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Blairdenon to Ben Ever

Blairdenon to Ben Ever


Postby Eskimo » Mon May 16, 2016 12:22 pm

Hey folks, looking for some advise on the best route from Blairdenon in the Ochils to Ben Ever.

I've done this section a few times but never really found a route that doesn't involve a lot of drop and climb and/ or very wet feet from the bog.

How I've done it more recently is hit the N/S fence line, follow it S then E fence line at the N of Craighorn, drop a fair bit of height to the access road and climb back up the W side of Ever to the summit. Has to be a simpler route than this!

A wee doodle on a map would be very welcome!

Thanks!
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Re: Blairdenon to Ben Ever

Postby magicdin » Mon May 16, 2016 2:34 pm

Why don't you just use GPS Planner ???
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Re: Blairdenon to Ben Ever

Postby nigheandonn » Mon May 16, 2016 2:50 pm

Isn't the GPS planner really just the same as using an OS map? Which gives you the shortest route easily enough, but leaves you deep in peat hags.

I don't have any better suggestions from experience, though - I got wet feet in the bog!

Some of the walk reports from Blairdenon Hill suggest that it's possible to follow a faint track round the worst of it - going the other way I gave up on the track (if it was the same one) when it seemed to be heading for the Finglen Burn rather than Blairdenon, which might have been a bad idea.

This report has a description: http://www.walkhighlands.co.uk/Forum/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=40762
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Re: Blairdenon to Ben Ever

Postby Eskimo » Mon May 16, 2016 2:51 pm

magicdin wrote:Why don't you just use GPS Planner ???


Thanks for advise. However if I plotted a route on the GPS Planner I would plot my less than ideal route, wouldn't I!

Hence the question - does anyone know a better route.

:shock:
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Re: Blairdenon to Ben Ever

Postby Eskimo » Mon May 16, 2016 2:57 pm

nigheandonn wrote:Isn't the GPS planner really just the same as using an OS map? Which gives you the shortest route easily enough, but leaves you deep in peat hags.

I don't have any better suggestions from experience, though - I got wet feet in the bog!

Some of the walk reports from Blairdenon Hill suggest that it's possible to follow a faint track round the worst of it - going the other way I gave up on the track (if it was the same one) when it seemed to be heading for the Finglen Burn rather than Blairdenon, which might have been a bad idea.

This report has a description: http://www.walkhighlands.co.uk/Forum/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=40762


Cheers for the link there. Yea, that's not too a dissimilar route to what I take but that heads back up to Ben Buck. I would currently maintain the heading to reach the fence line and then drop down to the access road and back up to Ever.
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Re: Blairdenon to Ben Ever

Postby Dave Hewitt » Tue May 17, 2016 12:22 pm

The way you describe via the Craighorn fence is quite nice, I think (I'm a fan of Craighorn, which would be a lot busier were it 30m higher), but does involve a bit of extra descent/ascent as you say. The line skirting Alva Moss to the south and coutouring the northern edge of Craighorn is drier than the direct line across the moss, but is always going to be squelchy in places apart from in a longish dry spell (as recently) or a proper freeze.

I usually just go straight across - the haggy stretch doesn't last very long and if you zigzag about a bit you can avoid the main swamps. Then from the top of the track just angle southwards across the slope to the Ever/Cleuch col and up from there - it's reasonable ground across the tussocks. I tend to take the high line over Buck/Cleuch however, then descend via Ever. Blairdenon itself is nice via the southern horseshoe from Alva, up by Bengengie, down by Colsnaur - did that again last week and it was good as ever.
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Re: Blairdenon to Ben Ever

Postby Eskimo » Tue May 17, 2016 2:11 pm

Dave Hewitt wrote:The way you describe via the Craighorn fence is quite nice, I think (I'm a fan of Craighorn, which would be a lot busier were it 30m higher), but does involve a bit of extra descent/ascent as you say. The line skirting Alva Moss to the south and coutouring the northern edge of Craighorn is drier than the direct line across the moss, but is always going to be squelchy in places apart from in a longish dry spell (as recently) or a proper freeze.

I usually just go straight across - the haggy stretch doesn't last very long and if you zigzag about a bit you can avoid the main swamps. Then from the top of the track just angle southwards across the slope to the Ever/Cleuch col and up from there - it's reasonable ground across the tussocks. I tend to take the high line over Buck/Cleuch however, then descend via Ever. Blairdenon itself is nice via the southern horseshoe from Alva, up by Bengengie, down by Colsnaur - did that again last week and it was good as ever.


Thanks Dave, great advise as usual.
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