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Crock - By the Tourist Trail

PostPosted: Sat Jan 05, 2013 7:39 pm
by Gordie12
I'll start this report with the credits.

GraemeD - the intrepid explorer who first brought this hill to my attention
The Rodmiester - the challenger (find me an easier route he said!)
Foggieclimber - the enlightener (without whose post and link this would not have been possible.

Having read GraemeD's report on this hill a couple of times I was determined to have a go at it. Following the challenge being made I got the OS out. My first thought was to do Hare Cairn then look to sneak up on Crock from the East. I had this image of a fire break appearing in front of me and leading all the way to the summit - yeh, right! The forecast for today was decent without being brilliant so in the end I decided just to head up the track past Loch Shandra but to keep on it for longer than GraemeD to gain more height before heading off track. I then read Foggieclimber's report and the decision was taken.

My starting point was Kirkton of Glenisla as I wanted to head up the Cateran Trail as far as Loch Shandra.

Start of Walk at Kirkton of Glenisla.jpg
Leaving Kirkton of Glenisla via the Cateran Trail


Kirkton of Glenisla 2.jpg
Looking back at Kirkton of Glenisla


Loch Shandra 3.jpg
Approaching Loch Shandra


Passing Loch Shandra 4.jpg
Track passing Loch Shandra


Loch Shandra 5.jpg
Loch Shandra


When reaching Loch Shandra leave the Cateran Trail and take a track on the right which heads past the mouth of Loch Shandra. Passing through a couple of gates, turn left on a wide track heading uphill towards Tulloch.

There is still a lot of timber operations on the go at the moment and the usual warning sign is in place.

Warning sign 16.jpg
Warning sign


The track continues to climb after Tulloch and eventually I reached the area where work was taking place.

Logs by track 6.jpg
Logs by track


Logs - It's Art 7.jpg
Art..............


Logs with open hill behind 8.jpg
Logs with open hill behind


Once the track levels off there is a clearing for a couple of hundred yards and at the end of the clearing there is a track heading right uphill and hugging the line of trees on the left.

Start of Climb away from main track 9.jpg
Leaving the main track


The climb here is easy and only lasts for about 300 yards before reaching an entrance to a wide avenue of trees to the right of the track.

Avenue entrance 14.jpg
Approacing the avenue


Start of avenue 10.jpg
Start of avenue


This is a really great part of the walk. The wind outside the wood is quite strong but once you enter this dark avenue everything just goes quiet with only the odd creak of moving timber to be heard. The avenue starts off easily then the incline gets steeper towards the exit onto the open hill.

Entering open hill 11.jpg
Leaving the woods behind


Once out of the woods it's a short 10 minute walk to the summit.

Not far to go now 12.jpg
Not far to go now


And before you know it the summit is reached.

Summit 13.jpg
Crock Summit


The views weren't great at the top (because of the low cloud and lack of sun) so after a quick sandwich it was back down the same way I came up (no temptation to turn this walk in to a circular!!!!!!!!!!).

On the way down through the avenue I took this shot and decided it wasn't an avenue, it was a portal through what could have been really difficult terrain.

Avenue on the way down 14.jpg
The Portal



Back on to the main track and a quick shot of some of the machinery.

Forestry Machinery 9.jpg
I wonder if the keys are inside.............


If you've been bought a new pair of boots for your Xmas this probably isn't a track for them to make their debut!!

Muddy track 15.jpg
Muddy, muddy, muddy!!


Easy downhill walking now as I head back down the track and heading towards Loch Shandra then back down the Cateran Trail. With a mile to go I met up with this character.

Pheasent 17.jpg
Friendly Pheasent


Looks can be deceiving!! This was the psycho beast from hell and for a couple of hundred yards we sparred down the track with him running directly at me and trying to peck me and me having to kick out to stop him from connecting. Industrial language seemed to upset him even more and he was one determined *******!! In the end I decided that the only thing I could do was run away from him so I took off for 100 yards down the track with him chasing me off his territory (I thought about missing this bit out but I'm not proud)!!! Not my proudest moment if anybody had seen me running towards Kirkton with a pheasant in hot pursuit!!

Please, please don't follow in my footsteps. There is no honour in climbing Crock in this way, you are left with a feeling of shame that you have not had to fight your way through the vegetation like GraemeD. So please, with machete in hand, head for Crock and follow Graeme rather than me but get there quick before all the trees disappear!

PS Sorry about the attachment at the end, I can't seem to delete it.

Re: Crock - By the Tourist Trail

PostPosted: Sat Jan 05, 2013 8:07 pm
by The Rodmiester
Thanks for that Gordie :D , sounds INTERESTING!, mad pheasants, by the way didn't I tell you that I was going to do this hill today, and I filmed this guy running away from a mad pheasant and put it on U Tube, just joking :lol: Now I guess I have a choice of two ways up this beast, I wonder which way I will take, time will tell, wait and see. Maybe going up these parts tomorrow, to do what I wonder?

Re: Crock - By the Tourist Trail

PostPosted: Sat Jan 05, 2013 8:16 pm
by Gordie12
The Rodmiester wrote:Thanks for that Gordie :D , sounds INTERESTING!, mad pheasants, by the way didn't I tell you that I was going to do this hill today, and I filmed this guy running away from a mad pheasant and put it on U Tube, just joking :lol: Now I guess I have a choice of two ways up this beast, I wonder which way I will take, time will tell, wait and see. Maybe going up these parts tomorrow, to do what I wonder?


Before I started running down the track I had a quick look to see if anybody was about as I really didn't want to be spotted!!!

