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Rest Day - Luibhean & Donich

Rest Day - Luibhean & Donich


Postby weaselmaster » Sat Dec 07, 2013 7:36 pm

Corbetts included on this walk: Beinn Luibhean, Ben Donich

Date walked: 07/12/2013

Time taken: 5.18 hours

Distance: 16 km

Ascent: 1570m

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This weekend had been accorded the status of "Resting" for several reasons: Sick Kid was away visiting her folks, i was supposed to be letting my damaged feet heal a little and the weather forecast was for rain, clag and high winds with no chance of visibility. As the week wore on there was a small feeling of near panic inside me at the thought of not getting out at all. There were plenty of jobs I could do in the house or garden, I could go Xmas shopping :wink:
Late on Friday afternoon I kinda made up my mind that I would have to do something hill-wise... what about a couple of Corbetts - they're just wee hills, so that's pretty much the same aas a rest. :D And there were a couple around Arrochar that I hadn't done - so didn't even have to travel much. Sorted :thumbup:

I decided to do Beinn Luibhean and Ben Donich. I had a look to see if I could join them up in a loop, but there was nothing obvious that didn't involve either walking along the A83 or hacking your way through plantations. So it was quick and dirty baggers' routes i'm afraid. I decided to do Luibhean from the layby beside the Croe water, straight up the shoulder and down the same way, then head over to Donich for the usual route up it. Seemed really strange to just have a few miles to go when I got to Tarbet - usualy that's marking the first third or the first quarter of the journey :lol: Parked and geared up beside some very noisy young bullocks and headed across the river on a rather makeshift bridge and up onto the grassy hillside. There was very little snow around and what remained was slushy - no need for crampons today. It was a steep and tiring pull up the shoulder which made me feel I was really unfit - need to get back to running in the morning and eating less chips :roll: Could see over to the south side of Ben Arthur and the bealach linking Luibhean to Ben Ime - reminded me of the very first day me & Sick Kid went out Munroing and managed to get lost in clag walking from Narnain to Ime and managed to spend 2 hours wandering aimlessly in Coire Croe - the purchase of a GPS was made the very next day :lol:

Bullocks
Image
P1050458 by 23weasels, on Flickr

Bridge
Image
P1050471 by 23weasels, on Flickr

Shoulder of Luibhean
Image
P1050460 by 23weasels, on Flickr

Ben Arthur's South side
Image
P1050463 by 23weasels, on Flickr

Arthur, Ime
Image
P1050465 by 23weasels, on Flickr

View back towards Arrochar - Cruach Fiarach?
Image
P1050466 by 23weasels, on Flickr


After about 700m the going gets a bit easier, if wetter underfoot. I'm wearing my approach shoes which are kinder on my injured toes, but have as much water resistance as a sponge - so I squelch a lot and my feet feel like they're soaking in baths of ice cold water. Which, of course, they are. Just don't stop for long...
Up at the summit there's the familiar clag view, although I can see Loch Restil down below me. Not hanging around up here, has taken 1 hour 20 so far. The descent needs a bit of care as the grass is slippy with slush in places, but I'm back at the car with no falls :clap:

View to R&BT
Image
P1050467 by 23weasels, on Flickr

Nearing summit
Image
P1050468 by 23weasels, on Flickr

Microcairn and view to L Restil
Image
P1050470 by 23weasels, on Flickr

Shove the pack in, drive up past the roadworks to the parking spot at Rest & Be Thankful. First mistake - this isn't the best place to park for Ben Donich. Second mistake - don't follow the tarmac path from the R&BT stop, as you have to cut across the hillside and through forest to join the proper path up Donich - D'oh!
I did get onto the signposted trail for BD and was glad I'd got the hard work of Luibhean out the way first - Donich was a pussycat in comparison - a (mostly) good path heads up the hill at a gentle gradient. Some parts of the path had turned into ice rivers, so footing could be slippy at times, but generally it was easy going. Except for my squelchy feet :crazy:

Donich from the R&BT
Image
P1050473 by 23weasels, on Flickr

View back across A83 to Luibhean & Arthur
Image
P1050474 by 23weasels, on Flickr

Misty Glen Croe
Image
P1050477 by 23weasels, on Flickr

Coire Culach and onwards
Image
P1050478 by 23weasels, on Flickr

I had remembered reading that there was a little downclimb on Donich when you came up to the fault line. Rocks were not icy, so no problems encountered here. On and on towards the summit - the wind was much stronger now that I was out of the shelter of the hillside. Soggy and blasted by rain in the strong wind, I also needed my lunch but decided to press on to the top before eating. Got to the cairn, turned tail and found a sheltered spot nearby to re-fuel. Had a couple of slips on the way down where the path was icy and one quite heavy fall onto my hip/side/forearm when the wind caught me. Will be a bit bruised and achy tomorrow, I think :lol:

Wee downclimb
Image
P1050482 by 23weasels, on Flickr

Image
P1050483 by 23weasels, on Flickr

Almost there
Image
P1050485 by 23weasels, on Flickr

One wet weasel
Image
P1050489 by 23weasels, on Flickr

Back to the car by half past 2 and a drive back home in daylight. Good things these "rest days"!!
weaselmaster
Hill Bagger
 
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Re: Rest Day - Luibhean & Donich

Postby Sick Kid » Sun Dec 08, 2013 9:34 pm

Some rest that! :crazy:
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Sick Kid
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Re: Rest Day - Luibhean & Donich

Postby ceaser » Sun Dec 08, 2013 11:35 pm

Just more repeats youll have to do with sick kid , when the 2 of you start on the corbetts full time :lol:
ceaser
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Re: Rest Day - Luibhean & Donich

Postby weaselmaster » Mon Dec 09, 2013 8:33 am

ceaser wrote:Just more repeats youll have to do with sick kid , when the 2 of you start on the corbetts full time :lol:


That's what she said too :shock:
I'm no having that!!
weaselmaster
Hill Bagger
 
Posts: 2429
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Location: Greenock

Re: Rest Day - Luibhean & Donich

Postby PeteR » Mon Dec 09, 2013 1:54 pm

I'm getting worried :shock: Alastair is doing Corbetts :lol:

I must admit, I thought you might have added on the Brack to the Donich route. Even though you've done it already, it's just next door isn't it. Clearly you were taking it too easy :lol:

On a serious note, Donich is a great little hill for a rest day :D Luibhean though was something of a bog slog from what I recall :shock:
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PeteR
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