Well, it's been quite some time since I posted anything on Walkhighlands and frankly I thought it was highly unlikely that I would do so again.
A late starter to hillwalking (2017 at 62yrs old) I had a reasonably productive 3 years and, squeezing walks in-between grandparenting duties, managed to bag 67 Munros, various Corbetts and many other smaller hills.
Many of the Munros with my grandson Matthew who was 10/12yr at the time.
Then came COVID and along with that, two bouts of sciatica which wiped out 2020 and 2021. I managed a Munro in early 2022 and believed I was back on track to achieve my goal of overtaking my age in Munros and even bagging 100. Completion was never a goal, but 100 seemed doable.
Then, out of the blue, I was struck down with endocarditis, which was very nearly the end of me. I won't bore you with the details as I wrote about it in a wee report about climbing Dumyat in early 2023. Suffice to say I thought my hillwalking days, especially Munros, was over.
But during the rest of 2023 and 2024, I gained some confidence and just tried to keep active with smaller hills and various other kind of walks. Hills like Dumyat (umpteen times), Meikle Bin, Conic, Ben A'an. Even managed a Corbett (Beinn a' Chrùlaiste). I walked from Kincardine Bridge to St Andrews on the Fife Coastal Path. Glasgow to Grangemouth on The Forth and Clyde Canal. Walked round the coast of Cumbrae. And more. Anything to keep moving.
But still there remained the an unanswered question,
"Do I have a Munro left in me?".
A few weeks back I turned 70 so that added another factor to my question.
"Do I have a Munro left in me in my 70s?".
Without knowing if I even had that one Munro in me, I decided to set a target of reaching 71. That would mean for the first time my Munro total would pass my age and as a wee bonus I would become a quarter compleater 😂!!!
As any central belter will know, day trip Munros get harder and harder to find, but after a look at my WH Munro Map, An Socach seemed to give me my best chance of bagging a new Munro.
Tuesday 12th's weather seemed promising and I contacted a working pal to find out if he was free, but much to my wife's dismay, he was unavailable so I was going solo. My wife was never really happy about me going on walks on my own but was even less so since my illness. But I now own a watch that allows her to track me during my hike and that has given her some comfort. I do enjoy company but I also don't mind hiking on my own as I can go at my own pace and not feel I'm holding anyone back.
I must admit though, I was a little nervous during the drive up. The route begins a few miles north of the Glenshee Ski Resort but the road has by then dropped altitude and An Socach has definitely more ascent than the hills by the centre.
About the hill itself, I don't think I could describe it any better than Walkhighlands. Anyone who knows the hills in this area will know that they may not have the grandeur of many of the more westerly and northern hills, but every hill offers something and for me it was the deer and varied bird life. Indeed the biggest test my heart got was when I disturbed a mummy grouse and chicks just a few feet away from me. The mummy continued ahead of me for some distance as though trying to lead me away from the chicks.[attachment=6]20250610_100918.jpg[/attachment]
The hill was quiet. A young lad caught up with, then passed me about half way and he was just leaving the summit as I approached it. He was the only person, bar me, on the hill.[attachment=5]20250610_103952.jpg[/attachment]
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I was slow, but what can I say, when I eventually I did reach the summit shelter, I was elated. It had been soooo long. It gave me hope that perhaps I wasn't past it and there was still the odd (carefully chosen) Munro I could do.[attachment=3]20250610_122102.jpg[/attachment]
It was pretty windy up top so I never even sat down in the shelter. I ate my lunch whilst walking around the expansive summit taking in the views.[attachment=2]20250610_122411.jpg[/attachment]
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After about 20 odd minutes, I began to retrace my steps back to the car. It's strange how the land rover track in the glen seemed a lot further on the return than it did when I set out. But in around 6hrs I was back at the car.
My watch gave the ascent as 805m despite WH stating 655m on their route. I think I can account for around 50 of the extra metres as I cut off the land rover track before and not after the ford on the way up and had climbed a good bit before realising my mistake. As I couldn't find a safe place to cross the stream, I had to descend back down to the track. Also, when I left the east summit to head for the marginally higher (6m) west summit, the downloaded WH course on my watch kept pointing me back to the east summit as if the walk ended there. As there are a few ups and downs between the two summits perhaps this is where the discrepancy arises.[attachment=0]Screenshot_20250610_181901_Connect.jpg[/attachment]
Heading home, I stopped at the Ski Centre for a coffee, but then only made it to Bridge of Cally before I had to stop the car, get out, and stretch a cramping thigh 😅. Was OK after that.
Once home, I had a look at my Munro map and tried to identify my next target. I thought perhaps Càrn Liath on Beinn a' Ghlò as a singleton was an option but immediately was overcome with the optimistic thought that perhaps I would feel SO great on the summit of Càrn Liath, I would plough on and complete the three to achieve my goal of 71. Perhaps not. We'll see😀!🤞