Having taken advice from some more experienced WH members i have decided for the most part to concentrate on the lower hills until my winter skills are up to the mark. I chose Ben Vrackie as it was fairly close to home and the route seemed fairly straigh forward.
- At least im heading in the right direction
My map reading skills are still a work in progress though i realise relying on the above signs is not entirely the best way forward
. My day got off to a bad start as my one of my newly bought glove liners was amiss from my backpack. Not to worry as i had my equally new gloves that i bought with my walk report for December's runner up (thankyou webtogs!). Anyway, as i was booting up a car pulled up with a guy whom i soon found out had been up there several times. As they say, never look a gift horse in the eye. I quick as a flash jumped in his rucksack and offered him my company on the way up. I was blessed in so many way as this recently retired gentleman had over 200 munros under his belt and was a rich source of info. Nuff said.- Ben Vrackie , or so i thought
My knowledge of the local area was put to the test as i was asked if i could identify Ben Vrackie. For some reason i picked the only hill i could see that was not covered in clagg. Boy was i embarassed when ben Vrackie came in to view
- This looks more like it!
We made good progress to the summit partly due to me asking countless question and forgetting i was actually meant to be climbing a hill. Thanfully my companion was only to happy to impart his knowledge upon me. True to Lucky's form the view from the summit was non existent. The backdrop of my pose probably sums it up!
- A hill with no views
My fellow walker adorned his recently bought microspikes and skipped down the hill leaving me to negotiate the ice with caution. I shouted to him to head off and thanked him for his company. The truth was my left foot had been killing me on the way up. I took me shoe of and adjusted my socks but still the pain continued. nevermind, not going to let sore tootsies hold me back. I was only down about 15 minutes of the descent when the sky's opened revealing Vrackie in all it's glory. I contemplated going back up just for the views but time was getting on. I managed to get a few clearer snaps on the way down.
An interesting walk was had though i must admit it was kinda ruined as i was down to almost a hobble by the time i reached the car. A quick gloat at the goods on display at Tiso (Perth)was had on the way back. Picked up a pair of microspikes which incidently are reduced to the bargain price of £36.
ANYWAY, ONTO THE PUNCHLINE BOOM BOOM
Once home I with religious fervour clean the boots and leave them out to dry. As i put my hand in the boot to clean it would you believe what was stuffed at the front????, Yip, you've guessed it, one glove liner. Kid you not, when i took it out my toe marks were still indented on the glove. Glad webtogs don''t have a booby pize of the month. Lucky
You got much the same view that I had when I was up Ben Vrackie and it cleared for us too as we had descended a bit from the summit. The cloud seems to come and go a lot in your pics! Enjoy the micro-spikes - what kind did you get?
