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Guerilla's In The Mist

Guerilla's In The Mist


Postby Fudgie » Sat Jan 14, 2012 2:18 pm

Route description: Ben Donich, via Rest and Be Thankful

Corbetts included on this walk: Ben Donich

Date walked: 14/01/2012

Time taken: 3.15 hours

Distance: 7.5 km

Ascent: 575m

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I was keen to get out on the hills but I didn't have a lot of free time so I looked for hills closer to home in order to be back for lunchtime. I have been guilty for too long of only looking at Munro's and after reading allansmitchell's report from Ben Donich, I decided to keep my eye on the forecast and if it was looking good then I would go for it. The forecast on MWIS got better the closer we got to today so I got all my gear ready last night including my tripod and filters and set my alarm for 6am.

When the alarm went off I questioned my sanity but after some breakfast I was good to go and I set off at 6:45am. The road was fairly quiet and I made great time up the A82 until I got stuck behind two lorries. I said a prayer as we approached Tarbet that they would turn right even though they were fairly wide and I knew they would be going straight on towards Arrochar. I eventually got past them before the Rest and be Thankful and quickly arrived at the car park.

It was still quite dark as I got my gear on but at ground level, the visibility was good so I could see a reasonable distance. Sunrise wasn't for about 50 minutes at this point but the light was beginning to improve and I turned off up the path and started gaining height quickly. I reached the gate that doesn't lock and before long I was on to a flatter part of the walk and so far I was making good time.

I passed the odd patch of snow and before long I arrived at the section that requires a tiny bit of scrambling and as I stopped for a breath, I could see that the rocks were covered by a thin layer of ice which would make climbing down tricky. I took my time and carefully made my way over the rocks although at one point I sat down to slide slowly off the rock and before I knew it I had slid off and landed on the path without even trying.

From here to the summit conditions underfoot became tricky and quite often I walked on the grass next to the path as the path itself was treacherous. I reached the summit after around 1 hour 40 minutes and the view was minimal although it still wasn't too cold. It had been a waste of time packing the tripod and filters but I would have kicked myself if I had left them behind and the summit had been clear. I inhaled my tomato soup and set off back down the hill whilst taking my time to avoid slipping.

About a third of the way down I could hear the sound of crunching gravel coming up and as I peered into the clag, I saw 5 large shapes appearing and each was holding a long dark shape in their hand which looked a lot like a rifle. They drew closer and it was obvious that I was were correct about what they were carrying. They plodded on past me after I warmed them about how slippy it was and it was surreal to watch them disappear again into the clag. They were all carrying backpacks although one or two were almost as big as the man himself and I was glad that I didn't have to carry quite as much.

I met another few folk on the way up and because the path was dry by now, I made good time back to the car and surprised myself when I realised that I had done the return journey in just over 3 hours. I've realised my mistake in overlooking Corbetts and there are another couple close to the one that I fancy attempting soon. The pictures below are a mixture of phone and camera although some didn't come out at all because of the weather and I've only put a few up here.

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Fudgie
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Re: Guerilla's In The Mist

Postby Gavin99 » Sat Jan 14, 2012 3:27 pm

Shame you didn't get a chance to use all that gear you carried , you'll have to try again tomorrow ! :)
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Re: Guerilla's In The Mist

Postby Johnny Corbett » Sat Jan 14, 2012 3:29 pm

I too was like yourself when i first started hillwalking, only concentrating on Munros. I soon realised there is more to hillwalking than just Munro bagging as there are some fine Corbetts, Grahams and Sub2000 Marilyns out there all in their own right great hills :D
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Re: Guerilla's In The Mist

Postby Fudgie » Sat Jan 14, 2012 7:52 pm

Now that you mention it Gavin, I have plans tomorrow afternoon but I'm trying to decided if I should squeeze in a hill in the morning :D

I enjoyed that today Johnny and I've got my eye on other Corbetts in the area. I'll also add this one to my 'go back and do on a clear day list' :lol:
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Re: Guerilla's In The Mist

Postby daveh » Sat Jan 14, 2012 8:31 pm

Beinn an Lochain is a fine hill on a clear day and is my favorite hill in the alps.
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Re: Guerilla's In The Mist

Postby Fudgie » Sat Jan 14, 2012 11:10 pm

daveh wrote:Beinn an Lochain is a fine hill on a clear day and is my favorite hill in the alps.


Thats my next target Dave and it's only 45 minutes away so it's quite handy :thumbup:
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Re: Guerilla's In The Mist

Postby Redrock » Sat Jan 14, 2012 11:21 pm

Well done in getting out Fudgie! Shame about the weather - but it looks a fine wee summit! I'm wondering if anyone got above the clag today - it was meant to top out at about 900 to 1,000 meters according to MWIS! :? I like the title BTW :D
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Re: Guerilla's In The Mist

Postby monty » Sun Jan 15, 2012 12:03 am

Shame about the weather fudgie but well done on getting out .
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Re: Guerilla's In The Mist

Postby pollyh33 » Sun Jan 15, 2012 12:06 am

Smashing report on one of my first hills!

Well done!!!
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Re: Guerilla's In The Mist

Postby Fudgie » Sun Jan 15, 2012 12:11 am

Cheers for the replies folks. As I was descending through the clag I was thinking about what to put in my report and the title came to me in a moment of clarity. If only the weather had been as clear...

Normally when I was going to the football in the afternoon I wouldn't even think about getting up very early but I'm glad I dragged myself out of bed. I shall be doing it more often.
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