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Decided to go for my first camp up a hill and thought the hills to the east of glenshee might be easy enough, from other reports they looked like grassy lumps. That and the high start point would make carrying the bigger pack up a bit easier
- The route
I set of on Friday at 6pm from the ski resort. First up Glas maol. Easy peasy
- Glas maol
Next up cairn of claise, also easy peasy
- Carn of claise
Sun was beginning to drop but I managed Carn an tuirc
- Carn an tuirc
I decided to just track round towards tolmount, but find somewhere to camp before hand. Made camp just over before ca whims below some little tors.
I had a terrible night sleep because I had made the stupid mistake of leaving my inflatable mat in van to save a bit of weight. Big mistake as the moors tried to suck the heat out of me all night. Then at early o clock ptarmigan decided to start calling on the tor above the tent
Next morning I woke up easy enough but couldn't be bothered getting up
After making a coffee, I finally got up and 10 hours after making camp I finally got going again. 30 mins later I was on tolmount
- Tolmount
But then the clag rolled in
- The clag!!!
This was the point at which it got tricky. I dropped down to the glen between here and the knaps of fafernie. Only to find snow blocking the gulley.
- Taken on the way back
I had no clue how deep or solid and it seemed to stretch in to the distance in both directions. In the clag I could see no end to it. Being by myself there'd be no one to help me out if I fell through. I started heading south looking for a suitable crossing point. Finally found a suitable bit below tom buidhe. After that it was a long bog slog through the knaps of farfernie to Fafernie then over to cairn bannoch.
- Cairn bannoch
I thought about nipping round to do the three at lochnagar but knowing the terrain that waited on the way back I figured I'd leave those three for another day. I headed on to broad cairn. The clag was finally lifting!
- Broad cairn looking down loch muick
Another bog slog back to crow craigies then up tom buidhe
- Tom buidhe
Finally began making a bee line back towards glas maol. It was at this point I saw my first humans! All heading towards tom buidhe
By now I was running out of oomph but wanted to get my last one Creag leacach. Stopped for some munches on glas maol and looked over. Seemed like a nice easy shoulder then up the best looking hill I'd seen in the last 20 hours. Not the grassy lumps I'd been on. This gave me the perk I needed.
- Shelter only for in desperation
- Lovely path up
- Creag leacach
At the top I looked down at the road and decided I didn't like the look of walking along it. There was another path below but it looked like quite an ascent on tired legs with a heavy pack.
I headed back towards glas maol and at 920mtrs I contoured round to pick up a faint sheep track onto Meall odhar. It got a bit steep and hairy at some streams but I made it ok. Back down to the van for 6pm. 24 hours but 8 munros and by some miracle, no ticks!
