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Glenshee 9

Glenshee 9


Postby xpfloyd » Mon Jun 03, 2013 8:33 pm

Munros included on this walk: Cairn of Claise, Càrn a' Ghèoidh, Càrn an Tuirc, Càrn Aosda, Creag Leacach, Glas Maol, The Cairnwell, Tolmount, Tom Buidhe

Date walked: 02/06/2013

Time taken: 9 hours

Distance: 32.5 km

Ascent: 1968m

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Glenshee 9.gpx Open full screen  NB: Walkhighlands is not responsible for the accuracy of gpx files in users posts



On Sunday myself and gman27/Gregor decided to tackle the Glenshee 9. We had been discussing various big walk options for a while and thought we would give this one a try. The idea was to do the first 6 then we would have the option to call it a day if we had to when we crossed back over the A93 or continue on if time/body permitted.

We set off from Clydebank at 5am and were parked up in the lay-by and ready to go for about 715. From the car park the surrounding mountains didn’t look that steep and since we were already at about 500m we set off rather naively towards Creag Leacach on a route that took us around the flanks of Meall Garm.

Very quickly we realised that the hill was going to be a bit tougher than it had initially looked as I was sweating like a mad man quite early on! Only a short way up and we were already getting cracking views in every direction. It was looking like MWIS had got it spot on and we were in for a cracker.

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Looking up towards the first hill

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Back towards Cairnwell


A bit more sweating and a bit more Kendal mint cake and we were at the top of our first munro of the day. On a side note this was my first time trying Kendal mint cake and I’ve got to say the stuff is rocket fuel. I ended up doing the first 6 munros without eating anything else fuelled only by Kendal cake!

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Gregor

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Me and the customary flag shot


We didn’t hang about and started our way out towards Glas Maol. This bit is straightforward enough and there is a wall and fence that can be followed to the second top.

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Route to number 2

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Getting nearer

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Number 2


From here it was out towards Cairn of Claise. Again a decent length walk but easy underfoot. In this section you can see why there is a trail running race here.

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Towards 3

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Gregor

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Me


From Cairn of Claise we headed out towards Tom Buidhe. As we began the walk out we were trying to determine what top was Tom Buidhe as they all looked too far away but as we got closer it became apparent and what had initially looked like a small hump in the landscape started to get a bit larger.

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Tom Buidhe


From here it was a quick drop down into the valley and back up to Tolmount on the other side.

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Looking to Tolmount

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Number 5

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5


It was now time to head back across towards Carn an Turc. From Tolmount this seemed a ridiculous distance away. This bit of the walk although not that steep seemed to take forever. It was around this point the Kendal cake began wearing off and we decided we would have a bite to eat at the top when we got there. As we approached the top it started getting busy with lots of other walkers all of which were coming up the hill to Carn an Turc and doing a circuit in the opposite direction. After a few photos of the top the summit shelter became empty and we sat down for lunch.

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6

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Lunch Time


Refreshed and re-energised from lunch we now made the descent back to the A93 down a rather steep boggy scree covered slope. I am definitely glad we didn’t come up this way as it would have been a real PITA.

Initially on the way down the slope Carn Aosda didn’t look like it would be too much trouble but as we reached the road it was really quite daunting. Both of us at this point would probably have called it a day if the other had suggested it but we decided to keep going and start the climb before we had a chance to think about it. This next stage was by far the hardest thing I have done in a while. The climb up Carn Aosda from this point is steeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep!! Not much was said to each other for this bit. I just zoned out and kept plodding along trying not to think about it too much. Eventually we got to the summit beside all the cable car runs and the views of the Cairnwell and beyond opened up again.

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Much Steepness

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7

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7


From here it was downhill, past the start of the cairnwell and onwards for what seemed like an eternity. By this point my body was completely done in. Carn a'Gheoidh was in our view as we were walking out but it looked that far away that we thought the closer cairns that we could see out to the left on Carn nan sac was where we were heading. To our dismay a quick re-check of the map gave us the realisation of how far we still had to go. After a bit more of a slog we were finally there, our 8th munro of the day. Now it was just a case of getting back to the Cairnwell and dropping off the opposite side and back to the car, but not before more food!

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8



We started back out towards the cairnwell with a new spring in our step. Once Loch Vrotachan is reached its not long before you are on the well made path that takes you all the way to the summit. Cairnwell summit cairn and the whole summit itself is probably the strangest one I’ve been on to date with all the pylons and the like, but we had made it and it felt good.

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9!!

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9!!

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What a strange place!


