Starting a little up the road from Crianlarich train station, going under the train line the first mile or so was punishing, going through a forest with the path a sticky bog. We kept plunging into mud a foot deep and to avoid it had to walk through the forest getting ourselves torn to pieces from the tree branches. Heaven knows what this walk must be like in wet weather - We were in drought conditions. On breaking out of the forest just by a large boulder we made our first mistake of the day. Instead of simply walking up on to the ridge of the Grey Heights we followed a path which took us round the Heights and left us too far down and to the right. This forced us to make our way past the Heights missing its summit and left us making our way by feel to the top of Meall Dhamh. At the top of Meall Dhamh we found the path and thought we were well on our way. Not so. The path which was well defined wended its way uphill but led to the right of the
mountain. We just thought it was contouring and were content to follow but then in the middle of nowhere it simply ceased. Why a clear, well trodden path should just stop is beyond me. At this point we were fed up and just then went straight up reaching a little rocky outcrop which led to the summit. At the top with the Guinness and sandwiches we had to shelter behind the cairn as it was a bit fresh once you stopped walking . The summit of this mountain is a ridge and nothing special. The views are nice though in the still hazy conditions nothing to write home about.
The way to this summit from Cruach Ardrain cannot be missed as a clear path can be seen winding its way all along the wide grassy ridge and all the way to the summit. Getting there is easy as it's more downhill than up and although there are a few steepish parts there are no problems. Together we made the summit easily and I had my usual celebration Guinness. There's a nicer feel to this summit as it is a mound and makes you feel you are actually on top and the views are nicer than Cruach Ardrain. The way back entails going again onto the Cruach Ardrain ridge and involved a number of steep climbs. None of them were difficult but I was beginning to be very tired and although Graeme went way ahead of me he was also feeling it. Once on the ridge we had to make our way down the steep grassy slopes. Never having done this before it is initially
frightening as you are not too sure if the slope is going to turn convex and leave you on a slippery slope to nowhere. In reality it was all a dawdle, though at two points on the descent the pathway became dangerously eroded. At one point, with a drop of about only 15/20 feet on the right the path had fallen away and you had to step over nothing. The other was a wee bit more hairy where the path went along the wall of the main corrie with drops to the right of 500 feet or more, not vertical but steep enough to make a fall distinctly dodgy. At the bottom (Meall Dhamh) we found the path we should have found on the way up. Actually there are many paths - they go on for hundreds of yards and then dry up and another one appears some distance away. Whatever, we had little problem making our way down though we were by now in considerable pain. The walk down through the forest and the boggy pathway was awful and we thought it would never end. However, while on the upward trail we had been careful where to put our feet and had cursed at stepping into mud, on the way down we didn't give a damn and just plunged our way through all but the deepest mud. In fact stepping into mud actually helped the passage down and eased the pressure on our aching legs. We were both completely knackered and glad this had been the last day.
