free to be able to rate and comment on reports (as well as access 1:25000 mapping).
I still had three Donald Tops to visit in the Moffat Hills. An ambitious plan was crafted to bag them all in a single walk. From the distance, height to climb and the terrain I thought that if everything went well I should manage it during the not quite eight hours between sunrise and sunset with an hour or so to spare. The weather forecast was favourable with a low probability of rain and moderate wind speeds, so on the Friday night I set the alarm for 5:30am.
- Carrifran Wildwood car park
A 06:20 start saw me arrive in the Carrifran Wildwood car park off the A708 just before the sunrise time of 8am and I was away by 8:10. The car park appears to be open to all and there are noticeboards explaining the work that is being done to return the glen to a much earlier and more natural state by populating it with native tree species. From the car park I took a good path with wooden walkways and followed signs to the viewpoint.
- The path to the viewpoint
- On the way to the viewpoint
This is in a sheepfold and has several noticeboards describing the history of the glen and the work now being done.
- The viewpoint
Passing through the sheepfold I turned right and headed round the new plantings to a shallow gully which led on up to the Keld Pot spring and to a tumbledown dry stone dyke and parallel fence heading directly up the hillside and over Dun Knowe.
- On the 560m ascent to the top
A narrow rutted path climbed up beside the fence which provided something to cling to on the steepest sections when boots slipped on mud or greasy rocks. I stopped for a drink of water, checked the altitude on my Garmin - it was 445m, and continued. At about 650m I went to check my altitude again and found my Garmin was missing. With potentially the last five hunded metres of steep hillside to search, I decided to continue to the top before returning and spending however long it took to find my mislaid GPS. As I continued to follow the fence I entered low cloud, and after another 800m arrived at a bend in the fence with the small cairn marking the top of Carrifran Gans nearby.
- The cairn on Carrifran Gans
On the way up I had decided that descending would not be as easy as ascending, and so it proved. The fence certainly came in handy a few times. Continually turning round to check the ground for the missing Garmin also slowed the descent. I continued down until sure I'd passed where I'd last checked my altitude, then started to reascend. Within a few tens of metres I noticed the flattened tussock where I'd sat and right beside it a glint through the grass proved to be my Garmin.
- The flattened tussock and a glint in the grass
It had been lying there for almost exactly two hours. That meant the spare hour for contingencies in my three tops plan had turned into a one hour deficit. That was a shame as I had been a bit ahead of schedule at the top, and the weather was, as forecast, improving. I decided to take the prudent course, return to the car and start planning a return to collect the other two tops on a later date - from the north.
- The Saddle Yolks
On the way down there was a good view across to the Saddle Yolks. They were on my planned return route from Din Law if I'd continued with my original plan.
- Heading down
- Viewpoint visible in the distance with the shallow gully and the path leading to it just ahead.
- Looking back at Carrifran Gans
- Path to viewpoint and area with saplings in bags waiting to be planted
- car park
It had been another quiet day. I saw a total of two birds - a raven and a grouse - and no walkers. I may also have escaped a soaking because on the drive back to Edinburgh I encountered some really heavy rain.