Nathan's First Ridge Walk!
Meal nan Tarmachan along the Tarmachan ridge, is a fairly easy Munro during the summer months, with some light scrambling around a circular route. We chanced a last minute trip in November, and were rewarded with the best temperature and cloud inversion any of us had ever seen!
New Equipment and New Recruits!
Inspired by our previous Munro adventures, Matt, Nathan and I were joined by my brother in law, Sean. He’ll admit he’s not seen the inside of a gym since lock-down, and he’s rather lacking in the fitness department. However, he did have all the right gear and the perfect mindset for his first expedition in the Scottish Highlands.
Tara and Roman were joining us too. They’d both done Beinn Ghlass and Ben Lawyers, so we knew the terrain would be suitable for them both, but we’d need to keep an eye on them on the main ridge line.
This Munro also marked my first equipment upgrade since the start of the year. I’d been relying on old existing equipment to keep me going, but I felt that now I was onto my tenth Munro, I really should start upgrading. Unfortunately, I’ve become a bit of a Jack Wolfskin fanboy. I was a bit disappointed that my newly purchased Jack Wolfskin walking shoes only lasted 3 months before they started leaking, but the chance of another pair for £20, albeit in bright red, I wasn’t saying no!
I also purchased a new Jack Wolfskin hydration pack. Slightly bigger than my standard Amazon Hydration pack, it allowed me to fit in my lunchbox and my drone, whilst still having enough space for 2 litres of water. Something my old bag couldn’t do! The straps were also a bit thicker, so adding my mount for my camera was easier and more secure than on the last pack.
Starting in Reverse.
Having researched local hills over the weeks previous, I found Meall nan Tarmachan as an ideal candidate for my son’s first ever ridge walk! Situated West of the Ben Lawyers range, it’s easily accessible from the main car park, where you head West instead of East to Ben Lawyers.
The route suggested by Walk Highlands has you climbing the loop in an anti-clockwise direction, scaling Meal nan Tarmachan first, then heading along and down the ridge before a long 5km walk to the end. However, after watching Scottish Munro Journey, I thought that doing it clockwise might actually be better! Not only would we get the long walk completed first, once we’d scaled the Munro, it would be a nice and short return route back to the car.
The weather was very dreich when we pulled into the car park. The journey had went ok, all 4 of us, plus 2 dogs into my aging estate car hadn’t been the comfiest, but we managed. We did our usual and stopped off at Greggs for a bacon roll, filling our bellies to last us at least until lunch.
As we heaved ourselves out the car, the dogs realised where they were and started doing loops and bouncing uncontrollably. They knew exactly where they were and couldn’t contain their excitement. I, on the other hand, was a little disheartened. The rain was drizzling and you couldn’t see more than 100m in front of us. It looked like typical Scottish weather again for this one. I felt sorry for Nathan, he might need to wait for another day to get his first cloud free summit.
The Long Walk In.
The first section of path from the car park was actually steeper and longer than expected, before it meets up with the Land Rover track and becomes a proper walking path similar to Ben Chonzie. However, after stopping there for a quick check, it revealed our first issue.
Nathan had kept pace with Matt and Tara out front, I had kept my eye on Nathan, but Sean was a good 100m further back.
“How’s the heart rate?” I asked him as he reached us at the main track. Sean looked at his Apple Watch, his eyes squinting through the visible sweat dripping down his face.
“About 180” Sean replied, followed by more laboured breathing.
“No worries, take 2 and we can slow the pace down a bit, we’ve got all day. Plus, that was harder than expected, the next bit is nice easy Land Rover track on a steady climb.” I pointed in the direction of the disappearing path to our South West. After some debate, we headed along the path with a slightly slower pace, being mindful of the sheep that were starting to appear out of the mist. To be honest, there were that many of them, the dogs were probably more scared of them than they were of the dogs!
We covered the first 5k in just under an hour, stopping where the main track splits to wait on Sean. We genuinely couldn’t see him through the mist and fog!
As the sweat started to cool across my back, I suggested Matt stick the drone up to look for him, but he was already on it. After confirming he was only 254m away according to the drone, we grabbed a quick snack and topped up our fluids, jumping on the spot to keep warm.
Sean arrived with his head down and at a pace not to dissimilar to my Ben Ledi climb. I knew how he must have been feeling before he spoke. I’d been there before and it sucked. Your whole body hurts and each step takes more effort than the last. All you want to do is stop and go for a lie down, or at least that how I remember feeling.
