Glenshee 6 - plus a wee bit more!
Posted: Thu Aug 27, 2015 4:20 pm
Time for another outing, as the boys were getting itchy feet. Usual late dilemma's over weather, journey's and route's was sorted the night before as we opted for a big day, out at Glenshee, opting to do the Glas Maol circuit, taking in Tolmount and Tom Buidhe along the way. I had a map for the Glas Maol hills, but not for the other two, relying on a WH print off to help, if needed?
Early start for us. Half four departure, got us ready to set off about 0740. We chose to park up the top, in the layby on the right, beyond the Cairnwell. A bit tricky to spot, but if you pass and see a big layby on the left, you have gone too far.
It was looking a bit gray towards Carn an Tuirc, but the top of the hill looked clear, which was encouraging. The walk in was pretty uneventful other than a bit squelchy and the occasional grouse, exploding from the heather, to give Big Jasper a fright, or two. Oh, yes, another small point. I soon realised I had left my walking pole in the car, so Jaf kindly lent me his. (He must take it every walk for company, cause never uses it )
The path gets a bit broken and feint after the sheilings, but one could almost just head straight up any route of your choosing. The top is quite indistict. Must have been hard to decide where to plonk a cairn. Not the most dramatic of hills.
Charles, was then of a mind to head off directly for the two outlying hills, whereas the route I had in mind, was to head for them after No.2, Cairn of Claise, which we could see being slowly smothered in some incoming clag. It wasn't clear which, if any of the hills out to the east were Tolmount, or Tom Buidhe and we never saw an obvious path heading out that way. I knew the route to Tolmount from No.2, was almost exactly due east, so was keen to stick to that, without having the map. Charles eventually came round to my way of thinking.
The path, then road track, to Cairn of Claise is quite clear and easy to follow. A bit of clag, but not much of a climb and before long we were following the well made wall to the top. A bit more to see, so lay down the walking pole for a few photo's, as well as a bit of refreshment.
From here, I was half expecting a track to be heading in/outwards for Tolmount/Tom Buidhe, but there was nothing too obvious from the summit. Looking due east there were a couple of vague hills which didn't look too impressive but, might be our ones? Well, time to believe in my convictions. Due east, Jimbo, must take us there, right? Maybe. The going wasn't too bad, other than occasional peat hags, to get over/through, as we lost some height. It was about this point, I had a feeling of despair. That moment where you just know you have mucked up, as the walking pole seemed somewhat missing from my hand. Oh no. Not again Oh, bleepin' yes! I couldn't remember if I had left it at the cairn, or somewhere after leaving the top, but it was now having a good rest somewhere. My heart sank, although my route plan was to return to the top of Cairn na Claise, so we might just be reunited. Big Jaf, was quite stoical, as he held back the tears, but I vowed to return to the top to have a look for his trusted walking companion, come what may
Anyway, as we started to ascend once more, we became more convinced the hill ahead must be Tom Buidhe, but again, it doesn't look much of a hill from this side. A quick check of the GPS on the summit and bingo, we were there. That wee hill to the north must be Tolmount then? Again, didn't take the breath away, as there isn't much descent, distance, or shape to get excited about from where we were looking. It was just a matter of how far to traverse round to avoid losing height, a quick climb and 25 minutes later, that was Tolmount in the bag. Time for some grub. Now where did I leave said grub? Mmmh, doesn't seem to be there. Uh, uh, won't be there you eejit, you've left it in the fridge Errrmh, Charles, any chance of one of your lovely looking egg rolls? Big Jasper seemed lost for words, shaking his head in disbelief, followed by about two minutes of hysterical laughter, but fair play to the big man, who duly coughed up his egg roll for my salvation. Ah well, what else can go wrong?
