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Ben Lomond was my 3rd Munro just over 2 1/2 years ago. I made the mistake of going up on Good Friday
November is a much better time to go, though it was still pretty busy! So this was just a repeat for me and Millie who also came along, but was Moss' 30th Munro and this is really why I'm posting a report
Some people like to bag Munro's for themselves, me I like bagging them for the dogs! When we get a new dog it will start all over again
At the car park a lady asked if I was doing the Ptarmigan route, which is the way I went the first time (and is a MUCH nicer way to go), had I just had Moss with me I probably would have switched to the other route but I had Millie with me as well and while she is still doing great for her age her jumping isn't as good as it used to be and while she
probably could have managed the scramble to the summit, it just wasn't a risk I wanted to take. I was half-jealous looking over to Ptarmigan, but then I was happy to have Millie out with us too.
- Millie (left) and Moss (right)
I was almost put off though reading a report from earlier this week, the cows were out in the field. I have a bit of a problem walking through fields of cows, as I have a bit of a phobia of them. So the first part of the walk up to the area of grazing I was actually getting more and more anxious about the dreaded cow field and I didn't feel much better when the cows were in sight ahead and I could see them close to the path. So we set a very smart pace at the start, and kept it up through the cow field where I tried to keep the dogs out of sight of the cows and called out to a cow that had her back to us to let her know we were just passing and please don't trample us all to death. The cow, of course, didn't bat an eyelid. None of them did. Away from the cows I was roasting (it did NOT feel like November!) and so I stopped to take off my jacket and it stayed off for the rest of the walk, which was uneventful it was a case of just following the very, very obvious track up and up and across a flatter bit and then up some more and then a flattish section before the summit. Even at the summit it didn't feel that cold, certainly didn't feel like the -2 the forecast said it was supposed to feel like given that it was -4 when I was out walking the dogs on Monday morning and cursing that I hadn't put on my gloves!
- 30th Munro for Moss
Again, the Ptarmigan descent was tempting, but we headed down the same way. No taking chances. Nothing exciting, and I wasn't feeling anywhere near as worried by the field of cows either though I wasn't happy that I couldn't see where they were at first. I could see two way off, but I knew there were more there, turned they were hiding behind a hill. As before, they weren't bothered at all. Still, I think I would rather avoid cow fields