twenty three down, 259 to go!

I'm so delighted to be writing this blog post - it has been a mere one year, seven months and eighteen days since I bagged my 22nd Munro!

That was a challenging day. And I think the combination of that, plus living in the Borders and being so busy with work for the last 6 months, has put paid to any grand ideas of upping my Munro count.

However sometimes opportunities present themselves, as they did yesterday. And sometimes you have to make your own opportunities, which was also the case yesterday.

My cousin Colin was competing in the Loch Ness Marathon, and when I last saw him, I realised I was down to work an overtime shift on the same day and therefore couldn't come along and support like I wanted to. However the more I thought about it, the more I realised where I wanted to be. I've worked hard all summer and not had much time to see friends or family, or walk or conquer Munros. As it is the end of the season, I thought that work could come second for a change.

Then the thought crept into my mind that if I was going all the way to Inverness, I may as well try to add a wee hill excursion into the plan. My colleague Jim had told me about Meall Chuaich back in May, as Dave and I were considering a Munro on the way home from the Cape Wrath Challenge. We hadn't managed it, but the simplicity of Meall Chuaich's location and its proximity to the A9 had not left my thoughts.

I toyed with the idea of camping overnight and doing the Munro on Monday (today) but then I decided that if the forecast was fair, I'd give it a bash on my way up to Inverness.

I made my plan. It involved a very early start, and that was my main concern. Would I actually be able to get up? And even if I did, would I really want to go that early?! However, the forecast was fair indeed and this just seemed like too good an opportunity to miss. So when my alarm went off at 4.50am yesterday morning, I did actually think "I'm going to do this". I hit snooze just once, so it was 5.30am by the time I actually left Stow, but I had allowed for my early morning lethargy in my extensive planning.

It was a foggy morning, and I was a bit concerned that being too early to the hill might not be a good thing. But I reasoned that if I could get above the cloud, I'd get an amazing inversion. However this proved not to be an issue, as the fog and cloud lifted once I was north of Pitlochry, and a stunning morning was on the cards.

I reached layby no 93 on the A9 at 8am, and set off right away. I was a teeny bit disappointed to see a van already parked in layby 94 on the other side, where the walk starts, as I thought I'd be first there. Thankfully it was easy crossing the A9 at that time of the morning, and soon I was walking alongside a concrete aqueduct. There was a wee bit of cloud sitting on Meall Chuaich at this point, but I was hopeful it would lift.

Cloud sitting atop Meall Chuaich

I passed the Chuaich hydro-electric power station, and the ugly pipeline, and continued along a good solid path towards the hill.

 

Soon I spotted Loch Chuaich, and then passed the locked private bothy that is mentioned in the Walk Highland notes. 

Loch Chuaich

 

  

After crossing a wee bridge over the Allt Choire Chuaich, I was off the path and into the heather. And going uphill. And it was at this very moment that I realised what one year, seven months and eighteen days off means to my thighs. Pain. 

In my defence, last week's Zumba class was full of routines with squats, and last week's PiYo class proved no let up for the thighs (there's a lot of things like this going on: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZJcOACyCeBw).

I stopped frequently, and did short sharp (painful) bursts. Every time I turned round, the views behind me got better and better.

Then I met a man and his dog (a lovely spaniel called Munro!), the owners of the van, now on the descent. He'd been in Dalwhinnie the night before, and started the walk at 7am. He assured me it wasn't too much further, and after a nice wee chat I powered on.

I was ascending the shoulder of Stac Meall Chuaich; it was a bit rough going over stones, boulders and heather, but I was making good progress. The wind had picked up by this point, and I was starting to get cold. The fleece went on, and after a bit more plodding, this came into view:

 

The summit! Woohoo! I'd made it to the top of my 23rd Munro, Meall Chuiach, in two hours.

As you'll see in the next few photos, the weather changed a few times whilst I was up there. Unfortunately cloud did sweep over frequently, so I didn't get the clear views I'd been hoping for. It was also quite hazy. However, I'm certainly not complaining. I was delighted to be up there, if a bit chilly, and appreciated the good weather I did have. 

 

Number 23! Just before the timer went off on my camera, I realised I was actually holding up "32" (cheating a bit!) - thankfully I changed my fingers just in time!

I spent around 15/20 minutes at the top, texting Dave, mum and dad to reassure them I was fine. And sending birthday wishes to Andrew! 

Then I began the descent, which thankfully was just back the way I'd come (timing wise, I needed this to be a straightforward walk!).

As always the downhill was pretty brutal on the thighs and hips (certainly feeling it today!) and I regretted not having a stick or two with me. There were a few stumbles over rocks and heather, and I realised I was rushing a bit. I slowed down, got back to the path safely, and then pounded the hard path back to the car.

Back over the Allt Coire Chuaich

Looking back

 

Thankfully I had another easy crossing of the A9 (probably one of the things I was most worried about!) and after relieving my feet from my boots, I continued my journey north. I was on the road again before 12, making this a 4 hour Munro (including 15 or so minutes at the top). I was feeling fine at this point, a wee bit tired but pretty delighted at the achievement. It just felt great to be back out there bagging a Munro again!

After a quick stop at Ralia to get changed, I made it to Inverness before half 1 and hotfooted it to the finish line of the marathon at Bught Park. My feet didn't thank me for that!

It was great to see Colin appear amongst the finishers - what a fantastic achievement and all for a great cause: https://www.justgiving.com/Colin-Cursiter/

I finally made it home to Stow at 8.15pm after a long slow drive. I'm sure that sitting in the car for that length of time did not do my muscles any favours, and I am quite sore today.

But most of all I'm so delighted to have broken my Munro-block with a straightforward and rewarding hill.