Timed to Perfection on Meall Chuaich

First full day of our holiday, we’d been keeping a keen eye on the weather, Storm Ashley having blown through last night. The forecast held, it looked like we were in with a chance of a dry day out, so we got off to an earlyish start, out the door at the back of 8. Layby 94 on the A9 didn’t take long to reach from Aviemore and before long we were on our way.

With a little bit of a blustery wind and the threat of showers throughout the morning we opted to wear full waterproofs from the outset, carrying cosy layers in the rucksack instead.

A Fast Track

The first few miles of the walk were on a good track which made for quick walking. The track led us alongside an aqueduct for a good bit, something I remembered from our previous outing to this hill.

Continuing past the power station, we headed up the glen, the only complaint being that we weren’t gaining any height. The munro ahead did not look that intimidating, a rounded top appearing to be our destination.

A Rougher, Boggier Path

Turning off the good track, we began to ascend the path to Meall Chuaich. The distance on my watch quickly led me to realise that the rounded lump that had appeared tantalisingly close was not the top of the munro. That was slightly disappointing!

As we headed up the less defined track we crossed sections that were boggier, the rainfall of the last day draining off the hillside. We did our best to avoid the worst of it, as had many others before us, the downside of this being the resultant erosion and path width increasing to be more like a motorway than a track up the hill.

Despite the path being signed, it diverged into many different paths on the way to the summit. We followed one path going up and came down another, our upward route taking us around the side of the hill nearer the top. This had the advantage of sheltering us from the worst of the wind as it was only nearer the plateau that we felt the gusts.

We were very fortunate that the rain had largely stayed away, only one shower having caught us on the ascent route. My rucksack cover having blown off my bag, thankfully attached via a toggle to the pocket, I stashed it away for the duration of the walk.

A Summit Shelter

Reaching the summit, heralded by a large cairn, we were rewarded with a complete windbreak the moment we stepped behind it! What a difference!

This allowed us to shelter for a moment to have a snack and admire the views before we started our descent, planning to retrace our steps but finding another (better) path to return by.

We made decent time on the descent, going carefully across the wet, boggy bits to avoid slipping, and picking up the pace where we could, all the time conscious of the heavy, thick cloud shrouding the smaller hills near where we’d started.

Tracking Back

Reaching the track, we walked pretty briskly back along. The band of rain that we’d been watching clung to the slightly higher ground, missing us completely, much to our delight. It was only in the last few minutes of our walk that the rain moved onto our path and we had to accept that we were going to have a light shower to finish. Heading down towards the A9 it was insignificant in the grand scheme of things and we made it to the car without too much ado.

Not wishing to push our luck, we bundled our rucksacks into the boot, chucked our jackets in the back, and clambered into the sanctuary of the vehicle, boots, waterproof trousers and all.

Safe and sound, we turned around and headed for Kincraig where a warm welcome and a very tasty lunch (lentil soup, cheese scone, coffee and carrot cake to die for) awaited us at the Old Post Office Café. Job done!