2017 TGO Challenge Days, 10 and 11
Loch Callater Lodge to Glas-allt Shiel - 9 milesTotal Trip Miles: 138.25
Sunday, May 21st, 2017
Day 10:
After I had gone to sleep the night before, one of the dogs at the lodge had bitten a challenger. Michael was taking her into town to see a doctor, so I hitched a ride with them to see if I could get some wi-fi and get my phone up and running again.
I sat at the Bothy restaurant and connected to the wi-fi, but the phone kept telling me my account wasn't the one linked to the phone. I was wondering if maybe the SIM card had gotten wet as the phone was worse when off airplane mode. When I pulled the SIM card out, the plastic adapter (to make it fit the larger slot) was all twisted and broke off in the slot. Great, now even if I got the phone working I wouldn't be able to use the SIM card, but I was still hoping to at least use it on wi-fi. The workers at Braemar Mountain Sports even let me use their compter/register to try and log in online to get my phone working, but despite my best efforts I was unable to get anything working. (Thanks again Braemar Mountain Sports for helping me out!!). I quickly used their computer to send a message to Kenny and Ava, who were coming to meet me after the challenge to give them a brief update.
By the time we drove back to Callater lodge and I got packed up it was nearly 1pm. I almost stayed another night, but forced myself to walk on. I left about 1:30pm, deciding to continue with my planned route and go up Lochnagar even though the weather didn't look great. Lochnagar was on my route last year and I didn't get to summit because I changed my route to walk the last few days with Kenny and Ava, so I definitely wanted to do it this year.
The whole top of the mountain was covered in cloud, which I was hoping would blow off by the time I got up there. It did not. It was windy, cold, foggy, and rainy from about 1/3 of the way up Lochnagar. I could really only see about 15-20 feet ahead of me, and at times the path became pretty faint, which made it tough to follow. About 2 km or so from the summit I ran into 3 walkers (if I had to guess were about 20 years old) who missed the turn to head east when coming off the summit. I told them they were heading west, at least a mile past where they should have turned, and we walked together back up to the summit where I got an amazing view of clouds. But, at least I can say I've completed Lochnagar.
I walked with them down to Glas-allt Shiel where they headed to the parking lot at the Spittal of Glenmuick. I camped outside the bothy at Glas-allt Shiel on the pristine grass. Another walker came in pretty late, around 7:30pm, and stayed in the bothy, but he was not a Challenger.
I had planned to attend the Cheese and Wine party, but a forecast of poor afternoon/night weather meant it was cancelled. My route took me from Glen Muick to Jock's road anyway so I decided to follow my planned route to that point and then assess the weather and my options. The climb out of Loch Muick was brutal. I took it slow and threw in plenty of rest breaks. From there I followed the path down to Backnagairn and then up the fantastically named Glittering Skellies, then across the muck to the summit of Craigs of Loch Esk and then back onto the path over to Jock's Road.
My planned route had me heading west on Jock's road, hitting the summits Crow Craigies, Tolmount, Ca Whims, and Tom Buidhe on the way to the Cheese and Wine gathering at the Fee Burn (NO 231 748). My new goal was to not be at a high elevation to camp due to the forecasted storms (high winds being the biggest concern), and I couldn't do that taking the planned route. My options were to head overland to Mayar where I would meet up with my planned route for the following day and make it another long day to get low or head down into Glen Clova and find somewhere to camp along the way. Seeing as how clouds were already gathering I took the low route option of Glen Clova.
This turned out to not be the greatest decision as it meant many more miles of road walking. I could see from the map it was road walking, but it didn't really sink in just how much more of it I was adding.
Jock's road was rocky and steep, but nothing too bad. I passed the emergency shelter built into the rock and can definitely see why it was built there. With the steepness and exposure I wouldn't want to be caught in a bad storm on Jock's road. Once I dropped down into Glen Doll it was a pleasant stroll through the pine forest there. I stopped for a snack break in the forest and enjoyed the smell of the pine. I ran into a walker and her dog coming the opposite direction and chatted with her for a couple minutes before we both moved on in our respective direction.
There is an information center at the end of Glen Doll, where it connects with Glen Cova and the paved road, that had some shelter, a couple benches, and a bathroom. I had arrived right as the rain began, and I had lunch during the downpour. Quite a few cars with walkers parked and headed up the trails as I had lunch and filled my water bottles.
From there I took the road down Glen Clova. There was some pretty scenery of farmland and the Clova hotel. I did put in my ear buds and listened to some music as I did the road walk. There isn't much to say about the walk, it was pretty, but I was walking fast to make some time. From what I could tell there really wasn't much in the way of camping where I was heading, so I thought that if I could find the path up to Arlie Memorial Tower I would still camp there (which was my intended camp spot for the night).
When I finally got to Dykehead (around 5:30pm) I headed up the road to where it shows a path on the map. I was unable to find anything that looked assuredly like a path so I headed back to Dykehead where the map showed a hotel, thinking that if it wasn't too expensive I'd splurge and take the comfort. Unfortunately the hotel was closed, and looked as if it had had a pretty bad fire some years ago. With no camping options I decided to keep walking down the road.
Around 6:15 or so, still walking on the road, an absolute downpour began. It may be hardest rain I've ever walked through, even with my rain gear on I was absolutely soaked through. It wasn't a long rain, maybe 15 minutes, and it stopped as I approached Prosen Bridge. There was a strip of forested land around Prosen Water at the bridge with signs saying it was property of the local fishing club. There were some decent camp spots there, and I figured they wouldn't mind me using their spot on a Monday night. I just figured I'd leave early the next morning just in case.
