Ben Cleuch - my 1st walk.

[steven65]

Hi all - my 1 st walk , Sunday 14 / 3 / 10.
Up early with the lark on a beautiful sunny morning, met my mate (also Steven) near his home in Tillicoultry & we were off at 7am with our 2 dogs in tow - Oskar my 18 month standard schnauzer & Tara his ridgeback bitch.We went up Tillicoultry Glen over the footbridges that cross the burn -which i thought was very noisy considering how much water was in it. I think there were 6 bridges , after the last i decided that it was easier not to talk whilst going up hill ! Steven , being much fitter & a regular walker/climber had no trouble in doing both at the same time.
We then turned left/back on our selves and headed towards the top of the disused quarry face keeping a safe distance behind the danger fence.We climbed steadily upwards towards the top of Wood Hill towards Rough Knowles-stopping when needed for me to get my breath back. i put Oskar back on his lead as there were a few sheep about now , not so Tara being older and wiser she knew the score.I found this part the hardest untill we reached the top and could see it levelling / plateauing out on towards Ben Ever , this felt a marvellous achievement for me. I hope that doesn`t sound too lame -it was my 1st walk i was chuffed i`d made it this far. So , on to Ben Ever,( as i`d read on this site -if you want to go round it why bother having a day out ?........do yourself a favour and stay in the car park !) We made our way along with the fence posts on our R/H side i was amazed to see so much snow lying around.On the top of Ben Ever the wind picked up a wee bit , no time to stop though - down the other side over the style and we went up the snow bank on the R/H side of the fence ,occasionally my foot broke through the hard snow and you were up to your knee in it.Stopped halfway up for a breather and to admire the view below us , then onto the top.I`ve hopefully mamnaged to post a foto of me & Oskar approaching the top.We spent around 20 mins at the top having a s/wich & the best cup of coffee i`d had for ages ! Took some fotos , sorry for repeating myself but i WAS amazed at the views & it wasn`t exactly totally clear , but you could easily see the Bass Rock & Firth of Forth , Pentlands , Alloa (obviously ) & the views to the north & west were to me fab.







Down now towards The Law with the fence on our L/H side this was a wee bit boggy/wet in places ,but the sun was out.On down The Law i now appreciated how steep it was , as we went up over on the other side we`d seen a lone walker/climber going up The Law - slowly , i now knew why he/she had been so slow-it is STEEP.We passed quite a few folk heading up The Law as we came down , hardy souls,although i`d like to try it in route reversal one day.Towards the bottom there was a wee dodgy bit at the waterfalls which surprised me,then rather than go straight down we headed left/east towards the bottom of Kirk Craigs & made our way down .
We were off the hill at 12.05. I felt great !! Although the following day ,Monday , my leg muscles gave me a hard time.
I`m sure with more mileage /hills under my belt i`ll be fine.I hope you can see from reading this my enthusiasm , i cant believe i`ve waited 44 years to climb a hill !
Since this walk i`ve bought new kit , trousers/gaitors/jacket/proper waterproofs/walking poles(my boots are fine) so i won`t be wearing the jeans/jacket in the fotos again on the hills.
PS Oskar enjoyed it too

[Paul Webster]

Congrats Steven... looks like you got a great day for a first hillwalk! No shame in feeling the pull going up there... I'd like to able to say it gets easier

You need to be careful with walking on snowslopes though, if you slip it can be impossible to stop... It's a bit long-winded but might be worth looking at the winter skills page to get an idea about it. Mind you, maybe it will start to melt at SOME point!

[Freewheelin]

I've been admiring the snow on your hills from over here in Tracksuit City for the past couple of days.


... been sleaverin' like a poacher's dug!

[fingeez]

Hey Steven

Nice report and some good piccs there, looks like you had good weather for it
def no shame in feeling the pull, just keep thinking its all downhill once your at the top

haha paul you know scotland it prob wont melt for ages yet.

Ross

[BethAtTheHug]

Ah breathers are great don't let anyone tell you they aren't! I loove taking my time on the hills - you've got all day why hurry
It does get easier as you get hill-fit but the fitness wears off pretty quickly.
Bet the dugs enjoyed it too!

[CurlyWurly]

Great first report Steven. Good to see your 'standard' in the hills, we just got a Giant Schnauzer puppy and cannot wait until he is old enough to accompany me on trips in the hills

[steven65]

thanks for the feedback everyone !
i`ll certainly take heed Paul , better to take care & have fun than be a statistic.