An Socach from Killilan

I knew that the minute we could emerge from lockdown 2, I was aiming for this Munro as part of a bike ride from Killilan. And so the moment came, I was too excited to wait for the 0500 alarm. I got up at 0200 after a grand two hours sleep and headed straight out of the door. The long drive from home to Killilan saw me head across Rannoch Moor at 0345 with deer at the side of the road, almost ghostly in the headlights. I eventually rolled up at the car park, where I had also decided to come after lockdown 1 back in July 2020. I popped the front tyre on the Curbar MTB and began the cycle - even at 0630, the farmer was up and about and gave me a wave. It was a lovely cycle up to the end of Glen Elchaig and I rode as far as I could reasonably take the bike - a good 14 km from the car and barely an hour had passed. It was a beautiful day; cold and with some snow on the tops - would it come into play higher up? The view back down Glen Elchaig was outstanding.

Now, the hard work could begin. A tramp across the bogs and the shoulder of An Socach was my first target; it seemed an age before I made the flat ground below the shoulder proper and the views to the hills surrounding my target was astounding. What a place to take it all in. It had been several months since I had been on the Munros (6 in fact) and who could have foreseen the 2nd Covid wave being so brutal. The decision to allow families to meet at Christmas was a costly one; I was happy that I had played no part in putting my own parents at risk. Others had not been so fortunate. I now carried on to the last climb up to An Socach and wondered if I had enough in the tank to take in the 2nd Munro, An Riabhachan. When I finally reached the last part of the hill, I realised with the size of the cornices, getting to An Riabhachan would be too much of a risk and so I stayed a while at the summit of Munro 265. I phoned my wife to let her know I was good (it was 0930) and was heading back down. The views were incredible. It was also bitterly cold. 

I re-traced my steps until the shoulder, then decided to head down to the North of the loch, before a lovely walk back to the bike, dodging frogs and their spawn. From the bike, it was a lovely meander back to the car, with the heat of the day now apparent. I packed the bike away and made the trip back home in time for tea. A 42-km day made much easier with the bike and it was superb to be back amongst the big hills.