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A Sick Kid in the Trossachs

A Sick Kid in the Trossachs


Postby weaselmaster » Sun Jun 21, 2015 10:15 pm

Corbetts included on this walk: Beinn Stacath, Stob a' Choin

Fionas included on this walk: Stob Breac

Date walked: 21/06/2015

Time taken: 14.5 hours

Distance: 33.8 km

Ascent: 2393m

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Work commitments meant I wasn't able to get away this week til Saturday morning, so the 2 Corbetts up at Loch Voil were on the radar. Allison hadn't been very well through the week and it was touch and go whether she'd be up for the trip. She reckoned on Friday night that she'd be able to manage although hadn't been able to eat right and had nausea for a few days. I called round for her at 7.30 as agreed. No sign. No response to a txt, or 2 phonecalls to her mobile. Or ringing the doorbell. Or phoning the house phone. Hmmm. I'm in the car, it's 8.00 and I'm texting her to say as she's obviously dead I will be going off to do something else on my own, when she phones to say she'd slept in. This isn't like her and I should probably have taken that as a sign that she wasn't fit for the hills; that and the fact that it took her 30 minutes to eat a bowl of porridge as we drove along. After following some excruciatingly slow vehicles through Callender we eventually got to inverlochlarig around 10.30 and got kitted up to go. I decided to do these 2 Corbetts as a horseshoe, with the Graham of Stob Breac in the middle, camping out somewhere overnight, so at around 30km it was not a major expedition. We set off along the road towards a steep looking Stob a'Choin with clouds over the summit.

Stob a'Choin under mist
ImageP1080419 by Al, on Flickr

Direction signs!
ImageP1080420 by Al, on Flickr

Stob Breac & Beinn Stacath beyond
ImageP1080421 by Al, on Flickr

The road reades a footbridge over the River Larig and we walked across grassy famland past a herd of lying down cows who appeared disinterested in our progress. A diagonal line up towards the steep looking section of the mountain, crossing a couple of burns on the way - the third one has some crags to be addressed as we climb into Bealach Coire an Laoigh. Allison is flagging a bit already, but I'm hoping that some hill-time will restore her. We climb a steep grassy line through crags and disappear into clag - sheep loom, baa and leave. The first small cairn is reached then the summit. We stop for lunch - Allison discovers that ehr sandwich bread is stale, which does little for her appetite. We follow the fence post line along Meall Reamhar and over some bumpy undulating ground towards the bealach with Stob Breac. Some peat hags and boggy ground require to be crossed. There are vague views down to Loch Katrine.

Cows in the field
ImageP1080423 by Al, on Flickr

Craggy hill this one
ImageP1080425 by Al, on Flickr

ImageP1080429 by Al, on Flickr

into the clag
ImageP1080433 by Al, on Flickr

ImageP1080434 by Al, on Flickr

Summit Stob a'Choin
ImageP1080438 by Al, on Flickr

Weathered fence post
ImageP1080439 by Al, on Flickr

View over to Loch Katrine
ImageP1080442 by Al, on Flickr

ImageP1080444 by Al, on Flickr

ImageP1080446 by Al, on Flickr

An Stuchd, the right hand end of Stob Breac is ahead.
ImageP1080447 by Al, on Flickr

View to Beinn a'Choin
ImageP1080448 by Al, on Flickr

Bit boggy
ImageP1080449 by Al, on Flickr

We change directionand head east towards An Stuchd, still following the fence line. As we are about to descend towards Cnoc na Nathrach Allison's spidey senses suggest that going a bit to the left would be a good idea, as the fence line goes over a very craggy section - not something I'd want to encounter in clag. We summit the hill of the Adder and set off up to An Stuchd - Allison is now really lagging behind and clearly suffering. I decide we'll pitch the tent at the top of An Stuchd and walk along the up-and-downy ridge of Stob Breac with light sacks, then have a pitched tent to return to. There are good views to Beinn a'Choin across Loch Katrine to the southwest from the tent. Views to the north are filled with Beinn Tulaichean and Stobinnien. We reach the tiny cairn on the Graham and head back towards blue sanctuary.

Stob Breac
ImageP1080450 by Al, on Flickr

These are the crags the fenceline passes over - best avoided!
ImageP1080458 by Al, on Flickr

Crashed out
ImageP1080464 by Al, on Flickr

Pitch
ImageP1080465 by Al, on Flickr

Along the ridge to Stob Breac
ImageP1080467 by Al, on Flickr

Ben Tulaichean
ImageP1080470 by Al, on Flickr

East flank of Stob a'Choin
ImageP1080471 by Al, on Flickr

Summit Stob Breac
ImageP1080477 by Al, on Flickr

ImageP1080478 by Al, on Flickr

ImageP1080479 by Al, on Flickr


Even though I've cooked a delightful variation on Noodles, Allison is less than hungry - she manages a bit to eat and a cup of tea then crashes out. The night is fairly quiet - sometimes the wind gets up, and there's a bit of rain in the wee small hours. Morning brings a misty start. Despite having had some sleep Sick Kid is not any better and manages only a few mouthfuls of porridge. Her guts are in a bad way - fortunately I have some Loperamide in the pack which probably helps. We're midway through the walk in terms of mileage. We could go back along Stob Breac and down to the car however that way seems steep going off the north side of Breac. I know that the route for today is fairly easy in terms of terrain and ascent and decide she can make it - need to keep her hydration up though. We've been travelling a bit light on water supplies (a new strategy of mine) and there are no streams up here that provide potable looking water...hmmm. Well, we're still going on.

