Walkhighlands

Having bagged my first munros the previous month I was keen to get some more in as soon as possible.The only problem was I was not 100% sure about going it alone,however nobody was able to come with me so I had no choice but to venture out on my own .As I was going to be alone the first benefit I found to be was that I could decide where I went without any debate so decided for Ben More as I wanted to try something with a bit more altitude than my previous outings of Mayar and the Cairnwell Three.Had a quick look on WH and decided to go with the route on here and try and get in Stob Binnein too.
So I set off about 6.30a.m with my dog Ruby and Corrie,one of my parents dogs.I had intented to stop at Glen Ogil for a bacon roll that I had read so much about whilst researching this walk however there was no van there when I passed,I just assumed it must be a day off.After about 5-10 mins I passed a burger van heading for the layby,I must have been a bit sharp,it was Sunday after all.
I arrived at the parking area just up from the farm at about 8.15a.m. I was first there but only by about 2mins as a car pulled up behind me,I was about ready anyway so got the dogs out the boot and set off.The weather was how the forecast said,bit cloudy to start,but was mild and no rain forecast. The track is decent enough and you are on the ascent straight away but not to bad to begin with.It was still cloudy by the time I got to the gate and could not see the top yet] According to my route plan I was meant to head up somewhere about now to try and join a path further up,unfortunately i could not see the path so just had to head up and hope it would be visible before long.I thought it would be best and easiest to zig zag and think I went to far back towards the gate as I could still not see the path,it is very steep in this part and I was tiring quickly,my legs were soaked from the knees down and my feet saturated as the grass is long,wet and boggy,I quickly realised these boots are definitley not water proof,kept going for what felt like ages and still unable to see the summit or the increasingly sought after path.It was getting steeper and I was gaining less and less altitude by now.At this point I seriously considered packing it in.I stopped for a few minutes,resting against a rock.The break seemed to do me good,decided to keep going and heading in the same direction,after 5 minutes or so I came across the path,I reckon I must have climbed at least 100m higher than where I could see the path starting.What a relief!!!
It was still as steep but at least I knew I was on the right path so to speak. Revitalised by my find it felt like I made it to the summit pretty quick after this although it was still very cloudy so I was unable to get any good pics and the views were limited but I did not mind,I was just glad to be there.Munro number 5
We did not stay for to long at the summit for two reasons,one it was very cloudy and the views were not great and secondly i thought I must have lost a lot of time caused by my poor navigational skills.Anyway we headed for Stob Binnein,it reminds me of a big dipper,down steeply then back up just as steep.
The descent down the other side of Ben More is very steep to,the ground is decent though and I was at the the bealach pretty quickly,was very warm now to and the ascent up Stob Binnein began,think I made good time up here to and reached the second summit of the day without any hassle,apart from the heat.I was sweating like mad!The cloud was clearing and the views really were awesome,even managed to get some pics,just in time really because pretty soon after reaching the summit the clouds rolled in again and I could see absoloutley nothing,time for my well earned lunch I thought,hopefully the clouds would go away by the time i was finished!
It cleared up again quickly so I headed down again to the bealach then turned left further down to what I think was meant to be a path but it is very boggy and very eroded. I found it diffcult going down here as it is steep in places and slippery,eventually it flattens out and I ended up walking through a field full of cows.I must have taken a wrong turn somewhere because i never passed an old bridge and the cows did not look best pleased to see me and I was a bit concerned as I am not sure how they would take to dogs if they had young calves.They let us pass through easily enough with just the odd dirty look and a few funny noises.After that it was just a case of following the track back around the starting point,my feet were aching at this point and it was easier going uphill than down at this stage.I made it back to the car about 6 hours after I started,turned out to be a very enjoyable day

Well done on getting these done Gary, fine pair of hills.
I'd work on the navigation if I were you, save yourself some energy.

Had a double-take on your last photo, thought you'd placed a wee cairn on your dog's head for a second.

Great effort Gary, good decision to keep going - often taking a moment to gather yourself is the best thing to do. Some nice pics even with the clag rolling in and out. Corrie looks like a movie star dog

skuk007 wrote:Well done on getting these done Gary, fine pair of hills.
I'd work on the navigation if I were you, save yourself some energy.

Had a double-take on your last photo, thought you'd placed a wee cairn on your dog's head for a second.

thanks skuk,was bit annoyed at myself for missing path but hopefully I will learn from it it does doesn't it.purely accidental though,I had just sat down and she must have known I was away to get some food out and sat next to me staring at me and I still had camera handy

ChrisW wrote:Great effort Gary, good decision to keep going - often taking a moment to gather yourself is the best thing to do. Some nice pics even with the clag rolling in and out. Corrie looks like a movie star dog

thanks ChrisW,It does help stopping,calmed me down to.She is my parents dog,she is a bit off her head to be honest but harmless

Looks like I was a day early on getting some decent weather.

Nothing but cloud, rain, hail and gale force wind's on Sunday. I had too miss out Stob Binnien due too the conditions. Looked like Monday was just about the perfect day too be in the hills !

Well done mate !