Glen Taner sits on the eastern edge of the Cairngorms National Park, close to our home in Aberdeenshire. We have walked here many times and love to explore the myriad of trails reaching out in all directions from the well maintained car park beside the Water of Taner.
I made this hike 4 weeks ago when spring was just on the horizon. It was a wonderful, warm, dry, day but very few people joined me in the glen, just the way I like it. The hike begins by crossing a stone bridge immediately beside the car park. Once over the bridge you must explore around the area as there are images to be made. The path I chose, called the Firmounth Road, then leads across a wide open meadow past an old church and round to Knockie Viewpoint. From here there are so many options available it's easy to lose yourself. I opted for my usual circular route heading off the Frimonth Road through native Caledonian Forest and across the heather covered flanks of Baudy Meg, a steady little hill that you know you have ascended but allows you to catch your breath along the way. The path today was full of frogs and toads oblivious to my presence and determined to make the very most of the spring weather. The trail continues beyond this in a circuit through the Forest of Glen Taner down to the Tower of Ess at the entrance of the estate. From the tower a walk along the river back to the car park is a real pleasure, filled with wildlife and gently winding along beside the water the 13km overall hike passes quickly and before I know it I'm back at the car park. Below are the images from this hike in a captioned gallery, you can see a full breakdown of one of our previous hikes along this route by clicking here.
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Excuse the play on words in the title, but it had to be done. Morven is a perfect remote hike, or should I say remote feeling hike. As a mountain it's a little small at 871 metres and yet the name Morven translated to English from Scottish Gaelic is Big Mountain. Indeed, it was big enough to catch the eye of Lord Byron who spent time here as a child and captured the memory in his poem "When I roved a young highlander"
When I Rov'd A Young Highlander o'er the dark heath, And climb'd thy steep summit, oh Morven of snow! To gaze on the torrent that thunder'd beneath, Or the mist of the tempest that gather'd below..... There are two routes up this attractive bump, a very steep direct assault on the summit mound from the meadow below; or my preferred and far more enjoyable route that meanders along the hillside, around the back, and up a more gentle approach. This gives a much longer hike, which is always my preference, and allows a circuit to be made using the steep ascent route to descend. I last made this hike in March 2011 and little has changed from then to now, with the exception of the little cottage in the meadow at the start of the hike, which is unfortunately, far more dilapidated than it was 11 years ago. There are enough images in the gallery below to give you a feel for this 11km round trip, for those seeking more detail the link in the paragraph above will take you to a description of the full hike made in 2011. Clachnaben towers above Glen Dye, so much so that its prominent granite tor is visible for miles around. At the summit you can choose to walk up the back of the tor with just a little scramble to access the very top, or you can climb up the front using any one of the dozens of climbing routes available.
Whichever route you take to reach the top, it is worth the effort. The 360 degree views are spectacular. There's little wonder that Clachnaben is one of the best known of the lower hilltops in Aberdeenshire. I've made this hike many times now and I hope I will make it many times more, it's quite a steep pull up at the end, so it makes a nice workout for a short round trip. You can see an earlier hike in full on the site if you want to see the whole thing, or you can use the captioned gallery below for the abridged version. Monday this week saw me covering old tracks again, this time with a hike beside Loch Muick and up the steep sided Corrie Chash toward Broad Cairn. To be honest Broad Cairn was my target for the day, but after 7km I found myself in a strong snow squall and freezing temperatures and decided to turn back.
It was still a great hike if a little short at 14km return. The views from the top were stunning, in the distance the White Mounth Munros were dusted with snow, their summits hidden by low cloud and their flanks adorned with fresh meltwater cascading down numerous waterfalls. In the summer or early autumn when days are longer and time allows, there is a wonderful 29km hike taking in the 5 summits that surround the loch. It's not easy, in fact its bloody hard, but it is a fantastic hike and one I'm pleased to have done albeit 11 years ago. There are many other hikes to be had in the area, not least of which is the loch circuit that takes in the spectacular falls at Glas-Allt-shiel. The road to Loch Muick is a steady affair for the last 10k or so, but worth the drive. Parking is in a purpose built car park with a pay and display machine that accepts a card tap. Close to the car park is a small but excellent visitor centre and then it is on to the huge stunning loch itself. All in all it is yet another place to put on your 'visiting Aberdeenshire' list. With the weather promising more dry and sunny conditions across Aberdeenshire it would be wasteful to stay at home all day. So I found a little time to get out and enjoy a short 8km leg warmer close to home.
I've made this hike a number of times albeit over 10 years ago, so it was nice to return and walk in familiar surroundings. Back then I found a small pool of water fed by a spring and in it a single newt. As I walked today I stopped off at that same pool, and in there I saw 6 newts in exactly the same place, an unusual but very welcome continuity. Last time there were more trees still standing, this is logging ground after all, the cut trees now laid beside the trail are massive compared to their predecessors. It is still a really enjoyable and very easy hike in spite of the more open surrounds. Well worth the undertaking as it leads to a wonderful viewpoint overlooking Aberdeenshire from the mountains to the coast. Those wanting to make this easy hike can find a full report from a previous trip here, the small gallery below shows the beauty of this little gem, I hope to return by bike at some point in the near future, just to see if I can. One of the great spectacles of autumn in Kananaskis is the basin at the southern end of Pocaterra ridge. The low level section is still a lung busting 2300m (7500 feet) above sea level and dragging the camera gear up there is no fun; but it is worth it.
