Day 19(13) : Glencally to Sheiling of Saughs
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Wednesday 23rd May 26km 1510m ascent 2 Munros 1 Corbett |
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The wind had dropped overnight and the day started bright but cloud was spreading over as I climbed up Sron Deirg to meet it. Navigation was tricky to Mayar as it was impossible to see from one hag to the next and beside that I always seem to get lost on cairngorm plateaux! Once Mayar was found I just had to follow the 'munro motorway' to Dreish but by this time the drizzle had started, the wind picked up and I was struggling to get numb wet hands into gloves, another fault, I always put them on too late. |
The summit did not fill me with excitement, maybe I should have carried on yesterday at least there was visibility, but the route down The Scorrie is excellent although very steep.
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A long but pleasant walk down the road once again accompanied by peewits and curlew as well as some stupid sheep that kept running down the road in front of me. Why do roads always feel longer than the same distance in the hills?
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The Clova Hotel made a welcome lunch stop and I put the world to rights with the only other occupant of the bar, a retired traffic cop from Leeds. It would have been quite pleasant to spend the afternoon here but the cloud had broken and the climb up to Loch Brandy and The Goet beckoned in the sunshine. |
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The Sheiling is a well-kept lunch hut but I decided the ground nearby was too lumpy so went a little further down the glen to find a flatter spot to pitch by the river in the sunshine.
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I couldn't get lost in the good visibility on the plateau and I spent some time trying (with little success) to take a picture of the mountain hares on the way down to the Sheiling of Saughs, 'saughs' meaning willows, as Roger told me when I rang control from Clova although, as he also said, there are none!/8.jpg)