MEALL GAINMHEICH GM/SS-134

Sunday 28th february 2011

Time to get out again before another month slips by,this time it was deep in the heart of the Trossachs and Meall Gainmheich was the target.

Wx forecast was not great with strong winds and snow showers above 450m, easing off in afternoon with sunny spells developing.This turned out to be pretty inaccurate as the short half hour drive to Aberfoyle was done in glorious unbroken sunshine with no signs of showers,after the short drive over the Dukes pass i was soon at the large Ben A’an car park on the Western shores of Loch Achray.Time was now around 10.20am & only 4 other cars parked up which seemed strange for a Sunday considering the first part of the walk is one of the most popular walks in the tourist guides.Soon got kitted up and on my way.

      This is my third time up this stretch so knew the path well,very different from my attempt at Gainmheich last year where the low cloud and rain forced abandonment.The early stretch of the forest route was filled with the sound of blue tit song and the cascading sound of the nearby burn making it very enjoyable.The views were beginning to open up on the rise with a hint of spring in the air although the colours remained dark with browns predominant.

     A short while later i met the first people out walking which were an elderly couple who were interested in the poles sticking out from my rucksack,after explaining a bit about sota they reckoned that someone else on the same hill had passed them earlier with similar looking equiipment.I kept an open mind about this unknown person as nothing was posted on the sota alerts page before i left the qth earlier and continued upward bound.Soon reached the Ben A’an top which never fails to amaze with spectacular views down Loch Katrine & across to neighbouring Ben Venue,stopped here for a soup break and took a couple of photos before trying to work out the best route to the true summit of this hill which is Meall Gainmheich at a height of 564m.

                 No easy route from here on,not even as much as a rabbit track,the only guide is a old fence which eventually leads near the summit,heather and bog with more heather and bog.As i trudged my way on in a NE direction i was able to spot what looked like a sota pole on the distant top,i fired up the handset just incase i was able to find out who was activating up ahead but nothing heard on 2 metres .One and a quarter hours after leaving Ben A’an i reached the top to find Andy MM0FMF/P sitting in a hollow out the wind ,we were both very surprised to meet one another in such a remote location.Andy was on cw hf while i set up the 3 ele beam on vhf.We both done our own thing and operated as best we could in difficult wind conditions.

          I managed 14 contacts including two summit to summits with Neil NCM on GM/CS-021 & Alan XXP on GM/SS-143,only two new contacts among them with a regular list of chasers appearing in the logbook.Thanks to Ken AXY for the spot and to all the other people who took time to call in.

LEFT- photo is Ben A’an summit looking down on Loch Katrine.

Picture courtesy of Andy http://www.flickr.com/photos/mm0fmf/5483420518/in/pool-sota_pics/

We both headed out together after the radio work was done and the return seemed much shorter and simpler due to having the company of a fellow activator by my side,very enjoyable day out but not the easiest of two pointers,glad we got an extra 3 points for the winter bonus.Home for around 5.30pm.

                   Distance travelled by car was only 55 miles.

    73′s until the next time..

Andy MMOFMF