TGOC '22 Day 10 Loch Callater Lodge to Clova Hotel

I can't believe I am already in double digit days. It seems like this Challenge has flown by to this point. I have been on this walk long enough to recognize patterns both in the weather and my own walking, to bad I haven't been on long enough to change my behavior accordingly. 😃 Today I am going up to just above 1000 meters (3300'). Each of the days I have been above 750 meters the weather has been awful, with no views above that height.  The pattern as been for the weather to be fairly 'crappy' from late morning to early afternoon.  During this Challenge, my pace has been able to cover 16 miles by 2 pm, no matter the terrain or weather. Given that information, I should not leave Loch Callater Lodge till about 10 am, to give myself a chance at some views and I would still arrive at the Clova Hotel by 5 pm. So, did I do that?.... NO! I left early as usual, too excited to start my day, too sit and wait. I missed a great breakfast at the Loch Ness Inn and probably missed some good bacon butties and banter this morning at the Lodge, but it was out the door I went by 8am.

 The weather did not look promising, but that didn't matter. Having missed my chance to go high leaving Aviemore, it would have to be 'blowing a hoolie' for me not to stay on my planned route today. (Be careful the limits you set, you might just get them!)

My route for the first half of the day, is below. See the labels in various pictures to match it to the map.

The flag tells the story of the wind and it was starting to just mist rain as I said good-bye to Bill and Loch Callater Lodge. (A, on the map)

Starting up the track from the Lodge 

Last look back down at the Lodge 

A great view of the whole Callater Loch

As I was climbing and taking the great picture of the entire Loch. I turned a corner on the hill and the weather reach my altitude. Just like that, I am walking in the clouds. (B on the map) 

Just me in the clouds (B1)

There will not be many pictures of this section. It was cold, rainy and nothing to photograph, so my phone stayed in my pocket for most of the morning. I took it out when I could get some shots of landmarks if the wind was not too high as I crossed the Tops. (B2)

 I didn't get any pictures of going over Cairn Bannock (1012 meters) as there was nothing to see but my feet. I did have a tricky knife edge walk for just a brief bit coming off the summit, after reaching the summit, I took a compass bearing to head in the correct direction as I could really only see my feet as I placed them on the rocks. 

A while later in a big surprise for the morning, as I was ascending Broad Cairn, I was confronted with a dozen people coming off the summit and straight out of the mist. I thought for a second, I was in a Steven King movie, but it was a walking group, probably from the  Spittal of Glenmuick, but I really don't know. I said good morning, they said good morning, and they were past me going the direction I had come, to where, I have no idea. As they faded  into the mist again, I continued on up alone. 

When I arrived at the summit of Broad Cairn, a few minutes later, around 10:30am, the wind had picked up to the point I really couldn't stand straight up and I needed to crouch below the summit cairn shown above. I sat with my back to the cairn and just raised my phone to take a photo.  I thought for a moment about just sitting and waiting to see if the weather would clear, but it was cold, in the wind and mist, so I stayed low and headed around the summit cairn to continue on. The east side of the summit was a surprise giant boulder field (maybe the reason for the name Broad Cairn, but not really noted or drawn on the OS maps.  Some of these boulders were as large as small cars, Obviously no path, so again a compass bearing as the actual path skirts around the summit to the south and then turns east, so I need to rejoin that without stepping off the steep edge or twisting my feet in the rocks. This was very similar to boulder hopping in the Sierra or Wind River Range, but with lower visibility. 

Descending the east side of Broad Cairn

From the summit (Star, below) the plan is to rejoin the path in Red toward Little Craig, without falling off the steep cliffs circled in yellow. 

Truth be told, it really wasn't that hard, just watch your step, in the rainy weather, the granite is slippery, and make your way along the bearing you took. I found the path quite easily and headed toward Little Craig (for those of you that didn't think my name has Scottish roots!) 

Just off the back of Broad Cairn the clouds blew away, for a moment, to give a glimpse of what great views I should be having. 

You can't miss this path up to Little Craig

Just over Little Craig, another glimpse of a view down toward Loch Muick

Once over Little Craig the path becomes huge. You could drive a truck along this. It wouldn't matter what weather you were in, you could follow this path. In fact,  it can be seen from space, as it shows up quite well on Google Earth.  

Gravity is your friend at this point and you fall down the path quickly to a small horse stable at 700 meters (2300 feet). It was really raining and quite cold as this point so I ducked into the stable for a few minutes to get out of the rain but mostly it was the wind, I was trying to escape. I didn't stay there for too long as the only shelter was literally standing in a small barn full of manure. 

You leave the 'pony hut' and continue to descend into the South Esk River valley. As I dropped out of the worst of the weather, at guess what, around 700 meters, I could see ahead and it was stunning. 

When you get to the edge of the plateau you have been walking since the Pony Hut, you start to descend, on switchbacks, rapidly toward the South Esk.  You can see a giant waterfall on the other side cascading down the hill. (you can see it in all three pictures above)

Newer bridge across the South Esk 

The South Esk cascading by the bridge and down the narrow ravine from the tops of the hills

Crossing the new bridge and still descending through the woods

Clearing the forest and looking down the South Esk River valley 

At the bottom of the South Esk River valley and entering Glen Doll 

Glen Doll was hit with a micro burst of wind from Storm Arwen in November of 2021. It tore lots of trees out of the ground, or literally, sheared them in half!  You can see the damage going all the way up the side of the hill (below). It effected an estimated 16,000,000 trees in Scotland.

Peat, as a soil, is not very good at holding on to things, other than CO2

More damage up close 

You eventually leave Glen Doll and enter Glen Clova. From the damage in the forest, in picture above, to the Glen Clova hotel, is about a 5 mile road walk. 

The Glen Clova hotel is another fabulous hotel, sitting, seemingly in the middle of nowhere. (your nowhere is always someone's somewhere!) It sits in the middle of the Southern Cairngorm/ Grampian Mountains.  

First things first, after check in, wash some socks. Now we are talking some dirty water! 

I am sharing a room with Andy Walker again tonight. It worked out well that since his hiking partner had to withdraw and I was going to be at the same stopping points, if not always, on the same paths, that I would take the offered space. I did hit my head on the dormer walls about 4 times! 

And guess what? I arrived at the Hotel around 3pm. By 4pm it was a sunny day with not a cloud in the sky.  Had I waited I might have gotten clearer skies on the Tops, indeed, a few days later, I saw another challenger, a few hours behind me, with excellent photos from Broad Cairn. ugggh! 

below- looking out my dormer window at blue skies

What might have been:

The excellent photo, below, was taken by Challenger 

Dima Zlotnyk a couple hours after I left the summit of Broad Cairn

photo by Dima Zlotnyk

I was consoled with several Kopperberg Ciders in the bar.

Very cozy and elegant bar at the Clova Hotel. 

It was a Sunday in the Hotel but still pretty quiet. During the afternoon I had some casual conversations with some of the staff and learned that three people had quit the previous day and they were essentially running the entire front of house with just three people today. When diner time came the burger was one of the best I have ever had! 

Today's Stats: