21 September 2022
This 18-19 mile walk was the longest I had tackled since my ankle fracture, as well as having almost 900m ascent. Walkhighlands advise a walk time of 8-9 hours. This was to be my final trial as we had chosen progressively more challenging walks to help me make a decision about attempting the Lairig Ghru three days later.
We set off as early as possible immediately after breakfast so as to have plenty of daylight to complete the trek. All was well and we were ahead of our target time. The best laid plans can go wrong and we came up against an unexpected road closure on the south Deeside road. Unfortunately this cost us at least twenty minutes. However, having taken a diversion route, the Glen Tanar car park was well signed.
Having lost time, it seemed as though we were in a rush to start. Unfortunately more haste can mean less speed and I struggled to clip my gaiters (which actually weren’t really needed for this walk) on to my boots. I did remember to “start” my SatMap although only seconds after we started we realised we couldn’t remember locking the car and my husband had to go back to check.
I thought that my husband was setting a cracking pace, but I kept up; he says it was me who set the rapid early pace.
We walked near the river bank through fields and then there was a long, gradually rising track through one of the largest Scots pine forests in the UK. We didn’t see any red squirrels, but we did spot a slow worm on the track as well as a small frog. The fast flowing water of Tanar was to our left. We didn’t see any other walkers on this stretch, although there were a few mountain cyclists.
We reached the Half Way Hut within an hour and a half. it looked a bit grubby but would no doubt provide welcome temporary shelter in bad weather. Soon after that we emerged onto the open moorland, passing near two isolated houses.
We crossed a bridge two hours after setting off. We noticed some stone walls from what appeared to be ruined houses. Adjacent to these, a flat area looked as if it had once been cultivated land. We crossed over the river again on another bridge.
From this bridge, the path became more steep and much more rough. We knew that the summit would be too windy to stop, so we found a hollow near the path and out of the wind to have a break and eat lunch.
Once lunch was over, we made a final push for the summit. A group of walkers descending told us that it was indeed “draughty” on the summit. I managed to keep well ahead of my husband – we had agreed to take this bit at our own pace. There were many irregular but “made-up” steps on the path. I was concerned at a few points about the risk of being blown off my feet, but all was well.
The gradient lessened and I could see the summit of Mount Keen and trig point ahead – definitely not a false summit. It’s the most easterly of the Munros and the summit height is 939m.
There were a surprising number of people up there – but most had taken the shorter route from Glen Esk via Glen Mark in the south. A traverse using both routes would be a great walk but unfortunately the shortest road route between the start and end-points is about fifty miles so arranging a drop off and pick up to complete it as a day walk staying in the same place for each night would require a very generous person willing to spend all day driving.
The summit views were superb. However, as expected, there was no shelter from the wind. We started our descent almost immediately. I had arrived at the top well before my husband but descending was a different matter as I struggled with the wind and had to be very careful of my ankle on the stepped part.
I met a couple who were pushing and carrying their bikes up the mountain. The woman was regretting it but the man was looking forward to an exhilarating downward ride. In fact before I had even reached the end of the steep bit he came hurtling, in a controlled and skillful way down the hillside. He did wait for his partner and I was well past him before she caught up – of course they both “flew” past on the less technical lower reaches.
My ankle became very tired during the descent over uneven and stony ground. We had frequent breaks. In fact I think I was also slow because I hadn’t eaten or drunk enough as my pace made a remarkable recovery after a large drink of water and a couple of chocolate bars. These worked much better than my husband trying to make up stories based on an old fashioned girls’ boarding school that was filled with intrigue and scandal. Those stories had always appeared to help our daughter to walk further when she was flagging.
I was delighted to see the Halfway Hut again. Unfortunately on our return journey we didn’t see any red squirrels or indeed any of the other rare wildlife that lives in this wood – Scottish cross-bill, capercaillie or crested tit. We did see another small frog.
We opted to return via the Glen Tanar estate rather than the riverside path. It turned out to be a bit more circuitous than we had expected as some of the tracks were marked as private. We spotted a sign directing visitors to the ballroom!
Despite all the rests and apparent slowness, we were back at the car within nine hours of leaving it. This also included our lunch stop.
We stopped in Ballater for our dinner and found a wonderful pub near the bridge that still had a table available. Of course my ankle had stiffened up during the journey, but all things considered, I felt confident about attempting the Lairig Ghru. Sadly, this was not to be as I had to review my plans following a difficult conversation with another of the people at the guest house about risk management and my subsequent concerns should anything go wrong.
We had climbed a Munro, including a long walk-in, so that felt positive!
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