Beinn Tulaichean and Cruach Ardrain
20 July 2007
I met Linda in Lochearnhead and we drove south on the A84 to the
Kingshouse Hotel and thereafter along the unclassified road passed
Balquhidder to the car park just east of Inverlochlarig Farm.
We walked along the farm road, crossed the Inverlochlarig Burn by a
bridge and took the signposted route up the side of the stream. The
path was very wet and muddy but it soon joined the vehicle track that
headed up Inverlochlarig Glen. We soon left this track and headed
uphill towards Beinn Tulaichean. The hillside was fairly wet and
boggy underfoot and higher up the vegetation was almost knee deep
which meant for wet trousers. The cloud base was fairly low, around
400 metres, so it was just the sake of seeking the best route through
the vegetation trying to avoid large areas of bracken and some rocky
ground.
Higher up the walking was easier with the shorter grass and at times
there were traces of a path. Where possible we followed these paths
which eventually led to the summit cairn of Beinn Tulaichean. There
was no advantage in remaining at the summit as there were no views and
the visibility was still poor so we descended Beinn Tulaichean's north-
west ridge following a path which continued to the summit of Cruach
Ardrain. Here we stopped for lunch and were joined by a chap from
Orkney who had ascended Cruach Ardrain from the west. He was on his
third round of Munros.
We returned to the bealach between Cruach Ardrain and Beinn Tulaichean
and descended east down the hillside, avoiding a few gullies, and
lower down we came out of the cloud. Route finding was now easier
as we headed for the vehicle track in Inverlochlarig Glen which was
followed to the farm and the short stroll to the car park.
Time taken - 6.5 hours.
Distance - 12.5 kilometres.
Height climbed - 1030 metres.
No photos due to poor visibility.
Lindsay
www.caledoniahilltreks.com