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"Hill-walking is great, except for the ups and downs"

"Hill-walking is great, except for the ups and downs"


Postby Jaxter » Mon Apr 24, 2017 9:06 pm

Munros included on this walk: Binnein Beag, Binnein Mòr, Na Gruagaichean, Sgùrr Èilde Mòr

Corbetts included on this walk: Garbh Bheinn (Loch Leven)

Fionas included on this walk: Pap of Glencoe

Date walked: 21/04/2017

Distance: 35.3 km

Ascent: 3659m

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The weekend didn't have the best of starts....leaving Glasgow on Friday morning, my mind was so preoccupied with what I could have forgotten that I missed the M876 turning and ended up heading to Stirling instead of work in Edinburgh...dignity already in tatters :lol:

Getting away at lunchtime it was overcast and spotting with rain, but the sun was out by the time I passed through Callander and I arrived in Kinlochleven in weather than could have been mistaken for July 8) Checking in with the hostel warden and sorting things for the arrival of everyone else, I chucked on some more appropriate clothes and flew back doon the road to Glencoe village. Parked up, map out and off I went :thumbup:


Friday 21st April
Pap of Glencoe
6.7 km
759m ascent
2 hours 10 mins

It might sound strange, but I had always seen the Pap of Glencoe as a landmark rather than a hill to be climbed. It wasn’t actually until the Gairloch meet and a quiz question about the real name of it (Sgorr na Ciche, rather than our guess of Meall Pappa apparently :lol: ) that made me think of going up.

Looking ahead
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It was very warm and I was sweating like a pig :lol: there were lots of folk out, and I chatted to some of them but I was on a mission. Crossed the bridge and bog trotted across the hillside where the path rose steeply upwards. It was unrelenting and I was enjoying the challenge.

Stopping to look behind me, the views were absolutely fantastic. Hopefully the sun would still be out at the top!

Towards Ballachulish and Loch Leven
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Once up the steep bit the path levels out and becomes boggy, which then makes way for boulders....my favourite :shock: The pimple-like summit of the Pap is just ahead and the path is obvious most of the way up with a bit of rock hopping required.

Pap ahoy
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Arriving at the top, the views were just wonderful. It wasn't too windy either, the bigger hills behind blocking the worst of it.

Mamores galore
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Beinn a’Bheithir and Loch Leven
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I met a lovely French couple and we took each other's photos. They were touring the highlands so I warned them about the road closures for the Etape on Sunday before figuring I should head back to the hostel.

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Beinn a’Bheithir
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Loch Leven and Garbh Bheinn
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At the bealach I bumped into Lynne, great minds :thumbup: I decided to take a short cut from here and headed down a path which soon became a very slippy bog. I caught up with 3 others who said it was better than their route up :shock: :lol:

Evening light on Glencoe
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Loch Leven and Garbh Bheinn (Ardgour)
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An impressive panorama
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The Pap and Cnap Glas
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Dignity intact, I got back to the car and drove the few miles back to Kinlochleven to meet some of my favourite people and make plans.

Loch Leven
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Beinn a’Bheithir
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The Pap and Sgorr nam Fiannaidh
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Evening light on Loch Leven
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Garbh Bheinn (Kinlochleven)
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Pap.gpx Open full screen  NB: Walkhighlands is not responsible for the accuracy of gpx files in users posts




Saturday 22nd April
Eastern Mamores – Sgurr Eilde Mor, Binnein Beag, Binnein Mor & Na Grui
22.1km
2000m ascent
9 hours

The following morning an intrepid group set off from the hostel. J888ohn with the mountain mutt, Big Tommo, Yorjick, Tinman, RMed37 and myself headed along the road and up the path near the Grey Mares waterfall. Neil Farnham and Parminder were ahead of us, as was Monty (although he'd probably nearly finished by now :lol: )

We followed the maze of paths through the woods and eventually came out on the correct path, climbing steeply upwards. The views back the way made it well worth it (and gave an excuse for regular breaks :wink: ) but height was climbed quickly and easily as the banter flowed as freely as the whisky was likely to later on :lol:

Can’t decide which I like better
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Three Musketeers
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At the hydro track, Steve broke off as he had a different route up Sgurr Eilde Mor in mind. We agreed to meet him at the Lochans and carried on. Walking around a corner we were surprised to see a huge group of around 200 people brushing teeth and brewing tea. They were on a three day trek.