In the main image below you can see the south end of Pocaterra Ridge bathed in sunlight as the huge snow cloud that hounded me for 45 minutes finally cleared. I walked all over the boulder field making images and have posted most of them in the gallery below. They are all quite similar as they are, to some extent, shot from the same location but I feel each one merits a viewing. There is a bonus Pika shot in there, these little fellas live in the boulder fields at higher altitudes and feed on grasses and plants. They make a loud whistle repeatedly while you walk around to make sure you can't sneak up on any of them. They are very difficult to get on camera as they scurry to and fro between boulders so I was glad to catch this one as he took a moment to rest from his haymaking activities. All in all I had a beautiful day at high altitude, surrounded by mountains and spectacular larch trees in their autumnal shades, even if I did need the winter jacket for the very first time this year. Time to get back out there and keep working on the mountain fitness. Today I opted for a hike to Elbow Lake and the potential continuance to the Rae Glacier. The glacier itself is actually a glacial remnant, but it's still a good lump of ice and a nice extension to an otherwise short hike.
It was wonderful to see Elbow Lake again, it is a truly beautiful place and one I love to visit any time of the year. There was an awkward wind today spoiling the reflections and later dropping the temperature significantly at higher altitude. The lake is at 2050m above sea level and the glacier viewpoint at 2700m, that 650m difference and the added wind howling up the pass made for an immense temperature difference today but didn't detract from the hike. The main shot shows Elbow Lake from the west end looking toward the north, to reach Mt Rae and its associated glacial remnant it's a short hike along the eastern shore of the lake before doubling back around the base of Mt Rae and into a long glacial run off. Along the run off the additional 650m of ascent is easy enough and brings you out on the top of the terminal moraine overlooking the glacier. The captioned gallery below follows the route in from Elbow Lake through to the viewpoint. All summer long Kananaskis has been washed over with smoke from forest fires to the west in British Columbia. I know there are always fires doing this every summer but this one was apparently much worse, I'm glad we were away and missed the worst of it. Unfortunately, as you can see from my outing today, clear skies are some way off yet.
I made a 10 km round trip along Indefatigable Ridge today, just because it is lightly used and therefore you almost always have the whole thing to yourself, and that was the case this afternoon. It was a tough ascent as always and what little sun could break through and heat the day made it even harder, but I enjoyed the work out and was able to take stock of how far away the larch trees are from turning bright yellow. I suspect a week will do it. The images below capture the current smoke conditions and a little of the autumn colours higher up in the forest. We couldn't let the bank holiday go by without enjoying a little of the mountains together so we set out with an area in mind, rather than a specific location. We drove slowly along the Powderface Trail considering our options when we came across a couple of parked cars beside a forest trail we have never explored, so that was enough to make it the selection for today.
We knew the trial was ultimately going to top out on Powderface Ridge, but that was all we knew. It was a short fast ascent along switchbacks in the forest before opening out at a rocky outcrop. The views across the valley toward the distant 'Banded Peak' were beautiful, with autumn colours filling the foreground against the distant hazy blue of the background. We saw a few Golden Mantled Ground Squirrels along the way, a couple of which posed for photos, one which escaped the lens appeared right beside me while we sat eating. I couldn't reach for the camera but I did alert Sarah to his presence right there between us eyeing the food before scooting away when I moved a little. We left him some treats before continuing along the ridge, they were not there when we returned that way a little later. It was a lovely gentle 6 km (3.7 miles) to an altitude of 2081 m (6828 feet) and has provided me with another option for a longer hike at some point. Best of all it was great to be out together, enjoying the unseasonably warm weather and cool mountain breeze at the top. If I never hear the word Covid again it will be too soon. But now, after a long hiatus in mountain activity (mainly as a result of being thousands of miles away from the mountains) I finally made a small summit.
Our long stay in the UK meant altitude of any sort was a distant memory. We've only been back in Canada for a few days so I didn't want to go crazy, but I needed to get back to the mountains before winter kicks in and puts a stop to it for 6 months. Jumpingpound Mountain fit the bill nicely, a little over 7000 feet it is a small lump out here and the actual ascent of 1500 feet (457 m) over 2.5 miles (4 km) make the 5 mile round trip a perfect reintroduction to hiking the hills. I've done this hike many times now in all weathers, today was cloudy with a couple of very slight showers and though it was T-Shirt weather for hiking up, it was cool at the summit and the fleece soon made an appearance. The taller surrounding summits had patches of snow which served to remind me just how close to winter we already are. Those seeking details of access and trailhead location can click here for a summer ascent with Sarah including route description, if that's old news to you there's a small gallery below from todays wanderings. |
AuthorWe arrived in Calgary, Canada on 29th December 2011 to continue our journey. This blog is intended to keep our family and friends informed whilst we explore Canada.You can use the RSS feed below to stay updated. Categories
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