Outdoor Adventures with Ancient Brit
Munro 2007 - Day 14: 29th April
Sunday 29th April
Geal Charn 926m (Munro 21) (Naked Munro 12)
Distance: 13.7 km
Ascent: 670 m
Time: 3:42 hours
Mountain name: Geal Charn Pronounced: Ceeya Charn Translated: White Hill
Weather: It was chilly overnight and remained clear all day. There was still a strong SE
breeze at altitude which kept the temperature lower than it might have been.
Nature notes: There were plenty of birds to be seen on my drive up the River Spey. There
were lots of pheasants seemingly trying to commit suicide on the road before they were
shot later in the year. At Loch Crathie I saw a splash and a little later an Osprey
emerging from the water. Unfortunately by the time I had stopped and got my binoculars
out the Osprey had disappeared. The Osprey is a very distinctive bird of prey because of
its method of fishing by diving into the water from a great height. Other fish-eating birds
of prey try and grab fish from the surface of the water. Ospreys first returned to Scotland
about 50 years ago and have now spread to the extent there are about 150 breeding pairs
in the country. There were big herds of Red Deer in the glen as I approached Garva
Bridge.
There was an estate notice at Garva Bridge giving information on the agriculture and
forestry on the estate. “The sheep you will see about you are Scottish Blackface. Their
lambs are born between April and May and will remain in those hills until autumn. During
August and September many of the lambs are sold, but the best ewe lambs are kept to
replace the older aged ewes. October is the season when the flock is made ready for the
breeding season which begins in late November. Making up the flock entails selecting the
fit and younger aged female sheep (ewe) which will remain on the hill for another year.
The old and unfit ewes are sold during the autumn.”
The most notable thing on the hike was hearing my first Cuckoo of the year calling
from the wood on Meall an Domhnaich. On the descent I saw a Grey Heron flying down
the Feith Talagain, a small burn.
The Route: From Garva Bridge I followed the farm track for a short distance before
following a small, sometimes faint, sometimes boggy, path up Feith Talagain. An even
smaller path heads up Allt Coire nan Dearcag before heading up the SE ridge of Geal
Charn. The point where the path leaves the burn is very indistinct but the path is not
needed to climb the grassy and heather covered ridge. There is a huge cairn on the flat
summit of Geal Charn. I returned by the same route.
Personal notes: I had breakfast again at the transport café in Newtonmore and was in no
hurry as I was having an easy day. There were two backpackers packing up when I
arrived at Garva Bridge about 10am. I didn’t set off until midday. Geal Charn was one of
those mountains ear-marked as a bad weather mountain, but I decided it was sensible to
have an easy day after recent longer days. I was quite happy with how my fitness was
coming on, but I did want to put in occasional short days.
Feith Talagain was fairly sheltered and warm and it was possible to walk naked for the
first hour before the wind on the ridge required clothing to be worn.
At the summit cairn I met a Londoner who was on a three day holiday. He came up
by train on the Friday and the trains had power and internet access so he was able to do a
day work on journey up to Inverness. He then hired a car for three days. It is an
expensive way to get three days hiking, especially since he usually booked at short notice
when there was a good weather forecast, but he did get three days hiking with only
needing to take one day’s leave. He took both clothed and naked summit photos for me. I
returned by the same route and was again able to walk naked once I got off the windy
ridge.
When I got back to the van I did some laundry and had a towel bath using hot water
from the van. I chatted for quite a long time with a couple of ladies from Inverness who
had walked General Wade’s Military Road over the Corrieyairack Pass from Fort
Augustus. They were waiting for one of their husbands to pick them up after dropping
them off at Fort Augustus in the morning
I was pleased to hear that Surrey had set a world record for a 50-over professional
cricket match with a score of 496-4!
Overnight: I had clothes drying on a fence so I had to spend the night at Garva Bridge.
Geal Charn 926m (Munro 21) (Naked Munro 12)
Distance: 13.7 km
Ascent: 670 m
Time: 3:42 hours
Mountain name: Geal Charn Pronounced: Ceeya Charn Translated: White Hill
Weather: It was chilly overnight and remained clear all day. There was still a strong SE
breeze at altitude which kept the temperature lower than it might have been.
Nature notes: There were plenty of birds to be seen on my drive up the River Spey. There
were lots of pheasants seemingly trying to commit suicide on the road before they were
shot later in the year. At Loch Crathie I saw a splash and a little later an Osprey
emerging from the water. Unfortunately by the time I had stopped and got my binoculars
out the Osprey had disappeared. The Osprey is a very distinctive bird of prey because of
its method of fishing by diving into the water from a great height. Other fish-eating birds
of prey try and grab fish from the surface of the water. Ospreys first returned to Scotland
about 50 years ago and have now spread to the extent there are about 150 breeding pairs
in the country. There were big herds of Red Deer in the glen as I approached Garva
Bridge.
There was an estate notice at Garva Bridge giving information on the agriculture and
forestry on the estate. “The sheep you will see about you are Scottish Blackface. Their
lambs are born between April and May and will remain in those hills until autumn. During
August and September many of the lambs are sold, but the best ewe lambs are kept to
replace the older aged ewes. October is the season when the flock is made ready for the
breeding season which begins in late November. Making up the flock entails selecting the
fit and younger aged female sheep (ewe) which will remain on the hill for another year.
The old and unfit ewes are sold during the autumn.”
The most notable thing on the hike was hearing my first Cuckoo of the year calling
from the wood on Meall an Domhnaich. On the descent I saw a Grey Heron flying down
the Feith Talagain, a small burn.
The Route: From Garva Bridge I followed the farm track for a short distance before
following a small, sometimes faint, sometimes boggy, path up Feith Talagain. An even
smaller path heads up Allt Coire nan Dearcag before heading up the SE ridge of Geal
Charn. The point where the path leaves the burn is very indistinct but the path is not
needed to climb the grassy and heather covered ridge. There is a huge cairn on the flat
summit of Geal Charn. I returned by the same route.
Personal notes: I had breakfast again at the transport café in Newtonmore and was in no
hurry as I was having an easy day. There were two backpackers packing up when I
arrived at Garva Bridge about 10am. I didn’t set off until midday. Geal Charn was one of
those mountains ear-marked as a bad weather mountain, but I decided it was sensible to
have an easy day after recent longer days. I was quite happy with how my fitness was
coming on, but I did want to put in occasional short days.
Feith Talagain was fairly sheltered and warm and it was possible to walk naked for the
first hour before the wind on the ridge required clothing to be worn.
At the summit cairn I met a Londoner who was on a three day holiday. He came up
by train on the Friday and the trains had power and internet access so he was able to do a
day work on journey up to Inverness. He then hired a car for three days. It is an
expensive way to get three days hiking, especially since he usually booked at short notice
when there was a good weather forecast, but he did get three days hiking with only
needing to take one day’s leave. He took both clothed and naked summit photos for me. I
returned by the same route and was again able to walk naked once I got off the windy
ridge.
When I got back to the van I did some laundry and had a towel bath using hot water
from the van. I chatted for quite a long time with a couple of ladies from Inverness who
had walked General Wade’s Military Road over the Corrieyairack Pass from Fort
Augustus. They were waiting for one of their husbands to pick them up after dropping
them off at Fort Augustus in the morning
I was pleased to hear that Surrey had set a world record for a 50-over professional
cricket match with a score of 496-4!
Overnight: I had clothes drying on a fence so I had to spend the night at Garva Bridge.
Osprey
River Spey
Garva Bridge
Geal Charn
Summit, Geal Charn
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Summit, Geal Charn
