Mountain Heights, Hidden Depths (Soil Survey) incorporating Beinn a’ Chaorainn, Beinn Teallach and Meall Dearg

Following a spy on social media, we each adopted a munro to support some research being done by the James Hutton Institute: https://munro-biodiversity.hutton.ac.uk

This required us to visit our chosen munro and take soil samples from three designated points (or close by should the vegetation not match that specified). Having carefully planned some hills for holidays, Bruce adopted Beinn a’ Chaorainn and advised me to adopt Meall Dearg as I’ve done the other munro on Aonach Eagach previously (with no intention of ever doing the ridge). Bruce has previously done the ridge and thoroughly enjoyed it; exposure to this degree is not for me.

Thus follows a blog of two parts: first, the soil survey, then an overview of the hills.

Sampling the Soil: Beinn a’ Chaorainn

Bruce’s soil samples had to be taken from three separate areas near the summit on Beinn a’ Chaorainn, each a wee bit off our natural course. He set to work and for once I took on the role of photographer as we’d been invited to share photos of us sampling in addition to the area sampled.

Having completed our task we then continued to Beinn Teallach. These were two fantastic munros for the most part as the views were amazing. However, they were really boggy and pathless on the descent which was rather frustrating after the good ascent and amazing views. They were also the first ‘new’ munros that I’ve done in quite some time, as we’ve both been out of action while Bruce received and recovered from his hip replacements.

Soil Sampling: Meall Dearg (Aonach Eagach)

This was ‘my’ munro to sample and I got lucky, all my sample points being in close proximity around the summit. Bruce was excited about this munro as he’s done the ridge and loved it. He was keen for me to see it in all it’s glory. While admiring the splendour, we did have thoughts of those affected by the tragic loss of the three people that fell at the weekend.

Beinn a’ Chaorainn & Beinn Teallach: The Walk

Being the first day we’ve been out in a while our legs were thankfully feeling pretty fresh. This made for relatively easy walking, the knowledge that there was no time pressure consolidating the relaxed mood. Despite this, it wasn’t long before I was at the coo’s tail; I’m pretty sure the new hips came with carbon plates for additional ‘spring’!

There was a path for most of the climb which made it easy to navigate on the ascent. The clear skies enabled us to see where we were headed and the views back were amazing. These alone were worth the effort.

The walk up was unremarkable. Aside from the ascent there were no real challenges and we made steady progress, finally reaching the summit cairns.

Two Tops

Although a mild day, there was a wee chill in the breeze and we donned another layer in preparation for aforementioned soil sampling at the top.

There are two tops on this munro, quite apart from each other. The corrie that separates the tops is reputed to present a challenge in winter, cornices creating accidents as walkers take a direct line with potentially disastrous consequences. No such issue on a fine summer’s day, thankfully.

Beinn Teallach

The drop from Beinn a’ Chaorainn was quite significant, not least because we couldn’t find any real path to speak of. This made it frustratingly hard going. On the upside, we could clearly see where we were aiming for next, so just headed in this direction.

Part way up, we were showered with rain, heavier than the very short-lived, light showers we’d had earlier. We took advantage of a small section of overhanging rock, sheltering to avoid the worst of the rain, only our knees getting soaked. The skies cleared and we set off towards the summit in sunshine, quickly drying out.

Again, there were two summits with cairns a short distance apart. We visited both and decreed that the second was probably the true top based on the map coordinates. This view was shared by a couple of young women who arrived shortly after us, the only conversation being ‘have you got a lighter?’ We hadn’t, so that was the end of that conversation!

Pathless Descent

Leaving Beinn Teallach there appeared to be a a path. However, we quickly realised that there were several paths, none of which were going in the direction that we wanted, or certainly not on any semblance of direct route, so we just forged our own path through the clumpy grass and heather.

This frustrating route down took longer than we’d have liked and we were grateful to finally hit the gate through the fence as this heralded just a short section along the river, complete with river crossing, before hitting the main track again. Today the river crossing was really easy due to the dry conditions. However, it was wide enough to present a serious challenge if in spate.

The final trudge back to the car took a while but we got there. Job well done!

Meall Dearg: The Walk

Reputed as boggy it wasn’t a patch on Càrn Mòr Dearg, aside from the brief moment where I stepped too far into the mud to jump across a bit and got stuck! That was a wee bit higher after a good initial path.

The route went gradually up, higher up we struggled to find the path at times but knew where we were headed so we’re quite happy to go cross country.

The real ascent of the day was in the last pull. It was quite a climb up, again we came and went on the path, for the most part being off it which made things a little more challenging. However, as always we found it on the descent.

The views from the summit were amazing! I’ve not seen such a fantastic panorama of mountains for quite some time!

An amazing day! I’m very grateful to have had the opportunity to experience this munro on such a wonderful day!