It's a dog's life on Mount Blair
Route: Mount Blair
Fionas: Mount Blair
Date walked: 18/03/2024
Distance: 4.5km
Descending into Glen Isla from Glas Maol, the rounded shape of Mount Blair appeared through the mist, which despite what the forecast said had lingered all day. Mount Blair seemed an overly grand name for a lowly Graham, but it nudged a memory that one of my kids had climbed it, which I hadn't. So when in the area anyway and looking for a straightforward option for first hill of the year it felt a good choice.
Mount Blair (zoomed) from Monega Hill in 2021
The road was pleasantly quiet as we drove up from Blairgowrie ('we' being me and the dog). I only saw one car carrying skis and that was on our return at 12.00, which doesn't bode well for the Glenshee ski season this year - although things may improve with the current plunge in temperature. There was one vehicle tucked in at the layby from which a chap emerged and called out "Are you going up the hill?". I said that was the plan but was having second thoughts after seeing cloud half way down it from the A93, but was hopeful there was enough of a wind to clear the top by the time I was up there. It's strange that when he said "the hill" I assumed he meant Mount Blair and not Duchray Hill on the other side of the road, which at that moment was bathed in sunshine. I thought after he asked he must be heading up too, but he returned to his car and I saw no more movement from it, although it was still sitting there when we returned.
I think that must be Duchray Hill
With dog on lead we headed east along the road to the metal gate and start of the track up Blair. Stuck on the gate post was a graphic sign about the damage dogs can do to sheep.
The four stages of sheep worrying
Bark, chase, bite, kill are the four stages. I took it from that there were sheep through this gate meaning the lead was staying on. I've not known Keira to bark at sheep (men with strange hats are another matter) and her recall is solid; but if a sheep suddenly bolted from behind a rock all her instincts would be to chase. She knows if livestock are about she goes on lead and there's never any reluctance about it, that's just the way it is.
The Walkhighlands description mentions the muddy track. I would agree. On Monday morning after a night of rain it was a churned up quagmire and I picked my way around it. I say I as my labrador views mud differently. Dogs don't sweat and there are times panting isn't enough. The most effective way to cool themselves is to get their chest in muddy water. After an energetic romp on the hill this mud would be perfect for a cooling wallow. Not that that was going to happen as by then she'd be back on the lead due to aforementioned sheep.
Mud
The good thing was it didn't last long and the rest of the track was fine.
Short section
Keira walks well on the lead and doesn't pull like some dogs do. But she seems to know that when we're going uphill she can walk slightly ahead, giving some gentle dog power momentum to the old wifey who's not walked up a hill since last November. Despite walking the dog every day on the level my body wasn't thrilled with the idea of dragging itself uphill and I seriously wondered if my climbing days are done.
Easy grassy track
When we reached sheep level she studiously ignored them, no reaction at all. But I'm not fooled by that. Dogs are wired to chase anything with a pulse that moves. I told her she was a good girl and gave her a square inch of toast. She was chuffed with that and we moved on without a second glance.
They who must be ignored
The gate had a bolt across and a chain to unfasten. The chain was easy but the bolt was stiff. The gate would have been okay to climb but there wasn't any space to get the dog through. I pushed the gate in a bit and tried the bolt again which this time I managed to move. I decided not to slide the bolt back but fasten the gate with the chain only and on the descent get the bolt across when I was on the right side of the gate. It was moorland ahead so the dog could have her freedom to sniff whatever she wanted without being attached to a human who isn't interested in sniffing stuff.
Gate to freedom
Glen Shee
In 1967 former sheep farmer and ski instructor Stephen Anderson gathered a team to start what was then known as the Compass Ski Club with Glenshee Lodge as its base. Run with a Christian ethos it is still going as an outdoor activity centre, appealing particularly but not exclusively to the young. All our four kids went to activity weeks there, have since been back as leaders and now it's the grandchildren's turn. Stephen is no longer with us but he's left a lasting legacy in the lives of so many people.
Zoomed to Glenshee Lodge
The gradient eased off as we neared the top and I started to think maybe my climbing days weren't quite done yet. So far the views had all been back the way and I was keen to see what was over the other side!
Transmitter mast appearing
It's an oddly crowded summit with the mast, a trig point, a large cairn and a more recently built circular viewfinder that reveals that up to 40 Munros can be seen from here on a clear day.
Mast, trig and summit cairn
Another angle
Circular viewfinder
There was a stile over the fence between the fancy circular viewfinder and the summit cairn so rather than put the long suffering mutt through the indignity of being bundled over a stile to have her usual photo at the cairn I suggested to her sitting by the round thing would do just fine and she agreed to go along with that. What dogs think of the things we make them do I'll never know, but they're good on routine and don't need to know a reason, except that we ask them to do it.
Part of the ritual
NW from top
NE from top
I'm now not so certain about the direction of the next two and may have to stand corrected if anyone knows better.
East from top
South from top
Start of the descent
The descent was easy and pleasant, nothing too steep and with the view to the top of Glen Shee ahead, the higher hills still carrying snow. When we reached the gate I didn't have to struggle with the stiff bolt as a young man from Arbroath arrived just as we did. He comes up regularly and was well practised with the gate. The wind was cold and like me he had a hat on, but it was one the dog evidently approved of as she greeted him with a wagging tail and not a disapproving bark.
Once through the gate she was back on the lead and I noticed how, as she always does on the descent, she walked right by my side, pausing if there was an awkward or slippy bit. How do dogs know to do that? They must be cleverer than we give them credit for.
