free to be able to rate and comment on reports (as well as access 1:25000 mapping).
Well I had a short afternoon to do a small hill as I continue "resting" my knee, so I thought I would give The Hill of The Old Man a go, despite everyone's comments on how wet and boggy the walk was!! Well, sad to say in the two years since the last report there has not been a magical improvement in the path! Actually it wasn't too bad, yes it was wet for most of the time on the track but most of it was just surface water as the track pretty much seems to follow a stream. Once on the hill it wasn't bad at all. The only really boggy mud fest was in the first wood you come to when the track goes around the long U shaped corner, this was pretty damp indeed!! But on the way back down I cut the corner through the wood rather than sticking to the path and that was much drier and seemed like a more sensible way to go.
I parked up in the parking area in front of the Ladycairn houses and walked back to the start of the track.
Followed the good dry track for a wee while and then it entered the dreaded mud fest
- Goal of the day visible just before entering the wood
Once out of the wood we just followed the dampish track along to a point that looked good for moving onto the hill. We just headed up the grassier bits towards the wee bealach between Càrn a'Bhodaich and Creag na h-Eigheachd. On the top there were the remnants of an old fence (marked on the map) that we followed to the summit.
- Dill at the top of his 15th hill of the year
Views were not particularly spectacular and not helped by it being a bit hazy
- Loch Ness with Meall Fuar mhonaidh in the distance?
- Looking out to Inverness
Once we had a wee snack then we carried on going north and came down to the track a wee bit further on than where we left it. We did startle a couple of young deer on the route and a grouse but Dill was sensible enough not to pursue them! Once back on the track it was then just a quick return to the car, avoiding the worst of the mud in the wood by not staying on the track.
- Time for a wee dip to get rid of the mud before going home!
Definitely not the most exciting of hills but a nice wee afternoon escape.