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Beinn Ghlas & Ben Lawers
Ben Lawers is the tenth highest Munro in Scotland. Still it is ranked among the easier Munros to climb. Not only is there a decent path all the way up, but that path is also considerably shorter than expected, because the starting point is a car park situated at a height of over 400m. So bonus bonus bonus. And as it is the highest Munro south of Ben Nevis, the views can be extensive. I do say 'can' be extensive. Because big Munros attract stubborn clouds, thick, massive clouds, blocking any view whatsoever. So pick a good day, because the views are so worth it.
Beinn Ghlas and Ben Lawers have a designated car park. It's the same place for the nature reserve. Please observe one serious remark: there are no toilets there (not in 2014). NO TOILETS. Not a great start for a long walk up and down two Munros.
The view at the start is this: Beinn Ghlas. Ben Lawers is hidden behind the first Munro you have to tackle. Mind, this was not what we saw in the morning. We saw exactly nothing when we commenced the walk. It was extremely foggy, but we had decided to go for it because of the forecast which predicted sun in the afternoon. It took until 2 pm, but as you can see from the picture to the right, clouds did lift eventually and by the time we got down, it was even too hot.
But I'm getting ahead of things. First you climb Beinn Ghlas. It's a decent path, which winds its way up... and up... and up. I remember us thinking there wouldn't be an end to the endless zig-zagging. Always one more corner and big steps. There's a fork in the path, but you need to keep to the right, because otherwise you're bypassing the top. Eventually we reached the top of Beinn Ghlas, crowned by a very, very modest cairn, and absolutely zero panorama. We couldn't even see Ben Lawers. But it wasn't afternoon yet.
Via a ridge you head towards Ben Lawers, the big mass we couldn't see. Occasionally we got a brief glimpse, but brief it was.
The ridge is easy walking. You have to descend a bit first, following which - obviously - a steep climb is necessary to get to the top of Ben Lawers. Nothing for nothing.
Ben Lawers has a proper cairn. In fact, it has two, because at some point some people thought they'd artificially lift Ben Lawers over the 4,000ft threshold and cement a cairn on the Munro. Which is total rubbish of course.
In 2014 the real cairn wasn't a view indicator yet, which apparently it is nowadays. Come to think of it: that would have been a massive help, because when the view is extensive, the hills are plentiful. Really plentiful. And it is really hard to discern which is which (apart from Ben Nevis of course).
The easiest ones to make out are of course the neighbours.
When the clouds finally lifted after at least an hour of patiently waiting, the ridge towards Beinn Ghlas was in full view.
Neighbouring Meall Corranaich finally became the big green mass to the right (you are so close it is just a big green field on a picture, so stick it on your retina instead).
The view to the north never really cleared while we were there. The path towards An Stuc was visible, but An Stuc itself remained mostly hidden.
Towards An Stuc.
But really, views to fill an entire photo album.
The Glen Etive hills.
Or a broader view towards the west.
Meall nan Tarmachan towards the south-west.
So do enjoy the views if you can. We did so on Ben Lawers and took some time on Beinn Ghlas as well, as the weather was improving so fast. But as you can see from the picture to the left, the clouds were still touch and go.
I took a multitude of pictures that day (and spent a lot of time trying to name the hills on all of them). Beinn Ghlas and Ben Lawers are certainly worth the climb.
The way down is the same as up, or you can make a wee detour bypassing Beinn Ghlas on a - as I read - properly restored path. So the choice is yours. Have fun.
Done 6 June 2014.
