14*3

Posted on 28th Aug 2013 by essiep

CK:Distance: 32.73mi, time: 02:01:37, pace: 3:43min/mi, speed: 16.15mi/h.
http://mapmyride.com/workout/36823944
I hoped to get weight down this summer so I can enjoy cycling more. 200lbs seemed a good number to aim for.
Well, here I am, 198lbs. It won’t last though. Normally, I gain half a stone in the winter. That itself is not such a problem, it’s good to have some resources in case you get ill.
As an aside–

This is the tree stump where I have cooked supper in Glen Coe over the last three years. Nostalgic moment.

Last card.

Posted on 27th Aug 2013 by essiep

Today’s ride: CR-Distance: 55.32mi, time: 03:31:23, pace: 3:49min/mi, speed: 15.70mi/h.
http://mapmyride.com/workout/366243771

last week of the holiday and a mountain of marking looms. England’s weather did a grand job of welcoming us back from the med. Temperatures reached 24C, even higher out of the shade.
As always, I ride better the further I go. The first ten miles were stiff and un-natural in feel. But after twenty miles, and numerous short bursts out of the saddle, the good feeling came back.
A problem next week will be sitting at work when I am used to long periods of exercise. I can sympathise with the restless kids though.

Monte Corona, Corsica,

Posted on 22nd Aug 2013 by essiep

30°C, hot, sunny, ne wind.
Big climb: through endless pine and beech forest. The walk in was a long steady gradient through forest. A magical fairytale forest filled with strange animal sounds and clouds of butterflies that rise as you walk. Feathery lichens littered the ground and pillows of alpine flowers were in full but tiny bloom. What an enchanted place, intoxicating.

What a big climb too, a long long slog I stopped at the refuge, a wooden hut provided for hikers on stage 1 of the GR20. Three horses waited nearby, untethered. Were they used to bring up supplies for the warden?
From there, I found the trail to the col and thence the summit of Monte Corona, 2,144m. Bolders covered the ground which made for good scrambling. They were solid, made of granite and offered a good grip.
I couldn’t stay at the summit for long, I feared loss of light at end of the descent in a dense forest.
A day of good fortune though. An easy, fast 2 hour descent got me to the road just as light failed. Only then did I need the head-torch. Even my frayed boot-lace held right to the end.

Short sharp hike.

Posted on 21st Aug 2013 by essiep

I walked Distance: 2.20mi, time: 01:27:56, speed: 1.50mi/h.
http://mapmyhike.com/workout/363026325

Dry and dusty in comparison to last time I walked this way. Even the dried out thistles were gone.

GR20 recce

Posted on 20th Aug 2013 by essiep

30C, clear, light ne.
Visit the start of the GR20 on Corsica. Planning a potential hike on past of the main route. The paths appear clear and well marked. The heights are way above what I am used to- more like the alps.

We swam in the shallow rapids and sprang over large rounded bolders. It seems easy from here. The choice of routes is wide, from 2 hours to over 6. There is an 18km route that that includes a 2300m summit and a long ridge walk. Could take ten hours., but the return is long and follows easy valley terrain.

Goodbye Scotland

Posted on 13th Aug 2013 by essiep

19C, brighter further south.

Here is the inevitable melancholy end of holiday shot. I always leave Scotland with a lump in my throat at the end of a visit. I get it in Wales, but this seems more precious.
I bought a book of walks in the southern highlands so maybe, a shorter visit is practical. The western highlands are just too far to drive for a short visit.

Beinn Eunaich

Posted on 12th Aug 2013 by essiep

14°C, drizzly showers,
Last Monroe of the trip. Not a difficult climb by any means. It was interesting in a few specific ways.
1, vegetation- very mossy on the top: perhaps this top is almost always in cloud. The moss was just like the stuff I find in the gutters at home. It filled the gaps between bolders but did make them rather slippery. Although not as bad as black mosses, it still requires a change of approach.
2, Cruachan is a mountain that has been turned into a massive hydro-electric station. It can pump water up into the lake to use later in time of high demand on the national grid. More interestingly, it also draws water from Eunaich through tunnels. It can collect water directly from streams via small dams then channel them through the tunnels that run deep below the ground, right under the mountain. It was one of these tunnel entrances that fascinated me.

Tunnel entrance.

Tarkovsky would have recognised them. You’ll see what I mean when I can upload some pictures.

I found this place rather spooky. Looking into the tunnel is looking at an endless inky blackness that gurgles and thunders an deep mix of sounds that makes the mountain seem alive.

Through the gate…

Oban

Posted on 11th Aug 2013 by essiep

14°C heavy showers.

Moved to escape the worst showers. They were really torrential in Fort William. As I write, I am sitting in my steamed up car looking upwind at a brighter sky. Supper is out there cooking on the stove.
There remains one full day before the long drive back home. How best to use it remains a pressing question. And as always on these trips, it all depends on the weather.

This morning, we encountered two pigs rooting in the adjacent aspen wood. They have cleared the undergrowth except the bracken. It was funny watching them eat brambles. I couldn’t resist tweaking his nose. It’s hard and leathery- all the better for rooting with.
This evening, a different campsite has highland cattle to watch over us. They seem very calm but mildly curious.

Gleoraich

Posted on 10th Aug 2013 by essiep

14°C, misty rain showers,
Summit– Gleoraich, 1035m.
After an encouraging start, visibility was touch and go. On we plodded at a moderate pace. I was wary because of the remote location and the low chance that anyone else was on the mountain. Footprints were visible, but they could easily be from yesterday.
The walk was great until if mizzle turned to driving rain at the middle col. I looked at possible escape routes but they looked steeper descents than continuing onward and over the next summit. So, that’s what we decided to do. Sooner too because Rosie was visibly shivering under her raincoat. A col is usually a windy place and by now the rain was driving.

Summit 2 – Spidean Mialach, 997m, rain, I mean RAIN!
The climb up was easy, only a shame that there was no visibility: there must be some grand views below. Descent was mostly down a grassy slope without too many bolders. Then Rosie let herself down- she disappeared! That is a stressful thing to happen. Then a hare ran past. She was chasing them, dammit! She must have been on one, later she chased after a stag, a Red Deer stag. Hopeless, it had several times her speed, many times her size, on familiar lane and sporting huge antlers. Silly girl.
When she’s sleeping tonight, I will know what is going through her mind when the twitching and woofling starts.

Wild camp: Loch Quoich

Posted on 9th Aug 2013 by essiep

14°C, light cloud, SW.
Wildcamp near Sgurr Mhaoraich near Loch Quoich, a man-made reservoir. Though it’s very remote here, there is some through traffic to the tiny village Kinloch Hourn. I found a spot by a small Loch on the watershed. It’s a bit more windy here so there should be fewer midges. Anyway, it’s beautiful here with grassy covered hummocky moraines. The sort of place that makes your heart feel big and swollen inside your chest.
I can’t help but be a little nervous though; there is evidence of deer, some droppings are fairly fresh. And footprints.

Later- encountered a small herd of red Deer while driving along the shore. About 4 hinds, and one stag. He ran along in front of the car and then jumped to the side. There he stood, only feet away, eyeing me up. We made eye contact. It felt like a while, but not long enough to get the camera out. The image will, nonetheless, stay with me- I am sure.

Micycle

Mike thinks b/hikes

Category Archives: Travel