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Winning with the weather (mostly) on Ben Lawers

Winning with the weather (mostly) on Ben Lawers


Postby Alfachick » Sun Sep 10, 2017 2:05 pm

Munros included on this walk: Beinn Ghlas, Ben Lawers

Date walked: 10/09/2017

Time taken: 5 hours

Distance: 11.7 km

Ascent: 967m

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Well having had the best laid plans for the weekend involving climbing Ben Vrackie and doing some additional wee wanders around the Athol area on the Saturday, then doing the round of four Glen Lyon munroes on the Sunday I checked the weather forecast on Friday night and those plans went out the window. The weather was meant to be what can only be described as disgusting on the Sunday so a quick reshuffle and rethink was on the cards.

The plan then became Bein Ghlas and Ben Lawers on Saturday followed by not going out much on Sunday. I managed to persuade a friend to come along for the walk and off we set at 0800 on Saturday morning.

After a two hour drive we were on the hill just the back of 1000. The first kilometre out of the car park is always the hardest for me as my legs havent warmed up and I realise how big the task ahead is. Needless to say we soldiered onwards and upwards.

The summit of Beinn Ghlas was reached in reasonable time, and half our sandwiches consumed looking at the wonderful view down to Loch Tay. The dog had been enjoying himself whilst truly embarrassing me by chasing sheep! What a little turd he truly is. Its a good job he's cute!

IMG_1925.jpg
A view of Loch Tay from our lunch spot


Setting off after our quick pitstop Ben Lawers looked close enough to touch so off we trotted down to the saddle and then the climb came... gosh its steep! The dog didn't seem to mind and must have covered three times the distance that we had as he was off chasing sheep again (the little turd) and shuttling between me and my (fitter) companion.

IMG_1930.jpg
The view down the northern glen from the saddle


As we were tackling the final ascent the cloud started to blow in which was rather annoying as we would be robbed of our summit views! The top was reached with much huffing and puffing on my part. The dog plonked on top of the trig as is now tradition and we hung around for a couple of minutes waiting for the clag to clear, which it didn't so we started off back down, as we were half way down to the belach the cloud lifted of course. :crazy: Gutted.
Oh well we got the fine views from he way up and the way down.

IMG_1938.jpg
The dog on the Trig point and my mate in the background in the could on the summit


IMG_1943.jpg
The summit clear of clag just after we had left!


IMG_1945.jpg
Views of Beinn Ghlas on the return leg.


We took the bypass path back around Beinn Ghlas back to the wildlife park and back to the car. Its funny as soon as I can see the car my legs get tired, I am sure its a psychological thing as it wasnt that long a walk really.

IMG_1946.jpg
On the walk out we could see for miles and miles and miles


We were rather lucky with the weather being sunny for most of the day apart from the 3 minutes or so that we were on the summit, gah. Well I guess thats an excuse to come back :wink: We stopped off at our friends for tea on the way home and had a wonderful home made steak pie and some excellent chat, what a great way to end a great day :D
Alfachick
Bird-watcher
 
Posts: 57
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Re: Winning with the weather (mostly) on Ben Lawers

Postby rockhopper » Sun Sep 10, 2017 4:28 pm

RTC wrote:This isn't meant to be a criticism / rebuke / etc but farmers would not hesitate to shoot a dog chasing sheep. I try to avoid areas with sheep when out with my dog and keep him on a lead if there are sheep around.

Alfachick wrote:The dog didn't seem to mind and must have covered three times the distance that we had as he was off chasing sheep again (the little turd) and shuttling between me and my (fitter) companion.

This is also not meant to be a criticism / rebuke / etc as I'm not a dog owner so wouldn't really know but, for info, the advice / guidance seems to include:

B. Fields where there are sheep.
Whenever possible it’s best to avoid going near sheep. Dogs can cause unnecessary worry that may contribute to the premature death of sheep as well as any unborn lambs. If you need to go into a field of sheep, keep your dog on a short lead (defined as two metres or less) or close at heel and keep your distance from the animals. In more open country, when there are sheep around, keep your dog close at heel and keep your distance from them. This advice also applies to other farm animals.
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rockhopper
 
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Re: Winning with the weather (mostly) on Ben Lawers

Postby Alfachick » Sun Sep 10, 2017 4:40 pm

Yeah I know this is the case. The dog was on the lead whenever we saw that there were sheep nearby but a couple of times he saw them before we did. When he came back he would get put on the lead until we were clear of them again. More attention will need to be paid by me to ensure that I spot any sheep before him in the future.
Alfachick
Bird-watcher
 
Posts: 57
Munros:39   Corbetts:9
Fionas:7   
Sub 2000:35   
Wainwrights:2   
Joined: Jun 10, 2015
Location: Aberdeenshire

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