Geallaig

En route to aunt and uncle's 30th wedding anniversary in bash, I was desperate to take in a short hill to edge closer to my target of 50 Grahams before baba is born. The forecast wasn't great for late afternoon and the further north I drove, the more bleak it appeared. I chose Geallaig and parked opposite the wee cottage on the B976 (I think). From here, I really motored up the landrover track to the wee post and looked North - it wasn't the best of views but it was still great to get out nonetheless.

 

I contined onwards but unfortunately, it wasn't long before I was in the gloom and could see no further than 30 feet in front of me. Which wasn't a problem as the massive cairn, which encloses the trig point is impossible to miss. I was at the summit within 40 minutes and after a brief refreshment, was back at the car before 70 minutes were up, after a nice run back down. Good to break sweat and edge closer to the magic 50.

 

Lamachan hill and Curleywee

A chance to head South after a meeting on drinking water. Of which there is very little after this prolonged spell of good weather. My plan was to take in the 3 Donalds to the South of Loch Trool but I never got down there until 1340. Despite my best efforts of running along the tracks, it wasn't until 1440 before I started up on to White Hill, just N of Curleywee. And it was a tough slog through tussocky heather, which ended up lacerating my lower limbs. The sweat was pouring off me, while the afternoon was still with no breath of wind. I eventually climbed up on to solid ground, the frustrating and coruscating terrain behind me (until the descent later). I could see the Merrick to the north, imposing and to the east, Mullwharchar was in view. I carried on up to the airy summit cairn of Curleywee and stopped for some sustenance. I could see previous accomplishments in the form of Millfore - a cold day with Craig almost 18 months ago.

The drop down off Curleywee was quick and the ascent up on Bennanbrack was pretty nifty too - looking back to the 1st days' hill and it was a wee belter. From here and on up to Lamachan Hill, was so straightforward but the summit itself is devoid of anything of interest because it is so flat. The cairn was part of a wall which ran West and it was at this point, I had to consider whether I should add on Larg Hill. It would be a round trip of about 4km with some ascent but the time was now 1641 and I knew I had a hard descent ahead to get back to the land rover track. Simple enough down to the two lochains before Mulldonoch but from there down to the track was rough, tough and equally as hurtful as before. I eventually got back to the track and enjoyed the walk back to the car, which was an hour from the summit. A nice but painful day out, these hills require care and a guid pair of trousers I think.

Meall Buidhe blast

I hadn’t done anything since the Lairig Ghru race and with 10 days of rest, relaxation and over-eating, I was ready to get back into the hills. An opportunity arose to grab a quickie on the way back from Dundee and once again, I cast my eye over hills towards Balquihidder – anywhere which allows me to partake at Mhor84 always ranks high. I decided on the Graham just North of Lochearnhead. Meall Buidhe is a relatively easy sojourn, as the track starts at the high point of Glen Ogle. However, it was a hot day with temperatures of 24 degree Centigrade. I went light with only my running sac and even got into my shorts. Lotion in the basket added, hydration sorted and I propelled myself up the zig-zagged land rover track.

After 5 minutes, I felt uber-fit and started to run the flats and even the uphill gradients. Within 30 minutes, I was at the aerial and its white unit imploring ‘please paint me green’. From here, it was a romp across the heather and I was at the summit within 45 minutes of leaving the car. The views from this summit area are exquisite; South sees Ben Vorlich/Stuc a Chroin and Glen Ample; East, you can make out the other Graham, Creag Each, North are the Lawers hills and to the West, Stob Binnein and Ben More were still covered in snow on the Eastern corries. The only downpoint was the horde of flies, which were voraciously whizzing around my heid.

I decided to pop over and grab the Graham Top, which was an easy up and down, largely because the path was pretty good and I was running to escape said chitinous brutes. From here, I bombed off the summit and ran the rest of the way down to the car. I am incredibly fit at the moment and the opportunities to multiple-bag over the next few weeks will hopefully see me add to my Munro and Corbett tally before the hopeful arrival of foetus 1 on January 3^rd. I was back at the car in 1 hour 30.

Welcome to Ben Venue

A few weeks ago Graeme suggested a post-work blast up Ben Venue. Pleasingly, this would coincide with a spell of high pressure and as I headed only 40 minutes North of the house, I knew it would be a great wee trip out. We mused on the approach and opted for the Bealach nam Bo, a historic cattle-drovers route. While boggy at first, the quick ascent into the boulder-field afforded rapid height gain and we had some great views back down to Loch Katrine (Crypto-free apparently) and beyond to Ben Ledi.