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The path climbed easily around the side of Sgor Eilde Beag and approaching the top we met up with Neil and Parminder who joined our group and soon had to stop for waterproofs as it had started snowing...

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We made our way around the lochans in the clag and snow and saw Steve the other side of them before following a steep scree path up the side of Sgurr Eilde Mor.

Heading up Sgurr Eilde Mor
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At the summit we met Steve who had come up the other side and also David, Old Woodpusher who was already there. He joined our crew. We enjoyed the views which were now clearing and we could see our next target, Binnein Beag. It looked a long way away!

Binnein Beag from Sgurr Eilde Mor
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Binnein Mor, almost clear
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Stob Ban and the Grey Corries
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Binnein Mor and Na Gruagaichean
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Jaxter on Sgurr Eilde Mor
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Geoff, Ross, David, John, Lee, Steve and me. And the Mountain Mutt
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We descended the same way and cut across to a path snaking around the side of the bulk of Binnein Mor. There was quite a loss of height here and we stopped for some scran in a sheltered bit. The decision was made here to split the group as some were planning to add in all 4 hills and some just the 2.

Arriving at the bealach we could see the Ben!
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The final pull up Binnein Beag
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John, Lee and Ross headed off at a quicker pace and I was attempting to be sensible and stayed with David, Geoff and Steve. However, during the ascent of Binnein Beag I caught up with the crazies and they persuaded me to come with them.

Binnein Mor from Binnein Beag
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Ben Nevis and the Aonachs
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Sgurr Eilde Mor and Glencoe hills behind
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Stob Ban and the Grey Corries
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Iconic Schiehallion
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Stob Ban, Grey Corries and Easains
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Ross, John & Lee on Binnein Beag
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Saying to goodbye to the others at the top of Binnein Beag, we headed down the path before instigating SLS, straight line syndrome and heading for the wee lochans below Binnein Mor. From here we headed straight up a brutally steep (but mercifully short) climb onto the ridge.

Looking back to Binnein Beag, looks tiny and we’re not anywhere near the summit of BM yet :shock:
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At this point Lee gave us some words of wisdom “This hill-walking is great, except for all the ups and downs” :lol: :lol:

After catching our breath it was a lovely ridge walk up onto the summit of Binnein Mor, and what a viewpoint :D I was so glad I'd decided to carry on; it had been a beautiful day last time I was here but everything looked so different in snow!

The ring of Steall
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The Bridge of Orchy hills with Ben More and Stob Binnein behind
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Na Gruagaichean and An Garbanach
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Looking ahead to Na Gruagaichean, I couldn't resist. My knee felt fine so I thought I'd deal with the horrific descent which would follow it :lol:

Na Gruagaichean
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We headed off down the ridge and headed across the narrow bit, which didn't feel hairy at all without the snow :lol: I kept waiting for the narrow bit but it never came! The final wee pull to the summit was over and there we were, final summit of the day :D

Looking back to Binnein Mor
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Looking over the Aonach Eagach to Bidean nam Bian
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The Steally Ring
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Down Loch Leven to Beinn a’Bheithir
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Three crazies on Na Gruagaichean
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Another crazy
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From here we followed the ridge down to a cairn and turned right. There was a vague path but eventually it petered out and we were route finding.