“Sorry guys, I had to slow down, my Apple watch was reading 190 danger zone and I had to get my heart rate down.” Sean heaved and stretched as he took off his pack to get a proper drink.
“Don’t worry about it, Sean. You’ve done well so far, almost half -way, but the real climb starts here!” I pointed up at the steep grassy embankment that led off the path and up into more mist.
“Nah, man, that’s me. I know my limits and that was it. I’m just going to head back down to the car, if I could get your car keys bud?” Sean really wasn’t for continuing and I knew there was no point in pushing him on if his body and mind were both saying no.
After giving him my keys, and explaining to him to remember and turn right where the loop meets to get back to the car park, Sean retreated down the trail towards the safety of the car. The 3 of us on the other hand, were just getting started.
Ascending into Heaven
The mist was thick. So thick, it felt you could play with it with your fingers. We really were in the the thick of it so to speak. The path was virtually non-existent on our way up to meet the main ridge. To be honest, I think we took a more direct approach than is advertised due to the mist, but as long as we were heading up, we knew we couldn’t go wrong, the ridge line was around here somewhere!
As we gained a bit more height things started to get a little lighter and the dark grey sky gained a faint blue hue. Could this be it? I thought to myself. Will we get above the cloud? I didn’t want to get too excited, but things were literally looking up, as the sun sun tried to break through above us. I scrambled ahead of Nathan, trying to gain height quicker, Matt however, had got the drone up and had made a vertical flight straight up above the clouds.
“Holy Sh!t, guys!” Matt exclaimed, his view fixed on the drone screen. I didn’t go back to have a look, I knew from his tone it was good news. Nathan jogged up to catch and overtake me, as we proudly stepped out of the clouds and onto the main ridge line. What greeted us was unlike anything any of us had ever seen before. A wall of cloud stood before us that looked like an ocean, as if parted by Moses himself, directly in front us; The peak of a neighbouring Munro poking it’s head out as if it was an island in the middle of the North Sea.
The look on Nathan’s face was priceless. I felt immensely proud of my boy and he was utterly buzzing. Gasps and statements of usual teenager speak were audible for the first time on a Munro adventure, and I couldn’t have been happier. Sharing my Munro journey with my son was turning into something more. Maybe it’s because you’re totally exhausted, or doing exercise, but the emotions felt more intense. I could feel the connection between us grow stronger as I grabbed him in a fatherly bear hug from behind and gave him a squeeze.
“Just wait until we get to the top!” I said as I spun him round and got my phone out for a quick video.
“I’ve never seen anything like it before!” Matt was in shock too, finally seeing the view with his own eyes than through the drone.
“Just incredible!” was the only thing I could say. Normally I’m quite adept at wordplay, but my vocabulary vacated me at that poignant moment. Nathan already scrambling away in front of us to the top of Beinn nan Eachan, our first Munro top of the day, and our first view of the ridge ahead.
The Choice.
The path up to Beinn nan Eachan was steep, but fairly manageable. You could see exactly where you were going, so you knew the climb wouldn’t be long, even if it was pretty steep. You definitely had to watch your footing, as the path snaked it’s way up the side of our first Munro top, giving way to a sheer drop on the right hand side.
The dogs managed the light scramble to the top with relative ease, as Nathan crested over the peak first, with Matt’s drone filming our arrival thereafter. The views from the top of Beinn nan Eachan were equally, if not more impressive. We were now well above the cloud wall and into our own little world. In every direction there was a Munro top on display, just for us. It felt like all we needed was a boat and we could sail to the next Munro island for another adventure. The clouds literally rolling down the valleys like a viscous fluid, settling into a great ocean of cloud acting as a barrier between our world and the dull, grey world below us.
With Nathan beside me, dogs patiently waiting, Matt flying the drone overhead, it was in that moment when I made the choice. This is what I wanted, the buzz, the excitement, the anticipation, the good, the bad, all of it. I was entirely sober, yet I was at my highest point. I wanted to do more. I wanted to do them all. Munros. All 282 of them.
One Down Two to Go.
I’m not sure Nathan had quite understood what we had planned for that day, as he was rather disappointed when he realised he still had to do another two climbs, he thought it just one and done! Yes, just one Munro, but 3 tops, was my reply.