Once on to the bealach, the views stretched to snow-clad Stob Binnein and the loch bending round towards last year's Beinn a Choin and Meall Mor. Good times. It took a fair walk up and over to the actual summit and we scared several wild goats en route. Finally, we reached the small summit cairn and could see Ben Lomond, not far off, with Glasgow in the distance. Once we had stopped, the chill set in so we headed for the trig point before seeking respite from the May winds. Settled into a wee hollow, we cracked open an Ossian and some dry roasted nuts. Man, one beer and half a bag of nuts never tasted so good, with views stretching over the Trossachs and beyond. It was really lovely to have a view and spend time catching up before we packed up and headed off down the other side.

Unfortunately, we descended on to a rotten aspect of this hill - the deforestation, which resembles something post-apocalyptic. It's an absolute eyesore and is one of the worst examples I have witnessed of environmental destruction. I am so glad we chose the route we did up this hill as I can't think anyone venturing up this way would look back fondly on this hill. I enjoyed the trip but the destruction left a sour note.

Creag Each walk-run

I can't believe it's been over 3 months since my last Graham. This was a fairly fortuitous pad as I decided to pop back from Dundee via Comrie and take in a hill around there. The day was warm but frustratingly, it was very hazy around Loch Earn. At 1440, I parked in a lay-by next to lazy fishermen, who were passing the day away with beer, a fire and a line in the loch. I was going light as I wanted to run part of the route. Upon zig-zagging up the land rover track into Glen Tarken, I realised it was a steep little start but once past the old cottages, the track levelled out and I began to jog and walk interchanging as the contours alternated. I had also decided that I would bag the Graham top, Sron Mhor and the West top of Creag Each. This would add distance and extra ascent, which would help my endurance for the upcoming Lairig Ghru race.

The wide open coire over to Creag Ruadh was in sharp contrast to Coire Etchachan, where i had been the previous week and I decided I would come back to do this one in Winter, as it seemed like a wild area, which would be ideal on a cold, frosty day. I'm not sure where the summit was for Sron Mhor but I am sure I passed it before the descent and ascent up on to the West top of my objective. From here, the actual Graham didn't look much higher but there was bog to navigate around. Some of the summit boulders were of interest, with little corridors peeling off in different directions. I was the top in 1 hour 15 with a view down to the massive caravan park beside Loch Earn. While at the summit, I spied another cairn, further NE so I made my way over to that. There was no sign it was a memorial cairn but I can't think why there would be another well-structured cairn so distant from the summit.

From here, I really picked up the pace and motored down the North ridge to the land rover track. My pace for the next 3 miles was approximately 8.5 minutes per mile and I reached the car at 1 hour 47 after starting out. A nice wee pad-run.

Windy Standard

Being based in Lochinvar Lodge for a few days, it was too tempting to be situated 10 miles from this hill and not venture up it. So I did. I decided to start at Craigengillan and left the car beside an abandoned house and continued up the forestry track to Moorbrock. Moorbrock hill stood proud above the estate and I carried on past the accommodation, eerily uninhabited. As I started up the hill proper, Beninner and Cairnsmore of Carsphairn came into view. The climbing was steep but this afforded quick views over to the latter hills and before long, I was up on the summit of Moorbrock Hill, looking over to my objective of the day. The terrain was partially frozen but very awkward to walk through since initially solid footing gave way in every step.

I had seen a couple of points on the map that I wanted to check out - Luke's stone and the De'ils putting stone. They are hardly stunning pieces of geology but there is obviously a history behind them. I particularly enjoyed the view down the glen from Luke's stone but the De'ils putting stone was a disappointment although it did have something scoured out of the top of it. I continued on to the flatter part of Windy Standard and walked nervously past the operating turbine, with its (to me) surprisingly loud whoosh. Another 100m across tussocky ground and I arrived at the trig point, where the turbines lay before and below me. I don't agree with such environmental vandalism but they did provide an eerie backdrop to the summit shot. I decided to return over Bawnhope and under the crags of Moorbrock hill along the forestry track. I startled a couple of young deer before climbing a watch tower and sadly finding a dead bird of prey. My return to the car was a sombre experience.