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I do apologise for repeating myself - this weekend's walk was a double of last weekend's. Only colder, and with a slightly better sunset.
Given conditions were continuing to be superb on the hills we decided to have another summit camp on Hill of Stake this weekend. We'd walked along the coastal route from Port Glasgow to Langbank on Thursday in fairly drench conditions - there was low lying fog along the riverside and it got worse the further east we walked - should have gone along the coast the other way, as there was sunshine when we went back to Greenock.
Friday had a good forecast, unlike the rest of the coming week, sadly, so we bundled our kit together and set off back up to Hill of Stake from Lochwinnoch. There was a light covering of fresh snow in the village and up the farm roads - we had none in Greenock. It made the ice easier to walk on, so that was fine. Strangely, by the time we reached Highlinthills Farm there was no new snow. Weird. The farm track was still frozen solid and the going was alright - barely a breath of wind today. Sheep were out and about, but apart from a couple of cyclists, taking life in hands cycling on the ice we barely saw anyone else.
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Al, on Flickr
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Al, on Flickr
New hair style
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Al, on Flickr
By the time we approached Misty Law the snow became deeper - probably last weeks snow that ad been moved out by the wind. The trails up to Hill of Stake were still visible under a covering of snow. Allison was trying out a new pair of boots today (Wills Vegan Hiking Boots) and gave them a definite thumbs up for comfort, warmth and waterproofness.
As we got near to the summit of Stake we wondered if our snow wall from last weekend would have survived. And indeed it had - a little melted in places, but essentially intact. It was about 3:15 again, just as it had been last weekend, and we amused ourselves by doing a bit more height to the wall. Then we pitched the tent and sat looking out at the fiery orange ball disappearing slowly behind Arran. Just beautiful - and the Alpenglow on the Lomond Hills was more intense than last week.
Our wall from last weekend
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Al, on Flickr
Rebuilding work
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Al, on Flickr
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Al, on Flickr
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Al, on Flickr
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Al, on Flickr
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Al, on Flickr
Our evening meal was Huel once again - Thai Curry flavour. We got into the sleeping bags, a little concerned that the water in our bottles had frozen, and they were inside the tent. Allison had brought a hip flask of her birthday whisky (Longrow Peated, from Campbeltown) which brought a warm glow in the midst of the cold. Certainly colder than last weekend, but so still and peaceful.
Should have packed my tripod...
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Al, on Flickr
The wind rose a little during the night - we could hear it buffeting the top of the tent over the wall, then the wind direction changed so it was coming directly into the gap in our wall! This made making breakfast a bit of a challenge, as the wind (and spindrift) were hitting the door. There was also a reluctance to get out of the warm sleeping bag and into the frigid air.
Arran mountains sharply defined in the morning light
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Al, on Flickr
Met a few folk on the way down, as they were going up, including a couple of Polish guys who said it had been -8 during the night. I could believe that. We altered our route off the hill, which avoided some of the bogginess we encountered last weekend. Muirshiell was a lot quieter this weekend too, as the sky was ominously overcast and it looked like snow or rain would be greeting us soon. We walked along from the Barytes mine, the streams frozen, fangs of icicles adorning the banks. Had lunch in a wooden gathering hall we found down from the car park. Our walk down the road to Lochwinnoch was much easier this week as there were only a handful of cars going up and down - not surprising in the wind and rain.
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Al, on Flickr
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Al, on Flickr
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Al, on Flickr
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Al, on Flickr
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Al, on Flickr
Frozen waterfall
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Al, on Flickr
CC58F592-C1A6-4049-8593-A02FB6E6C17A_1_201_a by
Al, on Flickr.