Looking back up
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Avoiding the steepest parts we made our way down until it became boggy and what followed could only be described as a comedy act as we all slipped and slid our way down. Slide of the day has to go to Lee as he managed to go flying and slid about 10 metres before landing in a heap. We obviously laughed at him before thinking to check he was ok :lol:

Never has a track been so welcome, and from here it was an easy but seemingly never ending path down to Kinlochleven. As we were approaching the hostel we caught up with 2manyyorkies returning from Sgurr Eilde Mor. We were surprised to learn that we had actually beaten the other half of our group back! Our trip had been less distance in total (although obviously more ascent!)

Poor Mountain Mutt seemed to be broken and passed out for the evening, missing out on a fantastic quiz and cracking banter. Thanks must go to maestro Scotjamie for a challenging but entertaining quiz and my helpful elves Tomyboy73, Malky_c and Hutchy1 for helping me with the 3am washing up sesh :thumbup: :clap:


Eastern Mamores.gpx Open full screen  NB: Walkhighlands is not responsible for the accuracy of gpx files in users posts




Sunday 23rd April
Garbh Bheinn
6.5km
900m ascent
2 hours 40 mins

The following morning arrived after very little sleep, however the hostel was still standing and I relinquished all responsibility just after 10 as RMed37 and I jumped into Blondie and headed up the road a few miles. I was designated driver :lol:

Boots on, we headed up the initially boggy path up Garbh Bheinn. It was brutally steep all the way and we just went for it. The weather looked to be closing in and we wanted to beat it to the top!

The backside of the Aonach Eagach looked impressive
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Loch Leven and the Pap
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We could see a big group ahead of us and we caught them up as they reached the summit. They turned out to be Walkhighlanders, the ringleader the infamous troublemaker The Rodmeister :lol:

Loch Eilde Mor and the Blackwater Reservoir
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The weather looked to be closing in. After some socialising, Ross and I were getting cold so headed off down, saying goodbye to Rod, Gill, Lynne, Margaret and Pam :wave:

Impressive wee hill this one
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The descent made us realise how steep it had been coming up (as if the sweat pouring off us wasn't evidence enough :lol: ) but it certainly did the job quickly. A bit more slipping around saw us back at the car, and a short drive back into Kinlochleven saw Ross back at his car.


Garbh Bheinn.gpx Open full screen  NB: Walkhighlands is not responsible for the accuracy of gpx files in users posts



Despite the forecast it had turned into a gorgeous afternoon and although I toyed with the idea of another hill I decided to be sensible and head home for an early night :lol: It was a beautiful drive home after a great weekend; thanks to everyone who made it so special and good luck to Anne with organising the next one 8) :thumbup:
Last edited by Jaxter on Mon Apr 24, 2017 10:11 pm, edited 3 times in total.
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Re: "Hill-walking is great, except for the ups and downs"

Postby Mal Grey » Mon Apr 24, 2017 9:23 pm

Knew I'd be jealous of this trip, and I wasn't wrong. And mostly hills I haven't done too! I'm sure I'll be reading an influx of reports for days...

Looks and sounds like a stonking weekend. Maybe one day I'll get to join a meet, but its a hell of a way from Woking for 2 days... :(

Must get to that end of the Mamores soon, they look fantastic, I just find the solitude of further north drags me on past the Great Glen every year. As for that group of 200 people! :crazy:

I note you chose the team colours well, with red for the leader and blue for the support team... :D

Great photos and story, as always. :clap: Bet you're relieved the planning etc is over, but sounds like you should be very pleased with how it went.
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Re: "Hill-walking is great, except for the ups and downs"

Postby Scotjamie » Mon Apr 24, 2017 9:51 pm

Excellent report Jackie
Matches an excellent weekend - well organised activities and enthusiastically developed hangovers
well done!
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Re: "Hill-walking is great, except for the ups and downs"

Postby denfinella » Mon Apr 24, 2017 10:35 pm

Very nice - really must try to get on one of the future trips.

