Lochnagar
Date Walked: 20th April 2011
Distance: 12.7 miles (20.5km)
Actual Ascent: 3553ft (1083m)
Time Taken: 8 hours
It may not seem like much to you 'hill baggers' out there, but to me this was a real landmark. After my arrival in Aberdeenshire from the US, Lochnagar became a symbol of recovery for me, I told Sarah that I would get up there before summer and that when I did the leg was (at long last) fixed. No matter what summit you make in Aberdeenshire, the familiar corrie of Lochnagar teases you from afar and it reached a stage where I was beginning to feel 'haunted' by it. So I needed to get it done.......
Well.............Monday the 18th April was the day; I set off for the car park at the Spittle of Glen Muick with genuine excitement at the thought of making the summit of this leviathan. The day was made better almost immediately with a sign on the pay and display machine that said "both machines are out of order, have an enjoyable day" £3.00 saved before I even got the boots on
A couple asked me directions whilst I was doing the boot's/ tea / map check thing at the car, turns out they were from Buffalo New York, as I had stayed there for a couple of nights we related well and ended up having a reminisce about their city and my trip to Niagara Falls that had taken me there, and their trip to Scotland that brought us together at Loch Muick. It was a nice laid back start to a beautiful day.
I set off along the track past the visitor centre as I have done so often on walks around the loch with Sarah, but this time I turned right and headed NW toward my 'Nemesis', even from here it looks down upon you as you begin your walk.
The 1km crossing of the Glen is quiet with no sign of others even though the car park was busy
approaching the small cluster of houses at the far side of the glen that beautiful corrie of Lochnagar is just visible and leaves you wanting more
The pathway around the cottages is well signed and difficult to miss
The path then cuts through a small, short wooded section which gave a welcome break from the sunshine today
unfortunately the shade of the woods is short lived and its back out onto the open heather
Its a very good pathway and the only ford of the day was an easy one
It's a long pathway with a hardly noticeable ascent but it does meander its way progressively upward
a small cairn marks the spot to take the left turn toward the beast
I hate it when I have to descend before ascending .....grrrrrrr
some well constructed steps make the first section easy going
but that path gets a little 'lost' in places
I stopped for a breather and looked back to see a guy making hellish speed up behind me
He stopped for a chat and we walked a while together, turns out he does Lochnagar once a week to keep fit but on reaching a good path again it was apparent that I was holding the guy up, I told him to get going and I'd see him up top later
The first view of the corrie over the top of the col almost made me run toward it ......... almost
and then finally, there it is, the clouds have draped themselves over the nice blue sky but I don't care
Looking at the guy I spoke to earlier climbing the 'ladder' left me thinking I may have taken on too much, looking across to the summit cairn and trig point perhaps I had been a little too keen to get up here. I sat and had a drink and thought what the hell, I'm carrying on. As I ascend I look back to see 3 more intrepid walkers coming up behind me (the black dots on the lower right of this pic)
once up the 'ladder' there is a nice flat top to allow a bit of a breather
I stayed at this spot a while munching an orange and taking in the view, there was almost no wind and a pleasant temperature
There is still a little bit of snow remaining to add to the photos
Leaving my high vantage point it's a slight drop down following the line of cairns pointing out the pathway
then another set of well constructed steps to ascend again
The summit cairn then comes into view and a bit of blue sky with it
and away to the NW the trig point standing high on the horizon
As I approach I see Bob (the guy I met earlier) and we stop for a chat whist the busy trig point clears
Once I have the place to myself I get up there double quick and look over toward Loch nan Eun
The views are spectacular, looking SE toward Meikle Pap
Can't even tell that it almost killed me getting up here
looking over Loch nan Eun toward the white mounth circuit
and one at the trig point...well rested now
We have all seen one of these I reckon, it identifies the surrounding hills and distance to them
Here's the two of them together and the view NW
after a great 20 mins or so, tea, snacks and photos and with 6 people on the way to the summit I set off down again, heading toward the corrie rim for a few more photos
whichever direction you chose the views extend for miles, this shot looks north across the balmoral forest in the warm spring sunshine this is heaven
I wander to the western edge of the corrie for a few more photos
This one is a vertical panorama , the first one I have ever done and I love it, it allows you to see much more vertical than a standard panorama
I was almost tempted to make a descent from the west buttress down and back around the loch as it didn't look too steep, but thought I'd better not push my luck
I started toward another nearby Munro called Carn a' Choire Nhoidheach with something in my head along the lines of "its only another 5k" (there and back) and that would be another double.......
thankfully something snapped me back to reality as I watched couple of walkers in the distance slowing during their ascent of that hill; I turned and headed back around the hill and the path toward home
the first 2k of the track was quite uninteresting as it makes its way along beside Glas Allt
on reaching this small bridge and crossing over things do start to get a bit more scenic (or is it that the sun came out and made the difference)
Walking beside the burn was much better as the crystal clear waters bounded down the hill alongside the track
soon a slight dip in the horizon shows the view across loch muick and suggests a waterfall of greater stature than I was expecting
I wasn't disappointed and a steep zig zag trail led me to the base of the falls where a rest and a cuppa was in order
then it was onward again still beside those beautiful (and tempting) waters
In no time at all Loch Muick opens out ahead of you leaving only 5k or so to the car park
the path continues its twisted steep descent into the woodland surrounding the royal hunting lodge by the loch side
In the wood I took the bridge heading NE and away from the lodge, I didn't visit as I have seen it many times and never been asked in for a cuppa
The woods open out to a disappointing track hemmed in by deer fence on one side and the steep glen side on the other, its just a hard pounding road along the loch to the boathouse
Once at the boathouse take the little track heading off the main trail toward the structure
past the beach...tempting to have a little paddle here but can't be bothered to undo/redo boots
follow the trail across the end of the loch over the bridge to meet the 'south side' trail
once across its a left turn and just 1k to go
just before heading into the car park I take a last look at lochnagar peering at me over little pap, I can even make out a little piece of the corrie to the left of Meikle Pap
So my nemesis defeated, the leg/foot holding up well - I think I am as fully fixed as I'm going to be - now its just fitness.
This was a fantastic walk, stunning views all around the Cairngorms, beautiful weather and all the time in the world to enjoy it....fantastic
This was a fantastic walk, stunning views all around the Cairngorms, beautiful weather and all the time in the world to enjoy it....fantastic