From here the path back to Cairn of Claise, was actually more distinct. It may have been possible to head back more to the south and shortcut some of the distance off if heading for Glas Maol, but having lost the walking pole meant I would have to stick to fixed plans and return to Cairn of Claise, which now looked higher and further off, for some reason. Anyway, we soon made it back, though the legs were begining to tire by now, or at least, mine were. Thankfully, I was partially redeemed, as the walking pole was sitting there against the cairn, smirking at my return. From here the walk began to improve, as the landscape becomes a bit more appealing, with a view of the crags on the south side of Caenlochan Glen and the edge of corries to the Cairnwell side, as we followed the old Monega Road track.
We maybe stayed on this track a bit longer than necessary, but after a chat with a couple of lads, soon detoured west, a quick jaunt to the top of Glas Maol. By now plenty of other walkers were appearing from the Cairnwell side, one lovely lass who took our photo and a bit of advice about how best to return to car.
Our plan was to return back to somewhere around Glas Maol, traverse round the west side and find our way down, which the girl assured us would be relatively easy on a day like this, which had brightened and warmed up considerably by now. The walk over to Cul Riabhach, and then Creag Leacach, is actually the most enjoyable part of the trip, giving one a sense of being up real mountains. I guess it must have taken about 5 hours to get to the top of our 6th and final hill, from where we could look down on the Cairnwell Pass, Glas Tulaichean and beyond to the Cairngorms.
Being wise guys, we left our rucksacks way back at the start of the wall and returned to pick them up, making our way along a good path, round Glas Maol, over to Meall Odhar, then down the landrover track, to the ski centre. Feet well nippin' by now! Big Jasper, not being one to dilly-dally, had brought his trainers, to finish off his day with a wee run back to the car. Me, not being a masochist, chose a leisurely wander along the road to await my chauffeur to pick me up, for the long trek home.
Not the most spectacular group of hills, but a big and memorable day away, for more than one reason. The route would have been shorter, heading for Tolmount and Tom Buidhe after No.1, but I can't vouch for a path, or terrain in between, although it would also allow one to take in Coire Loch Kander.
As usual, we stopped for a small refreshement on the way home to nicely round things off and guess what? Yes, to nicely round things off, I had forgotten my wallet! To prove he is a thoroughly decent chap, Big Jasper soon had a cool cider on the table, while he, sadly had to stick to the water. Some guy
Early start for us. Half four departure, got us ready to set off about 0740. We chose to park up the top, in the layby on the right, beyond the Cairnwell. A bit tricky to spot, but if you pass and see a big layby on the left, you have gone too far.
It was looking a bit gray towards Carn an Tuirc, but the top of the hill looked clear, which was encouraging. The walk in was pretty uneventful other than a bit squelchy and the occasional grouse, exploding from the heather, to give Big Jasper a fright, or two. Oh, yes, another small point. I soon realised I had left my walking pole in the car, so Jaf kindly lent me his. (He must take it every walk for company, cause never uses it )
The path gets a bit broken and feint after the sheilings, but one could almost just head straight up any route of your choosing. The top is quite indistict. Must have been hard to decide where to plonk a cairn. Not the most dramatic of hills.
Charles, was then of a mind to head off directly for the two outlying hills, whereas the route I had in mind, was to head for them after No.2, Cairn of Claise, which we could see being slowly smothered in some incoming clag. It wasn't clear which, if any of the hills out to the east were Tolmount, or Tom Buidhe and we never saw an obvious path heading out that way. I knew the route to Tolmount from No.2, was almost exactly due east, so was keen to stick to that, without having the map. Charles eventually came round to my way of thinking.
The path, then road track, to Cairn of Claise is quite clear and easy to follow. A bit of clag, but not much of a climb and before long we were following the well made wall to the top. A bit more to see, so lay down the walking pole for a few photo's, as well as a bit of refreshment.
