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.
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Mondays weather promised a continuance of the dry warm days we have been enjoying for quite a while now, so I thought I would take the mountain bike out and make the most of the conditions. Having previously lived in Aberdeenshire for two years, I am already familiar with the myriad of hard trails crisscrossing the North East of Scotland and as I have intimate knowledge of many of them it wasn't difficult for me to select one for the day.
Glen Lee is about an hour south of home in the neighbouring county of Angus and well worth the journey. The route begins in a free car park close to Lochlee Parish Church (not pictured) and almost immediately provides my only real route decision of the day, should I turn north toward Mount Keen or West toward Hunt Hill. I chose the western route because it is truly beautiful and has some interesting photographic opportunities along the way, not least of which is the ruin of the first church in the area, built in the year 600 the Old Glenesk Church was replaced by Lochlee Parish Church in 1803. Its ruins stand on the eastern edge of Loch Lee where the waters lap against the perimeter wall. It was an easy choice for the main image today. Before arriving at the old ruins you pass Invermark Castle, a fine example of a 16th century Tower House which was abandoned in the 18th century and materials from the associated outbuildings were robbed from the site to build Lochlee Parish Church. The route then continues for 2.5km beside Loch Lee before turning north and climbing beside the Water of Lee on the east side of Hunt Hill. Once over the crest of the prolonged ascent, a long downhill brings me to Johnny Gordons Shiel (or Bothy). These basic structures are scattered throughout the mountains of Scotland and are left open for anyone to use. They are usually 4 walls and a roof, a dirt floor, fireplace and occasionally logs (or something similar) for seating. If you're lucky you might also find a raised platform to lift your sleeping bag off the floor but that's it. So, no water, food or toilet facilities, and yet they are invaluable in bad weather, or just to escape the wind or cold while having lunch, or to sleep overnight without having to haul camping gear in with you. I think they are a wonderful resource and a perfect place to take a moment along the trail. Beyond the bothy I ascended again before a short downhill passing the Stables of Lee and getting a soaking by blasting through the Burn of Badrone before climbing again toward the snowline. Soon after this the bridleway became more and more snow covered and less and less manageable until I called it a day and turned back. Only then did I realise just how much ascent I had made, with an almost entirely downhill ride back to the car park I flew along kicking up rocks and getting soaked again at the Burn of Badrone but arriving back at the car in seemingly no time at all, after stopping for one more shot of Invermark Castle. It was only a 25km round trip but packed with interest, beautiful scenery and got my first ride back in Scotland under my belt. Last week I took a short drive south down the coast to Montrose to continue the seemingly endless search for furniture. On the way home again I noticed a sign for a nature reserve and decided to explore it further, I'm glad I did. As soon as I saw it I knew Sarah would love it, and with Sunday bringing bright sunshine all day we decided to visit for the first time, it won't be the last.
St Cyrus National Nature Reserve is an absolute gem, about 5 miles north of Montrose in the south eastern corner of Aberdeenshire. It is a wonderful place to visit, but the parking set up is woefully inadequate so get there early on weekends and holidays. There's a nice little visitor centre, picnic benches and excellent clean toilets before pathways lead you off across the boardwalk over acres of stunning grass covered dunes. The dunes open out onto an enormous stretch of clean sandy beach with driftwood scattered all along the empty shoreline. The waves are excellent for surfing/bodyboarding or just splashing about for the kids. The reserve begins from the northern bank of the River North Esk which marks the southernmost point of Aberdeenshire, and runs for 3 miles between the gorse covered cliffs and the wild North Sea. It really does remind me of the southern coast of Oregon, I'll bet the water temperature is similar too. There are other access points from the cliff top path on beach road St Cyrus but parking there is also very limited, but don't let that put you off, it is a wonderful walk, a beautiful beach, a castle ruin (very small one) and spectacular seas year round. In spring and summer it is also a wonderful wildlife reserve, so, add St Cyrus to your 'Aberdeenshire to do list' and don't let it slip your mind. 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. The hiatus in blog posts is finally over. Sarah and I have now relocated back to the UK and I confess it is wonderful to be home. We have been so busy sorting out new homes and furniture in both England and Scotland that we have had no time for anything other than that for weeks, but some sense of normality is returning.
For the first time in a very long time I was able to get out and walk today. Just a few miles along the cliffs on the east coast of Aberdeenshire just south of Stonehaven. I visited Fowlsheugh Cliffs, an RSPB Scotland reserve which was a regular haunt for me when we last lived in in Aberdeenshire, at that time they were building the cliff top hide, now complete and open to the public it is a beautiful little structure and offered a cosy place for a few minutes out of the wind for me today. I also ventured out across farmland to a stand of trees that looked too promising to walk past before heading south to Todd Head Lighthouse. What struck me the most about the day was the colour of Scotland, it really does have its own palette and it is immediately apparent. At this time of year the low winter sun casts a blanket of muted shades across the north east of Scotland and looking back through older images I see exactly the same shades in images I made 10 years ago. We are both so happy to be home in Scotland and England. We have enjoyed the most incredible adventures in the US and Canada and will miss the stunning beauty of both, but home is always home and for us at least, 'where the heart is'. When the local weather showed clouds until 01:30 last night I assumed my chance of shooting the partial lunar eclipse was lost, but I waited up anyway. At close to midnight I ventured out with the camera and tripod as far as our front yard. There was still a good amount of high cloud but it waxed and waned sufficiently to allow me to shoot the moon.
