Wednesday, July 30, 2008

Cairngorm


Having been slightly put off the thought of wild camping high up, I retreated to Aviemore and found a nice spot near there. The weather was cloudy and very windy, so I decided to have an easy day and tackle Cairngorm.

When they built the funicular railway there, it was written into the terms & conditions that outside of the ski season, passengers were not allowed out at the top. They were to be confined to the restaurant at the top. Walkers could also access the building, but had to be signed in and out by a member of staff. They have recently allowed walkers to buy a ticket down on the funicular, but if you want to go to the top, you have to walk up.

The wind was battering me, so I took refuge in the restaurant on the way up. There is quite a good exhibition there, and the hot chocolate was welcome. I hoped that the cloud would shift, but after an hour I gave up waiting and headed for the summit. The path is clear, and it didn't take long from the restaurant.

It not being a day for hanging around, I beat a hasty retreat back down the car, watching all the "captives" on the funicular. I bet my day was better than theirs!

(Technical Data: distance = 7.5km, ascent = 650m)

Tuesday, July 29, 2008

Glenshee


Sunday didn't really happen, as I got lost trying to find Loch An Daimh, to climb Meall Buidhe. I ended up having a nice drive round Glen Lyon though!

Yesterday I headed over to the Glenshee ski area, packed up the rucksack and set off for an overnight stop. Looking at the map, Loch Vrotachan seemed a good place to camp.

I set off for the summit of The Cairnwell, one of the most easily accessible Munros, as the top is only about 250m higher than the A93 that runs below it. You could even cheat and take the single seat chairlift up! After The Cairnwell, I headed round the ridge to Carn a Gheoidh. I then had a decision to make. To carry on and bag An Socach, or head round to the loch for a lazy evening.

As the weather was so good, I headed down, crossed Baddock Burn and up the other side to An Socach (dumping my rucksack at the point that I would have to return to). The climb up to An Socach wasn't too bad, but the summit plateau seemed to go on forever.

The slog back up to Loch Vrotachan was hard work, and I was glad to finally find a suitable spot to pitch the tent. Because of the terrain, I ended up high on the ridge. This wouldn't have been an issue had the weather forecast been correct.

At around 5.30 this morning I was woken abruptly by heavy rain on the tent and the distinct sound of thunder. This I could live with, but the accompanying lightning was more alarming. I racked my brain to try and remember what I'd been told about camping in an electrical storm, to come to the conclusion that I'd never been told!

I packed my rucksack and waited for a break in the weather. As I peered out of the tent, I could see that the storm was directly overhead. After what seemed like forever, the rain stopped (albeit for about 2 mins!) and I packed the tent away and ran back to the car. I'm not sure what the staff in the cafe thought this morning when they found me on their doorstep waiting for them to open for breakfast!

(Technical Data: distance = 17km, ascent = 1100m)

Saturday, July 26, 2008

Schiehallion


While up in the Mamores in May, I'd taken some photos, and seen a peak that stood out from the others. On investigation, it appeared to be Schiehallion, which lies to the East of Rannoch Moor. While planning my summer trip, this was one of the mountains that I had in my sights.

I drove North yesterday, and camped at a site in Rannoch Forest. The weather was a bit cloudy this morning, but I had hopes that it would clear. It didn't!

The path up from the car park is well maintained by John Muir Trust who own part of the hill. But this only goes 2/3 of the way up. After this, there is a rocky section where you are hopping from one boulder to the next. At one point the cloud did break, but only for a matter of seconds. I reached the summit, and had a rest.

While at the top, I got chatting to a few people including two ladies who had a big dog with them. They set off down before me, but I soon caught up with, and overtook them. I was about 100m in front of them when I heard a yell and turned round to see one of them tumbling down the rocks. Years of carrying a 1st aid kit with me, for once it came in useful - although there was not a lot that I could do for the damaged ankle...the RAF helicopter had to take care of that.

I headed back down (very carefully!) and found a really nice campsite - Glengoulandie, which had a deer park attached.

(Technical Data: distance = 9.5km, ascent = 750m)

Monday, July 21, 2008

Scotland - D of E Supervisor

As I have done for the past 4 years, I took a group of students up to Scotland to do their D of E Gold expedition. This year we had three groups, who all started a different points, walked for two days towards Corrour, and then walked away from there for two days to their finish points.

After last year's drama, this year went far more smoothly. As usual, Claire lost her group on Sunday, and I had a bit of an epic trip one evening - but we all survived.

I thought that this was the best conversation I'd had with a group, but this trip had it's challenger. 7am, the morning after I've been out checking on a group until 1am, the emergency phone rings.

Me: "Hello"
Them: "Liz, there's some cows"
Me: "Yeah?"
Them: "But they're blocking our path"
Me: "I'm 1.5 hours drive away from you...what do you want me to do?"
Them: "It's okay, they've moved now"!!

And I'm supposed to be working with the creme de la creme :)