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White Mounth,

PostPosted: Tue Sep 27, 2011 9:49 pm
by gary
Was on my own again this weekend for my walk so thought i would try something that would take most of the day as I won't have many more chances this year.Had a quick look on WH and opted for the White Mounth Munros.Had a look at the route and distance and it states it is 18 miles, this was really going to test me as the furthest I had done so far was 7.5 miles.
Set of at 7 a.m. and headed for Ballater,arrived at the Glen Muick car park at about 8.15a.m,there were already about 10 cars parked up, anyway i paid my £3 and was ready to head off by half past,I followed the WH route and was heading for Lochnager first.
The walk starts off with a nice flat level walk along a good track towards some woods,I could see a couple of fellow walkers already at the start of the woods by now.
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Across the glen to woods and builings

It is a nice easy start along the track then up through the woods for a short bit then onto a more stoney and eroded path which begins to rise steadily,after a while the path levels out a bit and forks,there is a very small cairn here and I took the left path which is well made,almost like large rocks placed next to each other with a flat edge to the surface,it is easily distinguishable and amazingly sturdy.It starts to rise a bit steeper up here and after a bit I got my first look at the summit.
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Looks a bit scary from here

It starts to rise really steeply now and is like a staircase but not for long though.It starts to level out again for a while now and I was glad,it was really windy up here now and I got a bit of cramp in my calf and had to stop,I was not going to hang about for long though mainly due to the wind but I was slighty concerned at getting cramp and not even being at the first summit yet and I was planning to do five! I was looking over towards the summit now and it looked quite busy,I think that most of the cars in the car park must have been for those approaching the summit at this point.About 10-15 minutes later I could see the viewpoint and about ten folk heading back from it towards me,said hello in the passing and started to climb up the viewpoint thinking I was alone,so I started having a conversation with my dogs I had with me and just as I got to the top of the viewpoint there was a young couple sitting having a bite to eat,they must have heard my whole silly conversation with my collies as they both had a big grin on their face, :D I just said hello rather sheepishly,feeling a bit silly now.They did not stay for long and I took a few photos,the views were great as the early cloud had lifted and I could see for miles.
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me at summit,a bit frustrated as this is third attempt as the camera kept getting blown over

I headed down shortly after the crowds had dissappeared and headed round to Carn a'Choire Bhoidheach,must have taken less than half an hour after I left the previous summit to reach this one and hardly feels like a munro as there is very little descent and reascent between the two summits.Did not stay for long but there are still some good views from here I think
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Me at second summit

After returning to main path again I could see the large group heading uphill in front of me so decided to leave the path and try a short cut but to be honest am not sure if it was as it was very boggy and probably uses all my time trying to keep my feet dry,I caught up with the large group by the time I reached the aeroplane wing but thankfully there was no sign of the young couple :)
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Ruby wingwalking

It is pretty steep at this part but before long I was at the summit,where the young couple were sitting by the first cairn having more food,I walked past to another big grin and hello,I carried on to the second cairn where I stopped for a short break and some well earned refreshments.
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I gave up trying to take my own photo as it was almost impossible in the wind so just had to settle for the cairn and my backpack

There is a pretty obvious and decent enough path from Carn an t-Sagairt Mor to Cairn Bannoch without any great descent or ascent and it is reached pretty quickly.Stopped here for a few minutes before heading for my fifth and final summit of the day.The path stays much the same to the summit of Broad Cairn,which is also reached easily enough even if I was beginning to tire a lot.The view from the summit is spectacular with Lock Muick on one side and countless hills visible all around.I did not stop for long though and began my descent down the other side which I found quite difficult at times as there is no defined path and you have to climb over a lot of rocks until you reach a path again.
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LochMuick from Broad Cairn
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The distance was beginning to take its toll on me by this point and it looked a long walk back to the car from here,kept going until I reached a bench next to what looked like a sheep shelter or something.Stopped for a much needed seat and drink.After a few minutes i was off again and came to a junction in the path,for some reason I went downhill now heading for the loch as opposed to staying on the high path like it says on the route plan.I think the only difference was it was narrower this way but it is still a decent path,it was very busy as I approached the loch,a lot of teenagers out for a walk round the loch i think.Had to make a few more rest stops before I reached the car but made it in the end.
Think that is about as far as I could manage in a day though,really pushed me to the limit but surprisingly I felt fine the next day as oppossed to my previous few munros and I got no more cramp!It was a thoroughly enjoyable walk though and would recomend it to anybody that is willing to try it

Re: White Mounth,

PostPosted: Tue Sep 27, 2011 10:13 pm
by rockhopper
nice one gary :D - glad you got some decent views as well - spent most of the day in clag when I went round these hills - it's certainly a long walk back to the car 8)

Re: White Mounth,

PostPosted: Tue Sep 27, 2011 10:41 pm
by ChrisW
Great effort Gary, I still haven't done these 5 in one go and its on my doorstep (its just too damn far for me :shock: ) don't know if I will get back to that level of ability either, best I can do is about 15 miles at present.

That picture of corrie with you at the cairn is hilarious , she looks all windswept and interesting :lol:

Re: White Mounth,

PostPosted: Tue Sep 27, 2011 10:42 pm
by gary
Thanks Rockhopper,could not complain about weather and the views were even better than I thought,the walkback was a killer though,sorry you never got to fully appreciate the views for yourself,a real pity

Re: White Mounth,

PostPosted: Tue Sep 27, 2011 10:46 pm
by gary
ChrisW wrote:Great effort Gary, I still haven't done these 5 in one go and its on my doorstep (its just too damn far for me :shock: ) don't know if I will get back to that level of ability either, best I can do is about 15 miles at present.

That picture of corrie with you at the cairn is hilarious , she looks all windswept and interesting :lol:

Thanks ChrisW.15 miles is still a fair old trek,have you managed them all at some point though?
We had a good chuckle when we saw that photo to,I think she looks a bit mad there

Re: White Mounth,

PostPosted: Wed Sep 28, 2011 12:09 am
by ChrisW
gary wrote:
ChrisW wrote:Great effort Gary, I still haven't done these 5 in one go and its on my doorstep (its just too damn far for me :shock: ) don't know if I will get back to that level of ability either, best I can do is about 15 miles at present.

That picture of corrie with you at the cairn is hilarious , she looks all windswept and interesting :lol:

Thanks ChrisW.15 miles is still a fair old trek,have you managed them all at some point though?
We had a good chuckle when we saw that photo to,I think she looks a bit mad there


No mate, I've done Lochnagar on one trip and Broad Cairn on another (both from Loch Muick) I love it down there though and haven't given up on the other 3 just yet :wink:

Re: White Mounth,

PostPosted: Wed Sep 28, 2011 8:25 pm
by gary
ChrisW wrote:
gary wrote:
ChrisW wrote:Great effort Gary, I still haven't done these 5 in one go and its on my doorstep (its just too damn far for me :shock: ) don't know if I will get back to that level of ability either, best I can do is about 15 miles at present.

That picture of corrie with you at the cairn is hilarious , she looks all windswept and interesting :lol:

Thanks ChrisW.15 miles is still a fair old trek,have you managed them all at some point though?
We had a good chuckle when we saw that photo to,I think she looks a bit mad there


No mate, I've done Lochnagar on one trip and Broad Cairn on another (both from Loch Muick) I love it down there though and haven't given up on the other 3 just yet :wink:

Neither you should either! I think that those two are the most scenic though