Another Topping Day around Cramalt Craig

[McMole]

Another 7am start saw me parking by the Megget Reservoir at 8:20am below the road just past Cramalt Farm where the 1:25,000 map has a picnic site marked. A blue van was already there. An even earlier starter I thought. Then I heard the sounds of a dog and his master inside. As I climbed the slope opposite the picnic site I saw them surface.

171105 Cramalt Craig tops.gpx Open full screen  NB: Walkhighlands is not responsible for the accuracy of gpx files in users posts

It was a bright sunny day with patches of white cloud. It was cool but not as cold as the previous Monday and there had only been a slight touch of ice on the road down to the picnic site. The higher summits were cloud-capped, and as I nearer my first Donald Top of the day - Clockmore - I neared the mist. There was no marker for the highest point so I wandered around its reported NGR. From there a steady climb took me into thicker cloud with hoar frost and possibly a thin layer of snow covering the ground.

Cramalt Craig summit cairn

At Cromalt Craig's summit cairn I turned sharply left to follow the fence towards my next objective - Hunt Law about 2.5km away. I noted that I had to cross another fence that branched left towards Broad Law, so when a fence duly appeared out of the mist I hopped over it and continued alongside the one that I 'knew' was leading me all the way to Hunt Pot. Some minutes later the steepening slope down, and a glimpse through the thinning mist of another heading steeply up where one shouldn't be, caused me to examine my Garmin. I discovered I was now heading along the fence to Broad Law. The fence I had crossed was a 'new' one not shown on the map. I very briefly contemplated adding Broad Law to my itinerary, decided that would be a Donald too far and turned 120 degrees to head north to get back on track. Approaching the col before Hunt Law I found an ATV track to follow, and though it dipped down below the col, it looked to join the tracks shown on the 1:25,000 map and be a better route that the heather clad slope across to a probably boggy col.

Hunt Law in the distance

The decision was partially justified as it did join a good track to the summit after an initial muddy stretch. The Hunt Law summit is reported as being a small rock, and in what appeared to be the right location a sod of nearby turf had been cut and inverted on top of the only nearby exposed rock.

Hunt Law summit with added sod

This summit was well below any cloud and was in bright sunshine with good views of the Culter Hills I'd walked the previous Monday.

Culter Fell and Chapelgill Hill with Tinto in the far distance between them

Coomb Dod, Hillshaw Head, Gathersnow and some of Coomb Hill

I now headed back towards Cramalt Craig following an ATV track along the ridge. As I neared 700m altitude a swing to the left cut the corner to Dun Law. Once past that summit I met a party of about eight walkers who had come up the track from Cromalt farm - my planned descent route - and were en route for Cromalt Craig. Fifescar Knowe about one kilometre further was my third Donald Top and second highest summit of the day, and it, Cromalt Craig and Broad Law were now clear of the cloud.

Fifescar Knowe summit area looking towards Cromalt Craig and Broad Law

Hoar frost blowing off the wires as the temperature rises

I reversed course to head downhill and pick up the track heading towards Notman Law soon after a couple with dog went past heading for Dollar Law. A small collection of rocks marked my final summit of the day.

The Notman Law summit cairn

A steep 100m descent then landed me on a good track that led easily to the road and to my car after five and a quarter hours.

Another fine day in the hills, though when I was tramping through the hoar frost covered grass on top of Cromalt Craig in the icy wind I was thinking that it was time I switched to winter clothing.