Getting back on track to achieve 50 was going to take some big walks, and this was the first of those.  With the rest of the family away at scout camp, and the weather set fair – if a bit windy – I headed off to Glenartney, bike somehow crammed into the back of the wee car, for an early start.  A chilly morning at the car park by the church, where at 8am a fisherman was getting ready for his day’s sport, and a couple were cooking up coffee and breakfast on a camping stove.  2km on the bike to the end of the road, then a bit more up a stony track, then on by foot.  Not long till a first view of the two big ones…

…and getting closer now (can you see the rainbow? – it was that sort of morning, short showers and lots of sun).  I was heading for the ride on the right, leading up to the top of Ben Vorlich.

And it was a long walk in. Here’s a view back along the Gleann an Dubh Choirein from not very far up the ridge:

Sadly that’s the last photo action from my phone.  No summit photos today folks!  When I had finally slogged my way (3hrs+) all the way to the top, a man volunteered to take the summit photo (I’d already taken his) but did something to make the phone stop working, altogether.  It might have been something to do with windchill – it was cold up there – but it didn’t recover till I was back home.  So for the rest of this post, I’ve ‘borrowed’ other folks’ photos (just a couple..) to give you an idea.

After the long solitary walk in from the south, at the top of Ben Vorlich you meet all the folk who’ve come up from Ardvorlich on Loch Earn, and it suddenly feels quite busy.  Many were going on to Stuc a’Chroin, some of us by the most direct route, a right good scramble!

Most satisfying to get to the top, which was even busier, but then heading back south along the ridge, I was back on my own again (I only saw two more walkers for the whole of the rest of the day).  This is a lovely grassy gentle descent for really quite a long way, which was fabulous for already tired legs.  Some peat hags to get through, and then a short climb to the top of Meall Odhar.  Not an obvious summit, which is a contrast with little brother Tom Odhar, who very rightly deserves his own moniker on the OS map – a neat little hill, where I sat in the sun for some time contemplating whether I was capable of much more…

There were a few more hills kind of within range, but the other side of some unattractive looking bog, and I’d already been going for 7 hours or so.  (Also, I’ve just discovered, the other side of the highland fault to the first part of my walk!)  But after a wee rest and some more flapjack, I decided to give it a go.  For the next hour (at least) I was heading for the summit of Uamh Bheag, which was kind of distant but kind of looming.  After a while I was put in mind of the final ascent of Mount Doom, as I crossed a quintessentially Scottish version of the plains of Mordor – tussocks, sucking bog, bracken, heather, hidden holes and burns.  My legs were so tired on the last bit of the climb that it felt like I was carrying another, though fortunately there was no Gollum waiting for me at the top.  Or was there?  I’m not sure who the odd carving at the top is supposed to represent, but looks a bit grinny for Gollum…

A quick jaunt over to the summit of Am Beannan (above is the view from down below, roughly where I’d left my bike.  And it wasn’t at all snowy when I was looking!), where I startled a herd of 40-50 deer.  Finally over the indiscernible top of Meall Clachach (I don’t think anyone’s ever taken a photo), straight down for a bit of a wade in the ‘Water of Ruchill’, a last excrutiating 80m ascent to the bike, then weeeeeee down the boneshakingly stony hill, back onto the road and back to a lonely car.  Some well deserved fish’n’chips in Comrie on the way home.