Back at the car I was glad I'd done it. A hill my daughter climbed as a kid and a new tick for me. What was more, being early in the year there had been no hint of a midge in the air or the other kind of tick on the dog. I drove back to Blairgowrie for lunch and since Mount Blair was only 4.5km we did the 6.5km Cargill's Leap and Knockie circuit in the afternoon. A good day.
Mount Blair (zoomed) from Monega Hill in 2021
The road was pleasantly quiet as we drove up from Blairgowrie ('we' being me and the dog). I only saw one car carrying skis and that was on our return at 12.00, which doesn't bode well for the Glenshee ski season this year - although things may improve with the current plunge in temperature. There was one vehicle tucked in at the layby from which a chap emerged and called out "Are you going up the hill?". I said that was the plan but was having second thoughts after seeing cloud half way down it from the A93, but was hopeful there was enough of a wind to clear the top by the time I was up there. It's strange that when he said "the hill" I assumed he meant Mount Blair and not Duchray Hill on the other side of the road, which at that moment was bathed in sunshine. I thought after he asked he must be heading up too, but he returned to his car and I saw no more movement from it, although it was still sitting there when we returned.
I think that must be Duchray Hill
With dog on lead we headed east along the road to the metal gate and start of the track up Blair. Stuck on the gate post was a graphic sign about the damage dogs can do to sheep.
The four stages of sheep worrying
Bark, chase, bite, kill are the four stages. I took it from that there were sheep through this gate meaning the lead was staying on. I've not known Keira to bark at sheep (men with strange hats are another matter) and her recall is solid; but if a sheep suddenly bolted from behind a rock all her instincts would be to chase. She knows if livestock are about she goes on lead and there's never any reluctance about it, that's just the way it is.
The Walkhighlands description mentions the muddy track. I would agree. On Monday morning after a night of rain it was a churned up quagmire and I picked my way around it. I say I as my labrador views mud differently. Dogs don't sweat and there are times panting isn't enough. The most effective way to cool themselves is to get their chest in muddy water. After an energetic romp on the hill this mud would be perfect for a cooling wallow. Not that that was going to happen as by then she'd be back on the lead due to aforementioned sheep.
Mud
The good thing was it didn't last long and the rest of the track was fine.
Short section
Keira walks well on the lead and doesn't pull like some dogs do. But she seems to know that when we're going uphill she can walk slightly ahead, giving some gentle dog power momentum to the old wifey who's not walked up a hill since last November. Despite walking the dog every day on the level my body wasn't thrilled with the idea of dragging itself uphill and I seriously wondered if my climbing days are done.
Easy grassy track
When we reached sheep level she studiously ignored them, no reaction at all. But I'm not fooled by that. Dogs are wired to chase anything with a pulse that moves. I told her she was a good girl and gave her a square inch of toast. She was chuffed with that and we moved on without a second glance.
They who must be ignored
The gate had a bolt across and a chain to unfasten. The chain was easy but the bolt was stiff. The gate would have been okay to climb but there wasn't any space to get the dog through. I pushed the gate in a bit and tried the bolt again which this time I managed to move. I decided not to slide the bolt back but fasten the gate with the chain only and on the descent get the bolt across when I was on the right side of the gate. It was moorland ahead so the dog could have her freedom to sniff whatever she wanted without being attached to a human who isn't interested in sniffing stuff.
Gate to freedom
Glen Shee
In 1967 former sheep farmer and ski instructor Stephen Anderson gathered a team to start what was then known as the Compass Ski Club with Glenshee Lodge as its base. Run with a Christian ethos it is still going as an outdoor activity centre, appealing particularly but not exclusively to the young. All our four kids went to activity weeks there, have since been back as leaders and now it's the grandchildren's turn. Stephen is no longer with us but he's left a lasting legacy in the lives of so many people.
Zoomed to Glenshee Lodge
The gradient eased off as we neared the top and I started to think maybe my climbing days weren't quite done yet. So far the views had all been back the way and I was keen to see what was over the other side!
Transmitter mast appearing
It's an oddly crowded summit with the mast, a trig point, a large cairn and a more recently built circular viewfinder that reveals that up to 40 Munros can be seen from here on a clear day.
Mast, trig and summit cairn
Another angle
Circular viewfinder
There was a stile over the fence between the fancy circular viewfinder and the summit cairn so rather than put the long suffering mutt through the indignity of being bundled over a stile to have her usual photo at the cairn I suggested to her sitting by the round thing would do just fine and she agreed to go along with that. What dogs think of the things we make them do I'll never know, but they're good on routine and don't need to know a reason, except that we ask them to do it.
Part of the ritual
NW from top
NE from top
I'm now not so certain about the direction of the next two and may have to stand corrected if anyone knows better.
East from top
South from top
Start of the descent
The descent was easy and pleasant, nothing too steep and with the view to the top of Glen Shee ahead, the higher hills still carrying snow. When we reached the gate I didn't have to struggle with the stiff bolt as a young man from Arbroath arrived just as we did. He comes up regularly and was well practised with the gate. The wind was cold and like me he had a hat on, but it was one the dog evidently approved of as she greeted him with a wagging tail and not a disapproving bark.
Once through the gate she was back on the lead and I noticed how, as she always does on the descent, she walked right by my side, pausing if there was an awkward or slippy bit. How do dogs know to do that? They must be cleverer than we give them credit for.
Back at the car I was glad I'd done it. A hill my daughter climbed as a kid and a new tick for me. What was more, being early in the year there had been no hint of a midge in the air or the other kind of tick on the dog. I drove back to Blairgowrie for lunch and since Mount Blair was only 4.5km we did the 6.5km Cargill's Leap and Knockie circuit in the afternoon. A good day.
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