The Loch Lochy Hills
DAY AT A GLANCE
š Start: Kilfinnan Farm car park ā NN278958
ā°ļø Distance: Approx. 12ā14 km / 7.5ā8.5 miles
ā¬ļø Elevation Gain: Approx. 1,000ā1,100 m
šļø Munros: 2ā±ļø
Typical Time: 6ā8 hours
š Finish: Circular route
š Route: Circular ā transport required
šļø THE MUNROS
1. Meall na Teanga ā 918 m
2. Sron aā Choire Ghairbh ā 937 m
šŖ Fitness: 3/5
š„¾ Terrain: 3/5
ā ļø Exposure: 3/5
š§ Navigation: 4/5\
š¢ OVERALL: GREEN CHALLENGE
ā OPTIONAL EXTENSIONS
The route can be adapted depending on conditions, fitness and the time available, with opportunities to explore additional ground around the Loch Lochy hills.
A fantastic pair of Munros ā but don't underestimate them.
The Loch Lochy Hills are a brilliant place to build experience, particularly as the seasons change. And sometimes, the best mountain day isn't the one where you reach the summit ā it's the one where you come home with better skills than when you left. šļø
Today, we headed into the stunning Loch Lochy Hills, with the plan of tackling Meall na Teanga and its neighbour, Sron aā Choire Ghairbh.
On paper, the objective was simple: get out, climb the hills, tick off the summits and come home with a couple more Munros in the bag.
But the mountains had other ideas.
Ā© eleven forty one
The route starts by making its way steadily towards the hills, with the path eventually leading up towards the bealach between the two Munros. As you climb, the route becomes increasingly open and the terrain more rugged, but one of the great things about this outing is that once you reach the bealach, the route choice is relatively straightforward. From there, you have the option of deciding which hill you want to tackle first, making the route flexible depending on the weather, visibility, wind direction or simply how you're feeling on the day.
Today, however, the continuing rainfall had a significant impact on the lower sections of the route. What would normally be a fairly identifiable path had become increasingly boggy and waterlogged, with sections of the path effectively turning into a small river.
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And that in itself became part of today's challenge.
The weather played a huge part in our decision-making. Strong winds, a low cloud base and rapidly changing patches of cloud, combined with persistent rain underfoot, meant that conditions on the higher ground were very different from what we might have hoped for.
There is always a temptation to push on simply because a summit is within reach.
But mountain days aren't about ticking boxes at any cost.
Sometimes, the goal has to change.
And was today a wasted day because we didn't reach the intended Munros?
Absolutely not.
In fact, days like today can be some of the most valuable days we spend in the hills.
With winter fast approaching, we used the conditions to focus on something far more important than a summit tick ā developing the skills that keep us safe when the mountains become more challenging.
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We spent the day refining our navigation, practising back bearings, contour interpretation, pacing and map-to-ground awareness, while continually reassessing our position and route as the visibility and conditions changed.
One of the skills we particularly focused on was pacing.
Pacing is essentially using the number of steps you take over a known distance to help estimate how far you've travelled. It might sound simple, but in poor visibility it can become an incredibly useful navigation tool.
When the cloud comes down, familiar features disappear. You might no longer be able to see the summit, a path junction, a cairn or the next obvious landmark. Instead of relying solely on what you can see, pacing gives you another piece of information to work with.
By knowing your approximate pace over a set distance, you can combine time, distance, direction and terrain features to build a much clearer picture of where you are.
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Of course, pacing isn't perfectly precise. Terrain, steepness, fatigue, snow and boggy ground can all affect your stride. That's exactly why it's important to practise it regularly, rather than trying to rely on it for the first time when visibility is down to a few metres in winter.
The more you practise these skills in relatively manageable conditions, the more naturally they become when you genuinely need them.
And that's really what today was about.
Practising now, so we're better prepared later.
These are the skills that become absolutely crucial as winter arrives ā when paths disappear beneath snow, visibility drops, daylight is limited and the landscape can look completely different from the map in front of you.
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Today was a reminder that a successful mountain day isn't always measured by how many summits you reach.
Sometimes success is making the right decision.
Sometimes it's turning around.
Sometimes it's recognising that the conditions aren't right and changing the plan.
And sometimes, it's using a difficult day to become a better and more confident mountain navigator.
The Munros will still be there.
Today, the mountain gave us something else. šļø
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