few photos of A’ Mharconaich and then pushed on to catch up with Eric before he reached the stone shelter. When I joined him, I was greeted with elation on his first bagged Munro.
Then another difference between children and adult hikers emerged. Although pleased to make it to the top, the fact that the A9 and railway line were out of sight led him to observe that, “you can’t see anything other than rocks and a few hills”. More impressive to him was the sight of a mountain hare.
With all his fears well and truly conquered, we began the long walk back from the bealach below A’ Mharconaich. What some would call a trudge was a walk of pride for Eric.
“You know that word in the Lion King which means having no cares at all – that’s how I feel now,” he said.
Something a bit more strenuous: From the bealach below Geal-charn, go up A’ Mharconaich to bag two Munros in a day and enjoy descending a fine ridge with close-up views of a lovely little corrie.
Very strenuous: Head south on the A9 towards Blair Atholl and take on the three Munros of the Beinn a’Ghlo group. The route is tough but you stay high for a long time, making it a superb walk.