by clivew » Thu Jun 23, 2011 9:21 pm
Munros included on this walk: Mount Keen
Date walked: 22/06/2011
Time taken: 3.5 hours
Distance: 17.5 km
Ascent: 810m
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Did this walk on my own on the way down from a meeting in Aberdeen; had been thinking about it for a few days so decided to take my walking gear in the car and see what the weather was going to be like. Left Aberdeen at about 3.00pm and headed south, the weather wasn't that good and it was still raining a bit in Aberdeen. I thought I would drive on down to the turning off the A90 onto the B966 towards Fettercairn and see what the weather was like there. The clouds appeared to be breaking up a bit to the west so I thought I would take a chance on it. It seemed to take ages to get from the A90 through to Fettercairn and on up the Glen to Invermark, bloody rabbits everywhere and couldn't avoid driving over one poor little bunny. By the time I had parked the car and got out of my suit into some more appropriate clothes it was 4.15 and looking a bit black over the tops. Mine was the only car in the car park so didn't expect to see anyone on the way up.
I was hoping to make good time on this walk as I still had over a hundred miles to drive home, the track up towards the Queens Well was good and very easy to follow; had a quick look at the well and stopped to put my waterproofs on as by now it was raining.
By the time I had crossed the two burns just above Invermark Cottage it was pouring down but I was making good time and really enjoying being out on the hills on a work day; it was almost like having a crafty pint on a Friday lunchtime. Soon after I passed the zig zag on the path I was into the clouds and the rain became a lot heavier and visibility worse. The turning off the main path, which is marked by a large Cairn, was soon reached but don't be confused by a faint path leading off by a smaller Cairn a bit lower down. The path to the summit was a lot better than I thought, obviously a bit of work had been done on it recently and it had a good covering of grit making it easy under foot. Reached the Cairn and trig point in a little over 2 hours which was pleasing; didn't stop there long as it was pouring down by now. Jogged part of the way down where the path was good and by the time I had reached the zig zag on the path I was out of the cloud and the rain had stopped. Had a banana and a drink and then continued on down. All the rain had made the Easter Burn quite a torrent by now and I had great fun crossing on the stepping stones. Stopped just past the Queens Well and watched a herd of deer on the far side of the river; they were watching me as well but because I stayed still and crouched down they didn't run. Loads of rabbits on the path down towards the Castle and the highlight was a red squirrel on a tree just in front of me. Got back down to the car park at 7.45 peeled of the waterproofs and started the long drive home. Had loads of near misses with the rabbits on the road, bloody things kept running across the road in front of me I'm sure they had suicidal tendencies. Didn't get back into Edinburgh till gone 10.00 I was starving and knackered but as always really enjoyed the walk.
