Geal Charn

31.5.03 - Drumnadrochit Trip, Day 6 - 18km, 670m - 307 mins

Area 9: The Monadh Liadh and Creag Meagaidh

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Geal Charn926m3038ftM260#100
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A sunny start near the Spey Dam

On our last morning at Drumnadrochit we were up around 7am, getting washed, dressed, breakfasted and packed, then we cleaned the house with our packs piled outside. That done we packed the car, said goodbye to Bob and Rhona, and set off down the road to Newtonmore. We were heading for Geal Charn, which didn’t seem very special for my number 100, but the day was actually very nice.

The track up into Glen Markie

We set off up the track in Glen Markie in bright sunshine, which came and went during the day, sometimes clouding over, sometimes just hazy. We fairly stomped up the glen, knowing we had time pressure on - Alasdair and Howard were hoping to get down to Loughborough by midnight!

On the ridge

We turned up the Piper’s Burn, at which point I crossed the Markie Burn earlier than the others and followed what seeemd to be the main path. The others found an alternative a bit further on. There was a good path up into the corrie, which wasn’t too boggy. We departed from the Piper’s Burn and angled up onto the ridge, the path gradually disappearing, so we never saw the lochan from the corrie.

At the summit

The ridge was windy, but I still only had shorts and t-shirt on. A small cairn marked a false summit but we could see the ground still rising gradually and we pushed on. Over another rise the huge cairn on the real summit appeared. We took photos, singing "All People that on Earth do Dwell" (Psalm 100), then ate lunch in the lee of the cairn.

Number 100!

Number 100!

Looking down the gully

Other people were arriving now - a Northern Irish couple from Edinburgh, then a couple with a dog, who’d left mountain bikes by the track. Then we set off again, checking out the green gully we’d seen from the corrie as a possible quicker descent route, but decided it was too steep. It did give nice views of the lochan, though.

Looking down on Lochan a

Looking down on Lochan a

A brief rest at the Markie Burn

We all hared down pretty quickly stopping for a brief rest at the crossing of the Markie Burn, then stomped back down the track to the car, took some foursome photos and drank some Irn Bru.

Heading homewards

Heading homewards

The hills to the north of Laggan

Then it was off down the road to Edinburgh where Mum had made us a celebratory 100th Munro meal of haggis and neeps and bread and butter pudding. Alasdair and Howard didn’t leave until about 7.30 so they probably weren’t in Loughborough by midnight!