I had it in my mind to revisit Stob a’ Choire Odhair, the weather forecast looked promising, so the alarm clock was set for 2 a.m., the gear by the door. On arriving it was crisp and cool with the scent of pine in the air, my boots crunching on the gravely surface of the track. It wasn’t long before I arrived at a small hut not only the turn off point but the beginning of the boggy path which would lead me to the steep, steep pull up the shoulder of the mountain.
I followed the torturous tight zig zagging path upwards, it was relentless in it’s acute angle and it seemed like it would never end. Thankfully the angle eased off and I was high up on the side of the mountain, but not as high as I thought I was. The upper reaches kept on going, it was higher than I remembered and I just had to keep plugging on as the first hint of dawn twilight glowed on the horizon.
Looking over Loch Tulla towards Beinn Dorain
Once on the summit it wasn’t long before I reached for my down jacket, it was freezing cold in a bitter wind that blew across the rocky top.
Chilly
Rannoch Moor
I’d forgotten how good the views were and with the light constantly changing the tripod was never in one place for long as I looked over my shoulder and there was another composition.
Bidean nam Bian , the summit in cloud but still a little alpenglow
This was surely making up for my last dismal outing where the sun disappeared as soon as I arrived.
Stob Ghabhar
A glorious golden sun broke over the horizon side lighting the mountains, my fingers were beginning to feel it, or rather not feel very much as they chilled in the wind. I had to keep thrusting them into my pockets to warm them up.
A little warmth on Clach Leathad and Meall a’ Bhuiridh
A Contre Jour shot of Bridge of Orchy
I managed to find a spot out of the wind to enjoy my steaming hot coffee and slightly crushed Boursin Cheese filled croissants in an aim to replenish my energy, what a spectacular place to have breakfast. Before long it was time to descend, but it was hard to pull away from the views.
The mountain kept on giving as I descended with new compositions to explore.
The great thing about walking in, in the dark is that you see everything walking out for the first time as in the image above which took a bit of balancing on slippery rocks.
Monarch
As I walked out a group of stags took in breakfast, not bothered by my arrival. I returned to my car a fair bit later than expected, I’d spent so long on the summit. By the time I was under way the light was beginning to dim, the day hadn’t finished with the opportunities though. As I drove into St. Fillans I just had to pull over, the sunset was just glorious…
Sunset over Loch Earn
What a long day, it was definitely worth the effort of the early start and the tough climb up in the dark, there was one casualty, I fell asleep during the film I was watching back at home, lucky I finished my pizza first… :)