Must be my colour blindness but no red hill in sight.....Beinn Dearg Glen Lyon

Hill: Beinn Dearg (Glen Lyon)

Type: Corbett

Height: 830m

Another grey day ahead with low cloud and drizzle predicted so opted for a slightly lower hill than originally planned.

Todays walk can be split into 4 sections of ascent.

War Memorial at Innerwick

Start

Section 1 is a 50 minute continual climb on a hard forestry track. It was extremely humid and once again the perspiration was flowing. 

A lot of this

The only factor to take your mind off the relentless plod was looking over at the Graham Meall a' Mhuic . I had considered adding it on to this short walk but its flanks were totally covered with dense bracken and heather and I mean covered. I had decided that when I broke the treeline if Dearg's slopes were like this I was going to abandon and come back when the bracken had died back. 

Heather and bracken slopes of Meall a' Mhuic

Interestingly I spoke to an estate worker on the descent who said this was the worst year for bracken he had ever seen on these slopes.

Yet another Corvid trap

Section 2 is the heather moor. Thankfully when I broke the treeline there was only heather, plenty of it, but no bracken. Another grouse moor Corvid trap thankfully empty. But it was rough walking. I spotted a heatherless section about 30 metres away. I knew the green meant wetland but I also found a faint ATV track through it. Easier walking than the heather as I headed for the ridge.

The lump of Beinn Dearg behind the mid cairn

Section 3 was now no heather, just moorland and peat hags. It was obvious there would be no paths other than on-off deer routes so just picked a spot and walked towards it. The pudding bowl hill was in view at present but that was soon to end.

False summit can just be seen on ridge to the left

Section 4. Thankfully the ground was much firmer as I headed for a distant fence line that would lead me to be the top. The clouds decided that I needed more depression so descended to cover me ending any brief views that I had been getting, I did briefly see Loch Rannoch. I reached the false summit where apparently there are fabulous views over Loch Rannoch to a prominent Ben Alder. 

Great view from the real summit!!

I wandered across the misty plateau to the real summit where again apparently there are fantastic views of the Lawers range.

Barren moorland descent

Nice pointed top to Meall a' Mhuic

It was also rather nippy in the cloud so off I headed to descend by the ascent route. There are descent options but I reckoned the bracken would come into play so not for me today. Back through the trees with the mugginess I was being constantly ambushed by swarms of black flies, even had to put on my midgie net.

A short walk that felt much longer than the stats suggest. Probably I was just not up for it today but that's biorhythms for you.

Ascent: 603m

Distance: 11km

Time: 3.10

Wildlife: Meadow Pipit; Curlew; Wren