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This was a last minute unplanned day out, the forecast was far too good to stay in Fife, the chance of the sun appearing and no wind. Where to head, Munro's still out of the question, so I thought let's continue tackling the Donalds
I have my eye on a few groups and opted for the round that start with Pykestone Hill
The biggest problem with heading into the Borders is battling with the thousands of commuters heading into Edinburgh in the morning and getting home before they finish work
I left Fife just after 8.30 and arrived at the parking area just over an hour later, the temperature dropped down to -2deg on the way and on arrival was just about zero, perfect for coping with the expected boggy areas
Not a busy parking area
The start of the walk
Soon kitted up with 4 layers on, off I set, there was a light dusting of snow on the ground and I kind of guessed that if there was a dusting this low down, there would be a wee bit more higher up
The walk starts off with a nice gradual climb, it wasn't too long before I stopped to take off a layer
Early shot looking back
Another bridge over the burn
The way ahead
Looking back, not many footprints
Looking back from slightly higher
The path uphill is excellent, there are a few tracks heading off in other directions, but the WH route worked a treat
Once I reached Den Knowes the depth of snow increased quite considerably and the continuous climb up to the summit of Pykestone Hill was really tough going. I was picking my way uphill trying find the best place to plonk my boot, the track was a no go area as the snow had gathered and was much deeper
Looking back again
Plenty of animal tracks
Still heading uphill
Alot more snow now, still going up
Looking back, you can see my imprints in the snow
Looking SW towards Culter Fell & Tinto
Giant
Looking back
After alot of huffing and puffing I reached the summit trig of Pykestone Hill, there was an area of peat hags to negotiate before reaching the welcome trig
After a few photo's it was time to head down to the col to see what the next lot of peat hags had to offer
Pykestone Hill trig
The way ahead, follow the fence
Looking across towards Broad Law, quite spectacular
The way down to the col
Deepish snow
Looking back at the hags, easy going when covered with snow
On the approach to Middle Hill my eyes were scouring the horizon for the couple of fence posts that apparently mark the summit, whether they have been removed or were covered by the snow who knows. So my poles mark the highest spot on the rounded hill
Summit?
A different angle
Wind Farm on a windless day
Looking across to the final hill Drumelzier Law
There wasn't much to keep me at Middle Hill so off we go again, as I could see exactly where I was going I opted to head directly to the Shepherds Cairn. I initially thought the cairn was another human being in the distance, but as it wasn't moving the penny soon dropped. The cairn stood out really prominently in the surrounding snow
Shepherds Cairn, well constructed
Drumelzier Law, path isn't very obvious
Looking west
Last bit of ascending
Looking SSW
Looking SW, fabulous
One of the 2 cairns on Drumelzier
Looking west again
Looking north
From Drumelzier the majority of the way back is downhill, there are a few slight uphill bits, but nothing to worry about. The path was obvious, however on the lower slopes there are plenty of paths heading off in other directions, but not a problem.
Looking back up to Drumelzier
The way down
Looking across to the way up to Pykestone, the snow on the lower slopes has disappeared
Looking across to the path up Pykestone again
Sheepfold
Descending back down to the burn
The descent off Drumelzier wasn't demanding, however it is a bit of a slog. The path down meets up on the west side of the burn with the main path. The snow had completely melted and it only takes a few minutes to get back to the car.
A fabulous day that I really enjoyed, it does help when you can spend a day in the hills in ideal conditions
Next on the menu is probably the Lowthers, another day like that weather wise would be OK