Our descent to the car was basically straight off the other side of the Cairnwell than we had came up and a steep down climb through the heather to the road in the shortest way possible. It was at this point when we both realised how burnt our heads had got. 2 gingers (albeit balding) walinmg about in the sun for 9 hours and not a drop of sun tan lotion applied . School boy error! My napper is still throbbing as I sit and write this! Another war wound from the walk is my feet. I wore the boots I have wore for most of my munros but for some reason today they decided to remove the skin from a few locations on my feet, not good!
All in all a great day on the hills with better views than we could have hoped for. The first part of the walk was fairly easy going but the second part pushed me to my endurance limit and it became a bit of mind over matter to keep going. The things we do for fun eh!

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The Cairnwell Summit Pano
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Re: Glenshee 9

Postby Fife Flyer » Mon Jun 03, 2013 9:12 pm

That is one long day, great report & photo's :clap:
Doubt if there are too many who have even thought about doing the whole lot in one day :lol:

Sunburn on one's head is sooooo painful, been there a few times & have said never again, hence I always wear a hat, makes me sweat like the proverbial, but at least when I take a shower it isn't agony :( Hopefully the napper will get better soon :wink:
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Re: Glenshee 9

Postby skuk007 » Mon Jun 03, 2013 9:34 pm

Wow, that is bit of an epic walk.
That would be a good one to finish on, though I've got plenty of time to think about that.
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Re: Glenshee 9

Postby xpfloyd » Mon Jun 03, 2013 9:35 pm

Thanks mate
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Re: Glenshee 9

Postby Gman27 » Tue Jun 04, 2013 6:40 pm

Nicely put together mate, the photos show what a cracker of a day it was. Note to self for next time.......PACK SUNCREAM!!!! I think i`m suffering a bit of sunstroke still :oops: :oops:
It was a great day and a great challenge, a bit french foreign legion.....March or Die! lol
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Re: Glenshee 9

Postby xpfloyd » Tue Jun 04, 2013 7:13 pm

Lol , sunscreen is a definate mate! I also need summer boots I think, after a couple of years walking all year in my stiff boots that was the first time my feet got shredded. Need something lighter and less rigid
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Re: Glenshee 9

Postby Collaciotach » Tue Jun 04, 2013 9:19 pm

Good going a bhalaich :clap:

Liked the shot of No2 Glas Maol .When I was doing the circuit of four here I commented "you could nt go wrong here" then managed to walk round the cairn in the mist and only noticed I was halfway back to No1 Leachach when I saw the road :roll: ... off navigation day :D
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Re: Glenshee 9

Postby xpfloyd » Tue Jun 04, 2013 9:40 pm

Collaciotach wrote:Good going a bhalaich :clap:

Liked the shot of No2 Glas Maol .When I was doing the circuit of four here I commented "you could nt go wrong here" then managed to walk round the cairn in the mist and only noticed I was halfway back to No1 Leachach when I saw the road :roll: ... off navigation day :D


I've had plenty of those moments :) but with the weather on Sunday it was hard to go wrong on these ones
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Re: Glenshee 9

Postby quoman » Tue Jun 04, 2013 9:52 pm

Absolute fantastic report a great read and photos.
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Re: Glenshee 9

Postby Fudgie » Wed Jun 05, 2013 9:19 am

Great going and like yourself, I've learned through experience to pack suncream 8)
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Re: Glenshee 9

Postby AnnieMacD » Tue Jun 25, 2013 10:09 pm

Hi Eddie,

I've just signed up here as I'm going to attempt my first Munro VERY soon - weather permitting. Really enjoyed your report and photos. What camera gear did you take?

Hope all is well with you.

Annie
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Re: Glenshee 9

Postby weaselmaster » Tue Jun 25, 2013 11:04 pm

Well done on getting the 9 in - i wanted to add the western 3 but my feet were just too sore walking up the road from creag leacach to keep going :(
Know exactly what you mean about the distance from tolmount to carn a turc - i did the circuit in the opposite direction and it took forever to get from tom bhuidhe to glas maol - made worse as it was total clag when i did them. It was nice therefore to see the landscape in your pics that i didn;t manage to see :clap:
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Re: Glenshee 9

Postby xpfloyd » Wed Jun 26, 2013 5:33 am

AnnieMacD wrote:Hi Eddie,

I've just signed up here as I'm going to attempt my first Munro VERY soon - weather permitting. Really enjoyed your report and photos. What camera gear did you take?

Hope all is well with you.

Annie


Hi Annie! I used to take the "big" camera when doing munros but a while back I made the decision to only take my powershot point and shoot for the weight saving. I was getting sick of lugging the big weight around with the tripod etc and then not getting any decent shots. Good luck with your first Munro when it comes!

Eddie
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Re: Glenshee 9

Postby xpfloyd » Wed Jun 26, 2013 5:34 am

Thanks weasel
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Re: Glenshee 9

Postby clivegrif » Wed Jun 26, 2013 4:45 pm

Hi Eddie

So you made it then! Good man.

I remember you mentioning this was on the cards just before I set off on my jaunt. Looks like you guys had a great day out.

And while I'm on - so thats what you look like! :shock:

Cheers
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