Also very jealous of the views you got from the Pap - wasn't quite that sunny when I was there! :lol:
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Re: "Hill-walking is great, except for the ups and downs"

Postby Alteknacker » Mon Apr 24, 2017 10:59 pm

A great read, and some absolutely superb pics :clap: :clap: :clap: - too many to list really. But some that really caught my eye: from the first day: "Mamores galore"; "B a'B & Loch Leven"; "Evening light on Glencoe"; and from the second day, the pics of Binnein Mor, and the view of Aonach Eagach and Bidean nam Bian; and many, many more...

I think the Mamores will be next on my list for this year.

Looks like an excellent time was had by all at the meet. I'll have to get myself organised to join in...
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Re: "Hill-walking is great, except for the ups and downs"

Postby J888ohn » Tue Apr 25, 2017 11:15 am

Lee and I's better halves had already pointed out the colour coordination! :lol: Think we need to talk wardrobes before we head off for our next WH weekend.

Mountain Mutt was done in after the weekend and spent the next two days sleeping! He thanks everyone for being so nice to him, especially Jim and Tommy when he headbutted them at half 6 each morning after being told to **** off by me :lol:

I'm liking "The Crazies" as our name, although I'm disputing the amount of coercing it took to make you do the four Jaxter. That was already in your head, you just needed prodding in the right direction :wink:

PS I think the up and down quote was by Ross.
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Re: "Hill-walking is great, except for the ups and downs"

Postby RMed37 » Tue Apr 25, 2017 11:22 pm

I fully expected to read that you'd done another hill on your way back home!
Not surprised Mountain Mutt was tired the distance he covered...obviously not enough sustenance in a pork pie. :wink:
Great walks and a top weekend.
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Re: "Hill-walking is great, except for the ups and downs"

Postby mamoset » Wed Apr 26, 2017 4:45 am

Some great shots of a walk I would like to do, nice one :D
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Re: "Hill-walking is great, except for the ups and downs"

Postby Jaxter » Thu Apr 27, 2017 10:50 am

Mal Grey wrote:Knew I'd be jealous of this trip, and I wasn't wrong. And mostly hills I haven't done too! I'm sure I'll be reading an influx of reports for days...

Looks and sounds like a stonking weekend. Maybe one day I'll get to join a meet, but its a hell of a way from Woking for 2 days... :(

Must get to that end of the Mamores soon, they look fantastic, I just find the solitude of further north drags me on past the Great Glen every year. As for that group of 200 people! :crazy:

I note you chose the team colours well, with red for the leader and blue for the support team... :D

Great photos and story, as always. :clap: Bet you're relieved the planning etc is over, but sounds like you should be very pleased with how it went.

Thanks - yes it all went off well in the end! You'll have to come and join in the next one :D I often forget about all the hills around the Nevis/mamores - quite a long day trip but not far enough for an overnight. They're fantastic though, definitely worth a visit!



Scotjamie wrote:Excellent report Jackie
Matches an excellent weekend - well organised activities and enthusiastically developed hangovers
well done!

Thanks - and thanks for all your help too :D :D



denfinella wrote:Very nice - really must try to get on one of the future trips.

Also very jealous of the views you got from the Pap - wasn't quite that sunny when I was there! :lol:

It's a fantastic viewpoint isn't it!! So glad I did it :D



Alteknacker wrote:A great read, and some absolutely superb pics :clap: :clap: :clap: - too many to list really. But some that really caught my eye: from the first day: "Mamores galore"; "B a'B & Loch Leven"; "Evening light on Glencoe"; and from the second day, the pics of Binnein Mor, and the view of Aonach Eagach and Bidean nam Bian; and many, many more...

I think the Mamores will be next on my list for this year.

Looks like an excellent time was had by all at the meet. I'll have to get myself organised to join in...

Thankyou - yes come along next time!!
Knowing you, you could probably finish them all off in one day :lol:



J888ohn wrote:Lee and I's better halves had already pointed out the colour coordination! :lol: Think we need to talk wardrobes before we head off for our next WH weekend.