By 01:30 the sky almost cleared and the moon revealed itself fully, so did the freezing cold temperatures, but that aside, it was great to be standing on my own front driveway watching another celestial event unfold. The eclipse last night was a once in 580 year event due to its longevity, so it's safe to say I won't be around for the next one. In May 2022 there will be a total lunar eclipse of shorter duration so hopefully I'll still be around for that. In the mean time, here's the view from my driveway in Canada; as I have often said, what a spectacular world we live in and what wonders it provides. It will be no surprise to regular readers of the blog to find me out exploring the prairies when I have a couple of hours to kill. With lots going on personally and the weather being a little temperamental of late, getting out to the mountains has been put on hold for a short time.
So, with a couple of spare hours to kill on a clear cold morning I took off on a circular route from home into the Alberta prairies, camera in hand. Leaving home in the dark I had hoped to catch a prairie sunrise, but it was a non event as the gallery image below will show, so I just drove an unplanned circuit and made a few shots along the way. I saw thousands of snow geese making their journey south for the winter and I sat patiently in the recreation area of Lake McGregor waiting for the right 'flight' to wrap itself around the winter moon. I had hoped for a frame of geese around the moon but after a very long time I settled for the main shot below and moved on. I made a couple of shots of critters on the prairie and two lovely images of a Prairie Falcon in the garden when I got home. I have always loved the wide open spaces of the prairies since our first exposure to them in Oklahoma 15 years ago. Alberta has many similarities with Oklahoma, and at one point in time both were part of one great sweeping prairie, we will miss these places. With the promise of heavy snow to come tomorrow, Cecil and I decide to get out today and make the best of what we could find to photograph. We began in Banff at Cascade Ponds where the wind wiped out any chance of reflections and dead vegetation left little to chase, we moved on.
At Johnson Lake we found the outlet flow, which we had hoped to shoot with long exposures, desperately low on water and movement, the lake surface was again ruffled by wind, we moved on again. At Two Jack Lake we identified only a few shots that we have made before, so we had a bite to eat and moved on again. At Lake Minnewanka we did make a single image (though we have made it before) capturing the boathouse which strikes a lonely figure, dwarfed by Mt Inglismaldie in the background. Finally we made a snow covered run to Canmore and on to Kananaskis via the Smith Dorian Trail. We made no shots at all along the 70 km gravel road and finally stopped at the Peninsula day use area on the lower lake where at last, we found a few images chasing mountain tops through the cloud until it was too cold to continue. It was still a great day out, chewing the fat and roaming around the mountains. We might not always get a bunch of shots but we do consistently find a few out there. All but the boathouse image were shot at the lower lake. Cecil and I set out to the upper lake at kananaskis this afternoon, with the assurance of the local weatherman that a sunset was all but guaranteed. Our initial thoughts were that he may be right this time.
After wandering beside the lake making shots in poor light to pass the time until sunset, it became apparent that we were deceived once again, as a thick bank of low white cloud rolled across the horizon. Not to be beaten entirely, we moved to a different location on the upper lake in the hope of better things, not realising that the 'better things' would be the whiskey jacks coming to share our snacks. It is always a sign that winter is upon us when the whiskey jacks will come to your hand to feed, in the summer they are far less obliging. Overall it was a great afternoon chatting with Cecil and making a few shots, the whiskey jacks were a lovely bonus and, even better still, as we drove home we saw a skunk beside highway 40, the first Cecil has ever seen, as always, kananaskis delivers. This week, for the first time in quite a while, Sarah and I stood in the rear garden of our home in Canada in anticipation of an approaching solar storm, and it promised to be a good one however, very often the promised aurora can fall flat or not show at all, but as you can see in the images below, not this evening.
This evening as waves of electrified gases raced through space on the solar wind, some of that energy was captured by earths magnetic shield and pulled down magnetic field lines at the poles. Once funnelled into the polar regions these charged particles excite oxygen and nitrogen to produce the incredible phenomena that fills our night skies with otherworldly illumination. The most familiar green light comes from oxygen between 100 to 300 km above the earth, pink and dark red is produced by nitrogen molecules at around 100 km. Very bright red auroras come from oxygen at altitudes above 300 km and the blue and purple come from hydrogen and helium though these are much easier for the camera to catch than for the eye to see. Monday evening was a stunning aurora, bringing to life the usually invisible magnetic field lines with vivid greens, reds and purples that encircled the city of Cochrane below. As always when watching the aurora I thought of those times years ago, when I dreamed of seeing it without ever daring to hope I actually would. Sarah left at 11pm for bed and I crawled in beside her in the early hours, freezing cold and wonderfully happy to have been able to stand beneath such an awe inspiring sight once more. |
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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