ron-t climbing
19 September 2016 ............ Meall a' Choire Chreagaich
Another good day weatherwise, so I headed up to Amulree, then cycled away up Glen Quaich.
For the first couple of kilometres you aren`t really in Glen Quaich, but the high spot in the road gives a good view away up the glen over the top of Loch Freuchie.
It isn`t a flat road by any means, but easy enough to cycle up, and eventually you get to decision time. Go on, or go back.
The glen itself heads off to the left, and there is a private road that heads away in to several houses somewhere in there. The public road heads over a humpback bridge.
As soon as you are over the bridge it starts to climb uphill.
And it doesn`t stop - for a long way. Just climb, climb, climb.
So just like a couple of days ago, it was back to pushing.
Some two kilometres and one very fine hairpin bend later it stops climbing. Phew !
Another kilometre or so of lesser gradients, and I got to the highest point in the road - the OS map shows a spot height of 522 metres, but I don`t think where they have put it is actually the highest point, I think it is further along.
Anyway, I didn`t fancy starting away downhill to Kenmore, I would just have had to climb back up again, so I headed up a track that goes off to the left at where I think is the highest point.
My OS map shows the track as going in for about a kilometre, then coming to an end - however it doesn`t stop there - in fact it divides, and the two branches then head off across the hills for literally miles, and I think eventually join up with other tracks that my OS map shows much further over to the west.
I didn`t fancy any more track cycling, so I abandoned my bike, and climbed up to the summit of Meall a' Choire Chreagaich.
I was hoping to get a bit of a view from there - and I certainly did. At 665 metres it isn`t that high, but there isn`t anything higher between Meall a' Choire Chreagaich and Loch Tay, so you get a great view across Loch Tay to the various mountains that are over there.
Up to the north, and you get a good view across to the two corbetts Meall Tairneachan and Farragon Hill.
A bit nearer, and a good view of Schiehallion -
Away round to the west, and Ben More and Stob Binnein were just clear of the cloud at some points, but in cloud for most of the time.
However the best views were across Loch Tay - probably because they were a bit nearer. This is a wider view looking across - on the left is the Lawers group, and on the right is a group of munros to the north of Glen Lyon.
Here is a closer view of the munros above Glen Lyon - Carn Gorm, Meall Garbh, Carn Mairg, and Meall na Aighean.
I did them a long time ago as a horseshoe route starting from Inverar in Glen Lyon - it is a fair hike, I don`t think I could do it now.
This is probably the best of all the views - looking into the Lawers basin, with the ring of Ben Lawers, Creag an Fhithich, An Stùc, Meall Garbh, and Meall Greigh - another four munros.
It is another excellent horseshoe route, but again, a fair trek.
After all that, it was back down to my bike, and away back down the never ending hill down to Glen Quaich - and being tarmac, I could ride it all the way down !
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