It
started off as a backpack shopping expedition Sheila was needing a new backpack
for the approaching winter , picking a new backpack is not easy when you are
looking for a pack for trekking /climbing winter and summer not a task specific
pack and something long lasting if your paying a lot of money for a bag you
would hope it would see out your climbing/trekking life span , so three
different outdoor shops around Edinburgh were visited , various bags were tried
on handled bashed around and discussed merits and pitfalls off each bag , while
bob started texting can we make it into the hills in the morning ? yes we can !
new backpack for the hills the next day would have been nice but no decision
could be reached from the options we seen , it was 7pm now we had dinner to
organise and old backpacks to fill for our day tomorrow, mission backpack had
to be cancelled or postponed, we now had a rush to get to the Claremont for
dinner before they stop serving at 8pm this we accomplished , a few beers with
dinner and a glass of wine watching Everest on DVD in bed(after stuff was
organised of course) meant a one am sleep time for a 6 am pick up !
Bob was
fresh and organised as always when we scurried around shoving packs and poles
into his car and we were of at two minutes past six in the dark. it was just starting
to get light when we passed by Europe’s highest hedge just outside scone , it
was light when we passed the sad looking burnt down remains of the spittal of
glen shee hotel, I loved the bar in that place when it was open it had a
cracking big fireplace ,but now its been a blot on the landscape for far too
many years a sad reminder of how something once great can be lost to a blaze
and left irreparable , . we were parked up and ready to walk at the dalmunzie
estate hotel car park , there’s a sign saying that hillwalkers should report to
reception for a parking permit which we done but the girl dint know what to do with
the money and asked us to pop in on our return , the stags ( Britain’s largest
mammal)
were very noisily roaring
The
breeding season or rut occurs from the end of September to November. Stags
return to the hind's home range and compete for them by engaging in elaborate
displays of dominance including roaring, parallel walks and fighting.
Serious injury and death can result from fighting but this only occurs between
stags of similar size that cannot assess dominance by any of the other
means. The dominant stag then ensures exclusive mating with the hinds. There
must have been a bit of a stag disco party going on as the noise was everywhere,
There was
a slight drizzle and a little overcast as we headed up the track and through
the gate on our left , our proposed return route was hopefully going to be
through the gate on our right , it was a very good land rover track and old
railway line track almost to the top of our first summit, the more we gained in
altitude the closer we got to the low lying cloud eventually becoming enshrined
in the clouds which meant the drizzle was now just wet air that was being blown
at us side ways jackets on and waterproof bottoms for some , we left the track
after bob had a look at the map and compass then a discussion about the next
section of our route , we got onto our first peak of the day glas tulaichean after
only two and half hours walking which we were pleased with , we had seen a
runner in the approach and I wondered what time he would be doing this in , his
agenda was different from ours so they are not comparable we were dressed appropriately
and prepared for problems should we need to stay in the hills longer than
planned, he was out for a run with nothing to protect him should he have to
stay out in the hills unexpectedly , which of course is just a different way of
approaching two similar pastimes, I have no issue with him running these remote
Scottish peaks with not much safety nets and would probably do it myself ,
the visibility wasn’t great and thankfully bob
is an excellent navigator and at the summit we decided it was too windy to stop
long ,bob took a quick compass bearing and informed us of the fact it was very
important for us to take the north ridge down toward our proposed second peak ,
we dropped down a hundred meters or so and we were out of the cloud and could
find a spot to get a seat for some food , occasionally the cloud would burst
open to reveal our route ahead while we ate , we were heading for a Coll
between the two peaks near a loch and from where we sat it looked very boggy ,
we made a decision to skirt the boggy section and pick up an obvious path
further down the ridge keeping away from the boggy Coll , the ascent up to the
next peak was occasional difficult to find a path due to boulder fields but we
found our way up easy enough, with bob only having to double check with map and
compass once or twice ,the hares and ptarmigan where nearly completely white a
bit early for their winter colours I would think ! ( nae snaw) but hey evolution
needs to catch up with global warming I guess . the summit of carn an righ at
1029 metres makes it an Archie the name we are now giving all peaks over a
vertical kilometre and this would be our second one today our previous peak
being 1050mtrs
,
there was a nice circular stone cairn to
shelter in against the wind and drizzle (sma rain , a fine pirl , a smurr, how
many words to describe different rain we need in Scotland)
we didn’t
sit long and moved down out the cloud and briefly chatted with two walkers who
looked like a father and son ,
regardless
which way you done this second peak you still have to navigate your way through
the boggy section we had seen earlier but once there it wasn’t anywhere near as
bad as it looks , before we knew it we were walking alongside a lovely loch and
the sun was out with the cloud at last starting to thin out , this made the
steep zig zag path down along the side of a stream very pleasant walking ,
once
your down the steep section it’s a long march back down the glen , but the sun
was well out now and the scenery was beautiful , so much so I wanted to stop
here and have my flask of soup here in the middle of this peaceful glen ( apart
from the Rutting stags),the path became land rover track and then over the
river on a new wooden bridge along through some riverside trees that were beautiful
in their autumn colours , I often wish when I see trees like that how wonderful
it would be if it was possible to regenerate all the lovely forests Scotland was
at one time covered
with , we walked up
past some sheep on a farmstead that looked very clean and we were then back at
our original road , through the gate that was on our right at the start of the
day when we went left and back at the car ,
Sheila
went to the hotel reception and gladly paid the girl at reception the £2.50
parking permit it was worth every penny , what a wonderful circular route over
two remote Munro`s , it had been a route of 15.8 miles which had taken us eight
hours five minutes , an excellent day out we were happy with it all , I chatted
all the way home in the car while Sheila slept and bob drove with his ears bleeding
due to my ramblings , once home I put my new hills entries into my various logs
and text bob that today has brought my tally of munro`s up to 126 , he txt back
later to say he was on 125 of his second round ! I will need plenty more good
days out like this if I am ever to achieve a full round but I’m ok with that
bring it on !
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