Nightime in the hills - where better?
ImageP1080482 by Al, on Flickr

ImageP1080483 by Al, on Flickr

There's an immediate drop of 300m from our campspot down into the glen - steep with crags dispersed about the hillside. I had hoped to refill water bottles at the bottom, but there's just bog - a bit higher up I get very peaty brown water, fortunately without "bits". Hmmm. We take a gentle line up towards Meall Gaotach, which I climb while Allison heads north along the fence line. We edge round Coire Odhar. She's walkign a bit like a zombie now and I am concerned. She sees Beinn Stacath off to the left and doubts her abilities to get there. It's a gentle gradient - though it does look further away than it actually turns out to be, and I tell her to keep going as realistically she hasn't got much in the way of options (i'm all heart, me!). We make it to the trig point and thence on towards Ceann na Baintighearna. I had originally planned to come off the north side of this ridge, down a firebreak in the trees towards Tuarach Cottages, but it's a bit steep and I don't want her fighting through dense forest if there's no fire break - that would kill her off :roll: Instead I decide we'll continue on to Bealach Driseach where there's a track marked down through the trees. First we stop for some lunch - well I eat, she doesn't, but she does have a cup of tea which seems to revive her somewhat.

Morning mist
ImageP1080486 by Al, on Flickr

Our descent
ImageP1080487 by Al, on Flickr

Our ascent
ImageP1080488 by Al, on Flickr

Loch Katrine
ImageP1080493 by Al, on Flickr

onwards we go
ImageP1080498 by Al, on Flickr

Beinn Stacath
ImageP1080499 by Al, on Flickr

Zombie walking to the trig
ImageP1080502 by Al, on Flickr

Hurting now
ImageP1080504 by Al, on Flickr

Inverlochlarig
ImageP1080505 by Al, on Flickr

Our descent route
ImageP1080508 by Al, on Flickr

Loch Voil
ImageP1080513 by Al, on Flickr

The track through the trees is quite pretty, if underused, and we reach the road. On past the Hostel and along the side of Loch Doine, good quality track. It seems to disappear towards Invernenty and we find ourselves heading back uphill up Invernenty Glen - missed the right hand cut off through the tree. We retrace our steps and find it - all well til we get to a deer fence with a rickety gate and no sign of where the path goes - we see the river we're meant to cross ahead, but in a gorge. After going upstream for a bit through jaggy tree branches we go back to the gate, climb the fence next to it and head north along the riverbank, this does bring us out at a crossing. From there it's over marshy fields and back to the car park - taking the ford option rather than the second bridge :lol: - well we needed clean boots! By this time Allison was looking and feeling a bit more human - however, a salutary lesson in how not feeling well can impact upon the weekend outing - just glad it didn't happen on a more demanding/more remote route

Track through the trees
ImageP1080515 by Al, on Flickr

Lampshades
ImageP1080516 by Al, on Flickr

ImageP1080518 by Al, on Flickr

"Hidden" continuation of the track
ImageP1080522 by Al, on Flickr

ImageP1080523 by Al, on Flickr

Finally out of the trees
ImageP1080524 by Al, on Flickr

The inevitable river crossing
ImageP1080525 by Al, on Flickr

Stob a'Choin
ImageP1080529 by Al, on Flickr

The Sickly One a bit improved
ImageP1080530 by Al, on Flickr

ImageP1080531 by Al, on Flickr
weaselmaster
Hill Bagger
 
Posts: 2429
Munros:277   Corbetts:216
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Re: A Sick Kid in the Trossachs

Postby basscadet » Mon Jun 22, 2015 10:44 am

Poor Allison.. You don't call her SK for nothing ;)

Was up Stob a Choin just recently, and found it affy boggy, steep and most uninspiring - but you seemed to have found the best bits in the area :clap:
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basscadet
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Re: A Sick Kid in the Trossachs

Postby goth_angel » Mon Jun 22, 2015 11:30 pm

Good effort. Joking apart though do you guys never want a weekend off? It did sound a bit as though a rest wouldn't have gone amiss!
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Posts: 350
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Re: A Sick Kid in the Trossachs

Postby weaselmaster » Mon Jun 22, 2015 11:38 pm

goth_angel wrote:Good effort. Joking apart though do you guys never want a weekend off? It did sound a bit as though a rest wouldn't have gone amiss!


A weekend off? What on earth would we do :shock: :shock: :shock:
So not really - the weekend is the bit I look forward to - helps me get through the week. Would admit to wanting 3 day weekends to be honest. Bit more range possible then. Can't speak for Allison of course - she may have other thoughts :lol:
weaselmaster
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Posts: 2429
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Re: A Sick Kid in the Trossachs

Postby pollyh33 » Wed Jun 24, 2015 10:13 pm

Great report Al :clap: :clap: :clap:

I must confess to rushing through my first read to see if SK made it! :crazy: :crazy: :crazy:
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pollyh33
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Re: A Sick Kid in the Trossachs

Postby jamesb63 » Thu Jun 25, 2015 7:46 am

Great going and well done Allison :clap: :clap: The pics or her just dragging her poles are class
she does look rather poorly in some :crazy:
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jamesb63
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Re: A Sick Kid in the Trossachs

Postby rockhopper » Thu Jun 25, 2015 5:59 pm

another good weekend - looks like it turned out not too badly as well - a bit cooler than us as we "suffered" abroad in the high 20s instead :wink: :roll: - cheers :)
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