The Redeemer - Drumochter reminder that it's all worth while
Posted: Fri Nov 27, 2015 9:31 pmI'll reiterate (see previous reports) - 2015 has been a stinker.
The weather this year has been enough to make me want to pack it all in. I've persevered through the clag and the wind and the clag and the rain and the clag and the midweek azure skies and the weekend CLAGGGG!!!!!!!
However, Ben Cruachan last month and the Drumochter 4 last weekend have redeemed this year in my eyes; I'm reminded that the hills can be the tonic for the soul I always knew them to be and feel remorse now for ever doubting them.
So we started off early (0620, which I still call early) from Glasgow and got ourselves to the cottages and ready to set off for 0840.
There's a land rover track which makes life easy for the first part before giving way to the upper reaches of the hill.
First Summit
A little cloud floated around but the visibility was otherwise excellent.
The views to Ben Alder were excellent
As a winter walk, these hills seem pretty benevolent. I'd left my ice axe in the car, which seemed like a bad idea fairly quickly, but there are no really steep sections and nothing that could qualify as a terrain trap.
It's worth noting that the county boundary marked on the OS map is matched on the ground by a solid line of metal fence posts which makes navigation a breeze.
The fence posts tail off after the third summit...
But the forth is reached easily...
The walk back to the car - 2.3 miles - is longer than might be desired along an A road but is just enough to stretch out weary leg muscles before sitting in the car for the run home. It's also along a path adjacent to the road rather than along the verge - which is nice.
I had a day of cracking views in another part of Scotland that seems to link everywhere else together.
It really doesn't matter how many days I spend in the rain, and the mist, and assorted meteorological enbuggerances, the good days make every step worth while. I hope those of you who've had your mojo battered in the recent weather can take some solace in knowing that, eventually, you'll have a day that'll remind you why you do this.
Here's to 2016!
(and a touch of sunshine for a change)
