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At least from Forfar it is................alarm was set for 3.30am and I was on the road for 4.15am.
At 5 in the morning the A9 was more or less empty except for a few trucks so I had a trial run ahead of the average speed cameras being switched on in a few months time - quite hard going on a clear road.
I climbed Ben Klibreck last year and assumed it would just be another 10 minutes along the road, forgot how slow it can be to cover the miles on these roads. The Hope road is slightly different with grass growing down the middle of it, maybe the council could throw in some wild flower seeds to brighten things up.
Arrived at the car park and was ready to start for 8.45am. There was one car already parked up and another arrived just as I was setting off.
I had read on WH that this was basically a short but fairly steep climb and that more or less sums it up. On a good day with a well defined track to follow there are no navigation issues to be concerned about.
The other thing I had read about this hill were the excellent views and I had intentionally left it for a good day to hopefully see it at it's best.
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- View from the car park
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- Looking down Strath More
The initial climb is next to the burn and in wet weather this could probably be a bit boggy but after the recent dry period there were no such problems.
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- The climb ahead
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- Looking down Strath More again
After the steep start the ground levels off and the track meanders round and then rises above a ridge line with great views down Strath More. With the legs refreshed it was on to the next climb.
As I hadn't bothered to check the map or my notes I thought I was on the final climb so it was a surprise on reaching what I thought was the top to see this.
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- The final climb
This was basically the third steep section of the hill but probably the easiest one as well and it wasn't long before the trig point was in view.
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- Trig point
On the climb up and while on the summit the views were a bit hazy and this was my 1st Munro with decent sea views so I hung around for a bit and took it all in. One chap had camped overnight about 100 yards from the summit and I wondered if he had a good sunrise to watch.
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- Ben Loyal
After leaving the summit I headed over to the eastern side of the plateau to have a look at the views and they were stunning with the haze starting to clear. It takes a lot to encourage me to sit down and take in the views but this was just a special place so I took the ruck sack off and sat on a rock and pressed the pause button.
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- Dubh Loch na Beinne and Loch Hope
The walk back down the hill took more or less the same time as the climb up. This was because a) it was steep with a lot of loose rocks and b) the haze had cleared and the camera was out. I also met a couple of guys from Cumbria who were up on holiday for a couple of days and chatted with them for ten minutes before meeting a couple and chatting to them as well.
So after a leisurely wander down the hill I had been out for three and a half hours with just over half an hour spent staring in to space or just generally chatting to people.
I did this as a straight up and down and if you pick the right day the effort is well worth it for the views (also well worth the drive up).
A few photos on the way down............
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- Ben Hope from Loch Hope
The drive back down the A9 wasn't as enjoyable as the journey north. I followed 21 foreign bikers from the Kessock bridge to Aviemore before they branched off then took my place in a line of traffic following a couple of trucks. Within 10 miles of home I hit a pothole and smashed a rear shock absorber so rather than being on top of Carn an Righ today I'm doing this report then heading in to the garden. Hopefully I will get the car back tonight and be able to head up to Glenshee tomorrow.