From here, I was half expecting a track to be heading in/outwards for Tolmount/Tom Buidhe, but there was nothing too obvious from the summit. Looking due east there were a couple of vague hills which didn't look too impressive but, might be our ones? Well, time to believe in my convictions. Due east, Jimbo, must take us there, right? Maybe. The going wasn't too bad, other than occasional peat hags, to get over/through, as we lost some height. It was about this point, I had a feeling of despair. That moment where you just know you have mucked up, as the walking pole seemed somewhat missing from my hand. Oh no. Not again Oh, bleepin' yes! I couldn't remember if I had left it at the cairn, or somewhere after leaving the top, but it was now having a good rest somewhere. My heart sank, although my route plan was to return to the top of Cairn na Claise, so we might just be reunited. Big Jaf, was quite stoical, as he held back the tears, but I vowed to return to the top to have a look for his trusted walking companion, come what may
Anyway, as we started to ascend once more, we became more convinced the hill ahead must be Tom Buidhe, but again, it doesn't look much of a hill from this side. A quick check of the GPS on the summit and bingo, we were there. That wee hill to the north must be Tolmount then? Again, didn't take the breath away, as there isn't much descent, distance, or shape to get excited about from where we were looking. It was just a matter of how far to traverse round to avoid losing height, a quick climb and 25 minutes later, that was Tolmount in the bag. Time for some grub. Now where did I leave said grub? Mmmh, doesn't seem to be there. Uh, uh, won't be there you eejit, you've left it in the fridge Errrmh, Charles, any chance of one of your lovely looking egg rolls? Big Jasper seemed lost for words, shaking his head in disbelief, followed by about two minutes of hysterical laughter, but fair play to the big man, who duly coughed up his egg roll for my salvation. Ah well, what else can go wrong?
From here the path back to Cairn of Claise, was actually more distinct. It may have been possible to head back more to the south and shortcut some of the distance off if heading for Glas Maol, but having lost the walking pole meant I would have to stick to fixed plans and return to Cairn of Claise, which now looked higher and further off, for some reason. Anyway, we soon made it back, though the legs were begining to tire by now, or at least, mine were. Thankfully, I was partially redeemed, as the walking pole was sitting there against the cairn, smirking at my return. From here the walk began to improve, as the landscape becomes a bit more appealing, with a view of the crags on the south side of Caenlochan Glen and the edge of corries to the Cairnwell side, as we followed the old Monega Road track.
We maybe stayed on this track a bit longer than necessary, but after a chat with a couple of lads, soon detoured west, a quick jaunt to the top of Glas Maol. By now plenty of other walkers were appearing from the Cairnwell side, one lovely lass who took our photo and a bit of advice about how best to return to car.
Our plan was to return back to somewhere around Glas Maol, traverse round the west side and find our way down, which the girl assured us would be relatively easy on a day like this, which had brightened and warmed up considerably by now. The walk over to Cul Riabhach, and then Creag Leacach, is actually the most enjoyable part of the trip, giving one a sense of being up real mountains. I guess it must have taken about 5 hours to get to the top of our 6th and final hill, from where we could look down on the Cairnwell Pass, Glas Tulaichean and beyond to the Cairngorms.
Being wise guys, we left our rucksacks way back at the start of the wall and returned to pick them up, making our way along a good path, round Glas Maol, over to Meall Odhar, then down the landrover track, to the ski centre. Feet well nippin' by now! Big Jasper, not being one to dilly-dally, had brought his trainers, to finish off his day with a wee run back to the car. Me, not being a masochist, chose a leisurely wander along the road to await my chauffeur to pick me up, for the long trek home.
Not the most spectacular group of hills, but a big and memorable day away, for more than one reason. The route would have been shorter, heading for Tolmount and Tom Buidhe after No.1, but I can't vouch for a path, or terrain in between, although it would also allow one to take in Coire Loch Kander.
As usual, we stopped for a small refreshement on the way home to nicely round things off and guess what? Yes, to nicely round things off, I had forgotten my wallet! To prove he is a thoroughly decent chap, Big Jasper soon had a cool cider on the table, while he, sadly had to stick to the water. Some guy