Mount Keen - Invasion of the Zatapathiques

[zatapathique]

After the soaking wet day on Mayar and Driesh the day before, the weather forecast for the day finally was accurate. No rain and good visibility promised a nice day out in Glen Mark. Again, Mrs Zatapathique accompanied me. Mount Keen would be her 4th Munro and my 50th.

We left the car at the Invermark car park at the head of Glen Esk and set out into Glen Mark.

Into Glen Mark

Zatapathique consulting the map at full speed

After one hour, we reached the Queen's Well with its granite arches. I tried to imagine what happened back in 1861. Queen victory throning on her pony on the way from Balmoral, addressing her entourage by "We feel thirsty. Find us a well!" Reading about it later, the well was already known at the time. After the royal visit, one Lord Dalhousie built the granite arches in shape of a royal crown above it.

The Queen's Well seen from afar

The Queen's Well

I wouldn't drink from it...

Behind the well, the path rose steeply besides the Ladder Burn to reach the Cairngorms plateau.

The Ladder Burn. Mount Keen already visible

With the excellent track, the ascent was easy, and we quickly came to the point where the path to Mount Keen's summit forked off.

Mount Keen coming closer

The path on Mount Keen's south ridge steepened, and I let Mrs Zatapathique go at her own slower pace and reached the summit some ten minutes before her. Of her four Munros, one was the most southerly (Ben Lomond), one the most Easterly (Mount Keen).

Looking back along the south ridge path

Zatapathique on the summit

Lochnagar from the summit

Panorama to the West

Lochnagar

We had a small banana and cookie lunch, then went back the same way we had come, spending some time taking pictures of caterpillars.

Caterpillar no. 1

The Queen's Well from above

All's Well. That sheep's well.

This is just marked as "monument" in the OS map on the Hill of Rowan

Caterpillar no. 2

Altitude profile created with GPSTrackAnalyse.net