I'll be interested to see what route you choose if you head for this one tomorrow..............

Re: Crock - By the Tourist Trail

PostPosted: Sun Jan 06, 2013 8:04 pm
by Graeme D
Great report Gordie. I hope the intense feelings of shame and self loathing have subsided by now! :lol:

At this rate, Crock could well become the Hill of 2013! :lol:

I wonder how the drivers feel sitting in the cab of that digger thingy with the very interesting name of PONSSE! :roll:

Re: Crock - By the Tourist Trail

PostPosted: Sun Jan 06, 2013 8:49 pm
by Gordie12
Graeme D wrote:Great report Gordie. I hope the intense feelings of shame and self loathing have subsided by now! :lol:

At this rate, Crock could well become the Hill of 2013! :lol:

I wonder how the drivers feel sitting in the cab of that digger thingy with the very interesting name of PONSSE! :roll:


Sadly no, the feelings of shame and self loathing remain, I had hoped The Rodmiester would follow me and the guilt could be shared but the photos clearly show he wasn't tempted by my tourist trail (maybe the pheasent scared him off)!!!!!!!

Re: Crock - By the Tourist Trail

PostPosted: Sun Mar 02, 2014 4:50 pm
by neilfromperth
The tourist trail as detailed no longer exists I am afraid. From a couple of hundreds metres before Tulloch to 300 metres past it there has been extensive felling. It is still best to carry on up the track past Tulloch and past the stacks of cut trees until the big clearing is reached. I chose a route up following tracks made by the logging machines that carry on almost to the hill top. There is no corridor of trees , in fact nothing between the access track and the top of the Crock other than thousands of stumps! There was fresh snow covering the hill all the way down to the Freuchies today, yet track to summit was under 20 minutes despite the snow.

Crock is no longer surrounded by forest. Pity really. As long as you don't trip over tree roots it's a pretty easy hill now, but also pretty boring.

Re: Crock - By the Tourist Trail

PostPosted: Sun Mar 02, 2014 6:14 pm
by The Rodmiester
Ahhhhhhhh the Challenge of the mighty Crock has all but dissapeared, shame, now a boring stump sorry lump! :lol:

Re: Crock - By the Tourist Trail

PostPosted: Sun Mar 02, 2014 6:59 pm
by Benjaminnevis
Ah well that sounds okay to me as i may go down for a sub 2000 hat-trick soon :D

Re: Crock - By the Tourist Trail

PostPosted: Sun Mar 02, 2014 8:19 pm
by Gordie12
Nice easy hat-trick to be had with Crock, Hare Cairn and Creigh Hill all within a few miles of each other. Hope you do a report on Crock - wouldn't mind seeing how many trees are left.

Re: Crock - By the Tourist Trail

PostPosted: Sun Mar 02, 2014 8:22 pm
by Gordie12
neilfromperth wrote:The tourist trail as detailed no longer exists I am afraid. From a couple of hundreds metres before Tulloch to 300 metres past it there has been extensive felling. It is still best to carry on up the track past Tulloch and past the stacks of cut trees until the big clearing is reached. I chose a route up following tracks made by the logging machines that carry on almost to the hill top. There is no corridor of trees , in fact nothing between the access track and the top of the Crock other than thousands of stumps! There was fresh snow covering the hill all the way down to the Freuchies today, yet track to summit was under 20 minutes despite the snow.

Crock is no longer surrounded by forest. Pity really. As long as you don't trip over tree roots it's a pretty easy hill now, but also pretty boring.


Not surprised to hear this, there was some pretty serious machinery up there, shame really, it was an interesting challenge.

Re: Crock - By the Tourist Trail

PostPosted: Sun Mar 02, 2014 8:25 pm
by Gordie12
The Rodmiester wrote:Ahhhhhhhh the Challenge of the mighty Crock has all but dissapeared, shame, now a boring stump sorry lump! :lol:


But Rod you can tell the grandchildren about the day you beat the mighty Crock, anybody going there now can't tell the same tale.

Re: Crock - By the Tourist Trail

PostPosted: Sun Mar 02, 2014 8:49 pm
by The Rodmiester
Gordie12 wrote:
The Rodmiester wrote:Ahhhhhhhh the Challenge of the mighty Crock has all but dissapeared, shame, now a boring stump sorry lump! :lol:


But Rod you can tell the grandchildren about the day you beat the mighty Crock, anybody going there now can't tell the same tale.


There is that right enough :lol: :lol: I was going to say, I have not seen many reports from you Gordie, but I see you have started on your mileage walks again around Loch Ordie :D It's been pretty rubbish this year so far, a good few soakings! Maybe things are about to improve, I hope so!

Re: Crock - By the Tourist Trail

PostPosted: Sun Mar 02, 2014 10:40 pm
by Sgurr
The Rodmiester wrote:Ahhhhhhhh the Challenge of the mighty Crock has all but dissapeared, shame, now a boring stump sorry lump! :lol:

What a shame. I still think everyone should have to do it crawling up soaking wet drainage ditches

Image

Re: Crock - By the Tourist Trail

PostPosted: Mon Mar 03, 2014 9:56 pm
by Gordie12
Hi Sgurr - I remember that photo from an earlier report and I still giggle when I see it. That was dedication to the cause.

Re: Crock - By the Tourist Trail

PostPosted: Tue Mar 04, 2014 10:07 am
by The Rodmiester
Gordie12 wrote:Hi Sgurr - I remember that photo from an earlier report and I still giggle when I see it. That was dedication to the cause.


Likewise, still laugh at this one, there should be a Crock Achievement Badge for resoluteness and determination! :lol: :lol: