7 June
Yesterday, I climbed the five Munros of Lochnagar. I'd started out from home once again because I'd had to get the car back (Mum needed it)... So it meant that I started the Lochnagar Munros quite late in the day, after the inevitable getting up, packing and driving. Dad dropped me at the Spittal of Glenmuick and I set of at half past one.
I'd meant to go over these hills with Andy Brown, but he'd got there on time, I was horrendously late, and he ended up going up by himself - we never met up on the plateau.
I was looking forward to getting this group done, because it would efficively mean I'd climbed all the hills from Blair Atholl to Braemar. I've done a lot of high-tally days recently and this was the last in the region.
A lunchtime start meant that the sun pounded down on the long walk by Loch Muick. I took the high track to Broad Cairn and worked fast to make up time lost by our late arrival. The air today was hazy and warm, heavy clouds drifted. It reminded me of those dramatic oil landscape paintings.
The walk to Broad Cairn felt long, but the next Munros all made up for it. Cairn Bannoch, Carn an t-Sagairt Mor and Carn a' Choire Bhoidheach followed in quick succession. They're all Munros, but they're big rounded humps; long distances but little ascent. It's easy to walk with speed but you have to walk quite a long time to get anywhere. The plateaux were brown and orange today, the colour of the sun filtered through hazy air. Surrounding peaks were mostly climbed now, and ranged off into murk. At a stretch, I could see Schiehallion. But the Cairngorms weren't climbed yet, it wouldn't be long now until I was there.
Without a doubt, the most spectacular part of the day was coming over the top of Lochnagar, the cliffs opening up right beneath my feet. It was a real high point of recent days. Dad was a mile away on the opposite side of the coire, standing on Meikle Pap taking photos of me on the summit of Lochnagar and sweetest of all, it was my 100th Munro of the trip. A big moment; finally out of double figures! I spent time on the summit, exploring the tops of the cliffs, then staring in awe down at the huge voids of air as I walked around the coire rim.
Dad was on his way back to the Spittal, and I followed in his tracks as the sun set, casting hill and moor in intense evening colour.
And then my day was made: "Well done Kev. 100th Munro". Andy had written it in the ground for me. I stood for a moment figuring it out and then laughed out loud. Thanks Andy! And sorry I was so late.
Dad and I camped in Glen Cluanie, south of Braemar. I scoffed a couple pf curries and had a late bed. I was even too tired to get a blog done. But the weather conditions were perfect: not too cold, dry and not a midge in sight. I keep having perfect camps with dad. Long may they continue; should the midge hold off.
8 June
Today saw me up two Munros. They're the very final Munros of the section from Blair Atholl to Braemar: rounded hills and bog for endless miles. As a group, they've been very kind to me. The weather has simply been phenomenal. In previous visits, I'd occasionally found them quite tedious in their long aching miles. But I've had a great time. Summits have come and gone very quickly, the numbers and the miles have cranked up with me on top of them, almost unaware of just how fast I'm accelerating.
Today's Munros were were in the back end of nowhere, vast humpbacks of heather and snow in the very inner reaches of Atholl. By the standards of most Munros, they are infrequently visited.
I'd planned to climb them on the 1st June, but Steve (my bro) had asked if I'd be back his birthday, so I left them until now. It was also great to do them with James, Struan and Ian, who I haven't seen for far too long!
We cycled up to Geldie Lodge via White Bridge and left the bikes. In the pre-mountain bike days, these hills were an extremely long walk, but nowadays they can be done reasonably in a day. Even then, it was a longer trip than I'd expected. It's typical of the Atholl area that hills will take longer than they appear to on the map. Miles of heather-covered slope are wearisome, and these hills just that!
We did Carn an Fhidhleir first, with the thinking that it would be good to get the far one done first. We headed up long slopes to the summit, with the sun bearing down and the air warm. The Cairngorms, just to the north, were magnificent. Soon I would be crossing them.
An Sgarsoch was another big heathery dome, and we made it in fairly quick time. None of the four of us had been to this summit before. That says something for the inaccessibility of these hills, despite their location south of the Great Glen, where the hills are generally more popular. Outside of the Munro Round, it was also my last Munro ticked off south of the Great Glen, SO quite a special one.
We plodded off back to the bikes. Back at Geldie Lodge we met a team of archeologists. They told me that in their excavations (somewhere west of Geldie Lodge), they'd found a flint dating back to around 8000BC and a hearth. Fascinating! They were all heading back to Braemar for the night in landrovers while we were to cycle back! Never mind - we were almost as quick.
I enjoyed the cycle back a lot. I really felt comfortable on the bike, and could pound out higher intensities of effort than ever before. So although I've always been able to find my way around on a bike, today I really got the pleasure of the effort.
A great day, and really nice to see Struan, Ian and James.
Tonight, I'll be walking into the Cairngorms. This range has been hanging over me for a wee while now and now I'm finally about to tackle it. For the last couple of weeks, I've seen them every day from multiple angles, covered in snow and looking mighty. They're coming into summer condition now, and finally I'll get into the heart of them.
I'd rather not walk in tonight but if I don't, the Ben Avon day would be 35kms - too long! I feel reasonable (if ready to crash out!) so it's for the better to do the easy miles into Gleann an t-Slugain.
I'll be out of touch for a few days: on Monday time I'll tackle the central range from Hutchison - Corrour and then on Tuesday I'll do Devil's Point - Braeraich and back to the ski centre to meet dad.
Wednesday is looking like a washout, so if I can just get the summits done now, I can turn that in to a rest day. I'm sure it will be much needed! So that's all for now: one range (the Grampians) is finished, and I move onto another. I've done a huge amount of Munros recently, and it's been great. I hope the Cairngorms will be as good.
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