Mountain Mutt was done in after the weekend and spent the next two days sleeping! He thanks everyone for being so nice to him, especially Jim and Tommy when he headbutted them at half 6 each morning after being told to **** off by me :lol:

I'm liking "The Crazies" as our name, although I'm disputing the amount of coercing it took to make you do the four Jaxter. That was already in your head, you just needed prodding in the right direction :wink:

PS I think the up and down quote was by Ross.

Mebbe Mountain Mutt was on the whisky in Friday night :lol: :lol: yeah I think you lot knew I was in for the long haul before I did :roll:
Wardrobe meeting before next time :thumbup:



RMed37 wrote:I fully expected to read that you'd done another hill on your way back home!
Not surprised Mountain Mutt was tired the distance he covered...obviously not enough sustenance in a pork pie. :wink:
Great walks and a top weekend.

I sooo nearly did but it was the thought of a horribly early start on Monday that kept me driving. I'm still recovering now :lol: :lol:



mamoset wrote:Some great shots of a walk I would like to do, nice one :D

I hope you get good weather for it :D 8) 8)
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Re: "Hill-walking is great, except for the ups and downs"

Postby Andymac75 » Thu Apr 27, 2017 10:52 pm

Looks like a great weekend was had by all.

I'm particularly impressed by Mountain Mutt.

Without offending anyone ,he is easily the most intelligent looking member of the team. :lol:

He's even winking ,and sticking his tongue out .
Last edited by Andymac75 on Thu Apr 27, 2017 10:57 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: "Hill-walking is great, except for the ups and downs"

Postby Andymac75 » Thu Apr 27, 2017 10:57 pm

J888ohn wrote:Lee and I's better halves had already pointed out the colour coordination! :lol: Think we need to talk wardrobes before we head off for our next WH weekend.

Mountain Mutt was done in after the weekend and spent the next two days sleeping! He thanks everyone for being so nice to him, especially Jim and Tommy when he headbutted them at half 6 each morning after being told to **** off by me :lol:

I'm liking "The Crazies" as our name, although I'm disputing the amount of coercing it took to make you do the four Jaxter. That was already in your head, you just needed prodding in the right direction :wink:

PS I think the up and down quote was by Ross.



Mountain Mutt is a beautiful looking chap.

I'm scouring the British Isles at the moment looking for a Collie .

Jealous.
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Re: "Hill-walking is great, except for the ups and downs"

Postby malky_c » Sat Apr 29, 2017 12:48 pm

Yep, those bloody ups and down :lol: . Cheers for putting on a great meet, and glad to see you made the most of the weather on Friday. I was on the hills a little earlier, but the weather on the last bit of the journey to Kinlochleven made me want to go up again! In fact good weather all round, right up to Sunday night 8)
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Re: "Hill-walking is great, except for the ups and downs"

Postby Jaxter » Tue May 02, 2017 2:00 pm

Andymac75 wrote:
J888ohn wrote:Lee and I's better halves had already pointed out the colour coordination! :lol: Think we need to talk wardrobes before we head off for our next WH weekend.

Mountain Mutt was done in after the weekend and spent the next two days sleeping! He thanks everyone for being so nice to him, especially Jim and Tommy when he headbutted them at half 6 each morning after being told to **** off by me :lol:

I'm liking "The Crazies" as our name, although I'm disputing the amount of coercing it took to make you do the four Jaxter. That was already in your head, you just needed prodding in the right direction :wink:

PS I think the up and down quote was by Ross.



Mountain Mutt is a beautiful looking chap.

I'm scouring the British Isles at the moment looking for a Collie .

Jealous.

So if the Mountain Mutt mysteriously goes missing...we'll know where to look :lol: :lol:


malky_c wrote:Yep, those bloody ups and down :lol: . Cheers for putting on a great meet, and glad to see you made the most of the weather on Friday. I was on the hills a little earlier, but the weather on the last bit of the journey to Kinlochleven made me want to go up again! In fact good weather all round, right up to Sunday night 8)

Thanks Malky - it was good fun :D Friday evening was definitely a belter. Not sure how I managed the weather :lol: :lol:
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