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So, what do you do when the end of the world is nigh? Christmas shopping holds little appeal at the best of times, let alone in the face of impending doom. So with school finishing for the Christmas holidays and annihilation imminent, there really was only one logical course of action - head for the hills.
Weather wise, today was decidedly skanky, the only positive thing to say for it being that it was somewhat less skanky than yesterday. I clung to the notion doing the rounds in the various forecasts I had seen and heard that the monsoon was going to abate as the afternoon wore on, and when school clocked off, I headed south down the A9. I had to pick up my daughter from my parents,in Auchterarder but planned on heading down to the Sheriffmuir road and tackling Blairdenon Hill from Carim Lodge, thus finishing off the northern Donalds in the process.
I did wonder about the wisdom of hill walking when I crossed the River Earn which was more resembling of Lake Superior than the River Earn, but I forged on, encountering a few unmarked fords on the Sheriffmuir road before pulling onto the verge below the slopes of Little Corum.
- Carim Lodge from Little Corum
The lower slopes were surprisingly bog free up to the little knobbly top of Little Corum but in the bealach between here and Mickle Corum, things went downhill somewhat, literally, as I descended into a swamp.
- Greenloaning and Braco from just beyond Little Corum
- Mickle Corum and Glentye Hill
- Blairdenon Hill across the shoulder of Mickle Corum
Fortunately it was reasonably short lived and as I ascended Mickle Corum alongside the fence line, the snow cover became more widespread, however as I got above the snowline itself, the going became very hard. The snow was deep, thick, and heavy - kind of like walking through syrup in places.
- Frozen fence
- Ahead to Blairdenon from the 616m spot height
- Cairn on the 616m spot
- Distant Dumyat
I hugged the fence line where the going was a little easier, passing the memorial cross a short distance before the unassuming summit at the three way junction of fences.
- Memorial cross
- Blairdenon summit
I didn't hang about unduly, more or less retracing my steps back to the car before heading to pick up Ailsa from her Gran and Papa, passing a couple of interesting water features on the way down.
- Bubbling spring
- Peat hag water feature