I quickly set up camp, ate dinner, and fell asleep quickly. It had been a long day and I was exhausted.
 |
| Day 10 |
I sat at the Bothy restaurant and connected to the wi-fi, but the phone kept telling me my account wasn't the one linked to the phone. I was wondering if maybe the SIM card had gotten wet as the phone was worse when off airplane mode. When I pulled the SIM card out, the plastic adapter (to make it fit the larger slot) was all twisted and broke off in the slot. Great, now even if I got the phone working I wouldn't be able to use the SIM card, but I was still hoping to at least use it on wi-fi. The workers at Braemar Mountain Sports even let me use their compter/register to try and log in online to get my phone working, but despite my best efforts I was unable to get anything working. (Thanks again Braemar Mountain Sports for helping me out!!). I quickly used their computer to send a message to Kenny and Ava, who were coming to meet me after the challenge to give them a brief update.
By the time we drove back to Callater lodge and I got packed up it was nearly 1pm. I almost stayed another night, but forced myself to walk on. I left about 1:30pm, deciding to continue with my planned route and go up Lochnagar even though the weather didn't look great. Lochnagar was on my route last year and I didn't get to summit because I changed my route to walk the last few days with Kenny and Ava, so I definitely wanted to do it this year.
The whole top of the mountain was covered in cloud, which I was hoping would blow off by the time I got up there. It did not. It was windy, cold, foggy, and rainy from about 1/3 of the way up Lochnagar. I could really only see about 15-20 feet ahead of me, and at times the path became pretty faint, which made it tough to follow. About 2 km or so from the summit I ran into 3 walkers (if I had to guess were about 20 years old) who missed the turn to head east when coming off the summit. I told them they were heading west, at least a mile past where they should have turned, and we walked together back up to the summit where I got an amazing view of clouds. But, at least I can say I've completed Lochnagar.
I walked with them down to Glas-allt Shiel where they headed to the parking lot at the Spittal of Glenmuick. I camped outside the bothy at Glas-allt Shiel on the pristine grass. Another walker came in pretty late, around 7:30pm, and stayed in the bothy, but he was not a Challenger.
Day 11
Glas-allt Shiel to Prosen Bridge - 24.5 miles
Total Trip Miles: 162.75
Monday, May 22nd, 2017
 |
| Day 11 part 1 |
 |
| Day 11 part 2 |
 |
| Day 11 part 3 |
My planned route had me heading west on Jock's road, hitting the summits Crow Craigies, Tolmount, Ca Whims, and Tom Buidhe on the way to the Cheese and Wine gathering at the Fee Burn (NO 231 748). My new goal was to not be at a high elevation to camp due to the forecasted storms (high winds being the biggest concern), and I couldn't do that taking the planned route. My options were to head overland to Mayar where I would meet up with my planned route for the following day and make it another long day to get low or head down into Glen Clova and find somewhere to camp along the way. Seeing as how clouds were already gathering I took the low route option of Glen Clova.
This turned out to not be the greatest decision as it meant many more miles of road walking. I could see from the map it was road walking, but it didn't really sink in just how much more of it I was adding.
Jock's road was rocky and steep, but nothing too bad. I passed the emergency shelter built into the rock and can definitely see why it was built there. With the steepness and exposure I wouldn't want to be caught in a bad storm on Jock's road. Once I dropped down into Glen Doll it was a pleasant stroll through the pine forest there. I stopped for a snack break in the forest and enjoyed the smell of the pine. I ran into a walker and her dog coming the opposite direction and chatted with her for a couple minutes before we both moved on in our respective direction.
There is an information center at the end of Glen Doll, where it connects with Glen Cova and the paved road, that had some shelter, a couple benches, and a bathroom. I had arrived right as the rain began, and I had lunch during the downpour. Quite a few cars with walkers parked and headed up the trails as I had lunch and filled my water bottles.
From there I took the road down Glen Clova. There was some pretty scenery of farmland and the Clova hotel. I did put in my ear buds and listened to some music as I did the road walk. There isn't much to say about the walk, it was pretty, but I was walking fast to make some time. From what I could tell there really wasn't much in the way of camping where I was heading, so I thought that if I could find the path up to Arlie Memorial Tower I would still camp there (which was my intended camp spot for the night).
When I finally got to Dykehead (around 5:30pm) I headed up the road to where it shows a path on the map. I was unable to find anything that looked assuredly like a path so I headed back to Dykehead where the map showed a hotel, thinking that if it wasn't too expensive I'd splurge and take the comfort. Unfortunately the hotel was closed, and looked as if it had had a pretty bad fire some years ago. With no camping options I decided to keep walking down the road.
Around 6:15 or so, still walking on the road, an absolute downpour began. It may be hardest rain I've ever walked through, even with my rain gear on I was absolutely soaked through. It wasn't a long rain, maybe 15 minutes, and it stopped as I approached Prosen Bridge. There was a strip of forested land around Prosen Water at the bridge with signs saying it was property of the local fishing club. There were some decent camp spots there, and I figured they wouldn't mind me using their spot on a Monday night. I just figured I'd leave early the next morning just in case.
I quickly set up camp, ate dinner, and fell asleep quickly. It had been a long day and I was exhausted.
No comments:
Post a Comment