Saturday 23 April 2011

Rob Roy Country



Easter weekend was approaching and the weather was set to be nice. There was no way we were not going to attempt a walk. After some deliberations, it was decided we would try Beinn Tulaichen and Cruach Ardrain. Both these hills are situated in the Crianlarich Hills. The route we were going to take was to start at Inverlochlarig Farm to the South. This would take in Beinn Tulaichen first then following the ridge along to Cruach Ardrain then descending from the bealach between the two.

We made it along the one track road to the car park and finally set off. Walking along the path to the farm, we saw the first of what was ahead of us.



It started off simple enough. There was a track to follow and the farm encourages walkers by placing signs and setting designated routes up. That was until we got to the bottom of Beinn Tulaichen. There comes the point you just have to turn left off the path and head up to get to the ridge. That point is not signposted, so you just have to make your own judgement when you want to head up.



And up we went. There was no beaten track to follow, so every footstep was on fresh hillside which didn't help on what was a pretty unrelentless slog. This was tough going and there were a few more leg stretch stops than there should have been.



Further up, a path had started and the going got easier. Following the path at a steady rate, we finally found ourselves on the first ridge and Munro No. 9 was achieved. This was the toughest one yet. If the first section had similar underfoot conditions to this bit, I reckon I wouldn't have struggled as much as I did. But as it was, we partook in some lunch at 946m. Although the prolonged rest was good, I felt a bit crap as I single-handedly added about 40 minutes of unnecessary rest time on from the first bit up the open hillside.



From the summit there was a clearly defined path NW along the ridge to Cruach Ardrain. I have to admit, if munro no. 9 was difficult, munro no. 10 was easy. It was so pleasant I pretty much led the way for the whole bit which was a first for the day.



The final push was in sight, and there was a strong breeze which was a relief considering how sunny it was.



Double figures have been achieved with Munro no. 10 ticked off. I honestly couldn't see both these summits far enough when we were about 300m [ascent] into the walk. The second one was reached in just shy of an hour which is not far off the time we would have expected so my second wind arrived just in time. Now it was time to get down and back to the car. As stated earlier, we plnned to go the way we came and head down east from the bealach eventually meeting the landrover track back to the farm. After looking at the maps and evaluating the path that was there, we decided to descend on an alternative route.



This route was a bit tougher than expected. There was a lot more sections we navigated that we hadn't encountered before. A couple of slides, slips and mud stained patches later we were passed the rocks and heading steadily down previously untrodden grassy slopes.



After what seemed like an eternity [2hrs 30m], we finally caught site of the track which had the carpark at the end of it.



What we didn't expect was that the car was still a good 4km away. Even with keeping what we thought was a good pace, it still took us 45 minutes to get there. Get there we did though and getting those boots off on a roasting hot day was a bit of light relief.

This was a strange day on the hills. Probably my worst if I'm honest. After achieving munro no.8 a couple of weeks ago, I think I went into this one with a bit of naivity about my fitness level. I'm not even going to say it was a reality shock, because in reality I know I am carrying too much weight [as highlighted by my spare tyre in the summit pics]. I think it highlighted how easy the last one really was and my reliance on a beaten track. If I was on my own, I don't think I'd feel as bad. It would only be my time I'm wasting but when you are with other people who can achieve it easily, it does play on your mind. I've got a couple of weeks off in a few weeks and I was going try and do a solo effort or two so this has definitely spurred me on to get my levels up. Here's hoping next time, it's a bit more successful.

2011-04-22 - Beinn Tulaichean and Cruach Ardrain
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Project Disney: The Bear Necessities



If you were to ask people to name a well-known Disney film from the past, The Jungle Book is most likely to appear high up the list. Widely regarded as one of the classics, it is a mainstay of the Disney library.

I had never seen it before so was quite looking forward to it. The outcome - I didn't really enjoy it. It is the kind of story that lends itself perfectly to the Disney touch but I just don't feel it flowed. Incidentally, it was the last film which Walt oversaw prior to his death.
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Project Disney: Excalibur



Next on the list was The Sword In The Stone. Watching this, I always believed it was a Disney original on the take of the King Arthur legend. Turns out, the story of Young Wart befriending Merlyn was adapted from T.H. White novel of the same name. What I have found with the Disney movies, is that they are either brilliant or a bit crap. I honestly found this a bit tough going therefore falling into the latter category. Storylines aside, the animation in each Disney movie does improve and you can see the development of animation styles through the years.
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Monday 11 April 2011

Hill of the Ptarmigans



The forecast for Saturday was set to be nice and as we aren't winter walkers, it was an ideal weekend to get back into the walking. Incidentally though, it was changed to Sunday so Grant would be out the house in an effort to let Rona get a kip after nightshift. So, with the seed planted, it was time to find a hill. I knew just the place to look - Steven Fallon's site. Having done 14 rounds of the Munros, his route knowledge is pretty extensive but the best bit is the '10 easiest Munros' list that he has compiled. My suggested hill for the expedition was Meall nan Tarmachan in the Loch Tay region just opposite the Ben Lawlers range.



So, Sunday morning arrived and it was time to go. Leaving Greenock at 08:00, we parked up at 10:00 ready for the trek. It wouldn't usually take 2 hours for the drive, but we stopped en route in Inveruglas to take a photo of the glass like Loch. This route wasn't scheduled to take ages, but as we have been off it for a while we just decided to take our time but try and keep a good pace. It was quite steady going and the weather was getting better and clearer as the day went on.



While walking, we saw the above peak in the near distance, but I knew it seemed to appear too quick so I had a feeling there was more to come. My suspicions were confirmed when I heard Grant just in front shouting "You're not going to like this."



And he was correct, I didn't expect what was now ahead of us. It turns out we were now standing on the 923m SE peak of Meall nan Tarmachan with the proper submit 100m upwards.



After a steep ascent up the crags and a patch of snow to navigate, we made it. Munro no. 8 for me was in the bag. What was surprising, was the fact we still had a phone signal. So after a few novelty texts and Facebook/Twitter updates and lunch it was time to descend.



When we came to this bit on the way up, I immediately started to fear the way back down. It actually turned out to be not that bad. With the worst over, the rest of the descent was fairly pleasant and we arrived back at the car less than 4 hours after starting.

So, that is that. The first proper walk of the year and the bug is properly back. Roll on the next one.

2011-04-10 - Meall nan Tarmachan

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