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With sore achillies and the weather combining to keep me off the hills since early April I decided with the weather set fair that Saturday 21st July would be the day to test those achillies. Setting off with the wife from Edinburgh at 6.00am we stopped to meet up with the sister-in-law and her hubby at Blairgowrie for a welcome bit of toast & cup of tea then made our way to the Spittal of Glenmuick car park which by the time we arrived at 10.20 was nearly full! Leaving the rest of the party to cycle round Loch Muick I set off following the clearly marked path to Lochnagar.
- Clearly marked path to Lochnagar
Ahead of me I could see a steady stream of walkers making their way across Glen Muick out the otherside of the pinewoods and up the path following Allt na Guibhsaich. I sure wasn't going to be alone on this walk! By the time I reached the cairn that marked the turn off the track onto the main path for Lochnagar the sun was out.
- Cairn marking branch off track towards Lochnagar
- Stream of walkers climbing upwards towards the bealach
After about 1hr 40 mins I reached the point where the slope relents and was presented with superb views of Lochnagar's famous northern corrie.
- View across Lochnagar's famous northern corrie
A slight detour off the main path afforded views of the lochan
- Lochnagars magnificent curve of buttresses cradling a lochan
After a brief stop to take in the views, take a few photos, it was time to move on and tackle the steep ascent known as the Ladder.
- Steep climb to the plateau
Once at the summit ridge the path followed the cliff edge until eventually the summit cone of Cac Carn Beag came into view.
- Following the cliff edges (not too closely!)
- The rocky outcrop at Cac Carn Beag comes into view
After 2hrs 45 mins I had reached the top, along with about 20 other people and at least six dogs.
- Made it
- Lochnagar's viewpoint indicator
After about a 20 minute break a few cheese & pickle rolls and a packet of roast chicken crisps it was time to head off back down via the Glas Allt, the path clearly visable for miles.
- The long path down Glas Allt glen
With the walking poles coming into their own on the descent I made very quick progress negotiating the steep descent past the Glas Alt waterfall to the path beside Loch Muick in about 1hr 30mins.
- The very steep slope to the Glas Allt falls
- Glas Allt falls
- Loch Muick
I can vouch for the posts that mention the never ending walk down the edge of Loch Muick, my legs ached the entire 1hr 10mins it took me to get back to the car park, the entire circuit taking 5hrs 45 mins. Oh well there was a hot soak, curry, and few bottles of cold beer to look forward to back in Blairgowrie. This was the most splendid Munro I've managed to date.