After topping up our fluids we set sail towards our next Munro top and the narrowest part of the ridge. There were plenty of pools for the dogs to stop and have a drink along the way, but the path didn’t exactly take the most direct route. There were several twist backs and ups and downs, as we crested mini peaks before starting the steep climb to the top of Meall Garbh.
Now this was something new and different. On the our left was a bypass path that took a more shallow route to the summit, but straight ahead was the main scramble up to the top. Compared to Stuc ‘a Chroin, this scramble had lots more grass and a lot less handholds. We attempted a brief ascent, but it was clear the dogs weren’t going to make it up this way, so we bailed out to the left and met up with the bypass path before summit-ting onto the plateau.
What lay ahead looked utterly awesome. A nice little ridge with a steep drop off either side, leading up to a short steep climb onto the craggy pinnacle of Meall Garbh. I let everyone go ahead of me and snapped a few pics. I didn’t want to hurry along the ridge, I wanted to take my time and enjoy it as much as possible. Soak in the sweet Scottish scenery, and watch my boy complete his first ridge walk!
It was easier than I had expected, but the atmosphere and experience did not disappoint. Crossing that ridge and climbing to the top of Meall Garbh is definitely my favorite Munro top so far.
Meal nan Tarmachan
After dancing along the ridge for the drone once or twice, and not spending long enough at the top of Meall Garbh, we took off in the direction of our final Munro top, and only Munro of the trip, Meall nan Tarmachan.
On the descent we ran into the first hiker we’d seen all day. Sporting some bright colours I was immediately drawn to the oversized backpack he was carrying confidently on his shoulder. I’m sure that’s a parachute!
My suspicions were confirmed when we stopped for a brief chat and he was indeed looking to parachute off the summit, but because of the thick cloud he couldn’t see any landing spots, so he was just doing the ridge walk instead. Now that is something I’d love to do in the future. Be able to climb to the top of a Munro and forget about climbing down, just jump off instead and soar down! A licence and lots of money will be involved no doubt, but I’d love to investigate and find out how viable it may be.
The path from Meall Garbh to Meal nan Tarmachan is probably the easiest section of the journey, with only a slight incline as you drag your way up to the indistinct summit. There’s a small cairn, but nothing special except the views directly onto the Lawyers range. I had hoped to see the dam and reservoir from here, but our views were still blocked by the clouds below us.
No sooner had we congratulated each other on another Munro in the bag, than the place turned into Sauchiehall street on a Saturday morning. Group after group started to arrive at the summit, coming anti-clockwise, and guessing from the attire of some of them, were going to be heading straight back down and not along the ridge.
After exhausting both of our drone’s batteries, we retreated off the summit and found some rocks where we could set up shop for a spot of lunch. We were smiles all round as we hastily ate our lunch after suddenly realising that Sean might already be back at the car and waiting! I took my phone out and gave him a call. I’m glad I did! Somehow he’d managed to miss the turn off back to the car park and was almost at the reservoir! I told him to keep going till he got to the reservoir, get onto the road, and follow it downhill until he reached the car park.
Relieved Sean wasn’t completely lost, we packed everything up, ensuring to leave no trace, and began the hike down the traditional accent of Meal nan Tarmachan. To be honest, I was actually impressed with our overall pace, we were actually overtaking people coming down the hill for once. Again, looking back on Strava my max heart rate was during the descent, so I must be leaving something in the tank, because I still felt pretty fresh. Not go and do another Munro fresh, but a hell of a lot fresher than I’ve felt towards the end of a Munro before.
Must be all this hill fitness finally coming to fruition, I thought to myself as we clambered down the steep steps, before finally meeting the Land Rover track. That last kilometer always feels longer, especially when you know someone is waiting on you and the end is in sight!
Fortunately, Sean was waiting for us at the car and had only been waiting 10 minutes or so. Relieved to be reunited with his Uncle again, Nathan was declared to be the fittest 12 year old Sean had ever known, and I know that made Nathan’s day.
Talking of Nathan, when we got home that day, he just went and lay down on the couch. Now, Nathan never does this. He’s got ADHD and is constantly on the go. From gymnastics, swimming, football, driving and mountain climbing, he’s kept busy from dawn until dusk and he’s NEVER tired. So for him to come home and lie down saying he’s tired, he REALLY must be tired. So if Munros are the only thing that tires him out, we really need to keep going, don’t we?
