Fiarach

Alasdair and David persuaded me to give them a lift to Crianlarich on Tuesday because they were keen to bag a couple of Munros. I was pleased to do so; I am glad that they like hill-walking and delighted that they enjoy each other's company. How would I spend the day? (My fitness level, although recently improved, cannot match the walking speed of my sons!)
I thought about going for a low level walk, however James suggested that I have a go at Fiarach, a "Graham" at Dalrigh, just south of Tyndrum. A Graham is a hill in Scotland which is between 2000 and 2499 feet high (609.6 and 762 metres). Now, any hill walk makes me a bit nervous because I have a long history of being rubbish at walking up hills. My fitness is never what I want it to be and when walking with my family I am always the slowest walker. On a low level route I can keep up fine; the problem arises when I walk uphill. I overheat, get out of breath, worry about slowing down the group, and panic in anticipation of failure. I usually do manage to ascend the hill, but the accompanying anguish almost outweighs the euphoria of reaching the top. I don't know which is the bigger problem; my lack of fitness or my lack of confidence.
However I quite liked the idea of going up a hill on my own. Fiarach is 662 metres, but the amount of ascent was only about 500 metres so not too challenging. And I was attracted by the idea of going at my own pace and not holding anyone else up. Often James gets cold while waiting for me to catch up, and if I have a rest he looks at his watch and sighs heavily. I know he's not doing this to make me feel anxious, however that's how I end up feeling. So when we go walking with the hill-walking club I always go with the "low level" group and find it much more enjoyable.
So on Tuesday Ally, Davie and I set off at eight and the boys headed off on their walk from Beinn Glas farm at 9.30. They were going to climb Beinn Chabhair and Beinn a Chroin. I had a quick coffee before driving the few miles up the road to park the car at Dalrigh. After much scrutinising of the map to make sure that I took the correct path, I was soon on my way. The weather was glorious; sunny with a light breeze. The countryside looked lovely and two Hercules transporters flew low overhead as I walked along in Gleann Auchreoch. There were beautiful waterfalls, sheep with their lambs, and I saw three deer grazing at the edge of the forest. As the ground became steeper I just took my time, resting when I felt the need, and enjoying the views of Tyndrum and all the surrounding hills and mountains. It took me two and a half hours to get to the top including stops, but I was in no hurry and had a great time. I had lunch at the top and I felt very peaceful. On the way down I was surprised at how steep the hill seemed - I had to zig zag down some parts so that I didn't slip. Inevitably I fell down a hole full of mud at one point but it didn't dampen my spirits - although it did dampen my trousers and boots! I picked up drinks and ice creams from the Green Welly at Tyndrum then I collected the boys from our assigned meeting place at a lay by near Crianlarich. They were tired but very happy. It was an excellent day.