thirty five down, 247 to go!

I think Mount Keen has to be one of my favourite Munro days ever. The weather was incredible, the views were amazing, the hill was straightforward but challenging too, and best of all it was my first Munro with my husband. This must mean that Dave has forgiven me for dragging him up both Stuc a'Chroin and Ben Vane. We haven't done a Munro together since October 2012, so it was absolutely wonderful to be back out there with him.

But I can't forget to mention the 3rd member of our wee family. My 35th Munro was Tig's 8th Munro, and our first as the three of us. It was lovely.

Mount Keen is the most easterly Munro of them all. Like Ben Chonzie, it seems to suffer from being described as 'boring' or 'dull' by some in the hill walking fraternity. I have to say I don't really understand this - a day in the hills is what you make it. Sure, a great path to the top might not be as exciting as a scramble across a narrow ridge, but does that make it boring? To me it actually makes things more interesting - if I don't have to think about navigation or where I am putting my feet, then I can enjoy the sights, scenery and company even more.

We had a long hot day to enjoy it too. We left the Borders at 9.20am and made it to the car park at Invermark shortly after 12, having stopped for toilets in the charming village of Edzell. It felt like a long drive up, and the car park was almost full by the time we got there. However I had to remind myself that we had the whole day ahead of us, there was no rush and we could just take our time. We were stopping over in Kinross that night, so thankfully had a shorter drive at the end of the day.

We got the suncream on - except we missed the backs of our arms, oops - and started walking at 12.20pm.

The church at Invermark

Mount Keen has a long walk in and out - 11 miles in total on the route we took from Glen Esk. We couldn't see the Munro initially but after a couple of miles it came into view. The walking was very straightforward on a great track, and thankfully there were many burns and streams that Tig could have a dip in on the way.

The Queen's Well, built on the site of a spring were Queen Victoria stopped on a pony trek in the Angus Glens, soon came into view, and made for some nice pictures.

The Queen's Well just visible in the distance

After passing a wee cottage, we were finally on the way up. It had been an hour since we left the car, and our legs were certainly warmed up - and so was the rest of us!

The summit now visible in the distance

Tig was drinking from every water source she could find - I was a bit worried she was too hot but as always she didn't complain. At one point we passed a wee spring coming off the hills, and filled our water bottles back up with the most delicious cold water - triple hill filtered it was.

Soon we were powering our way towards the summit - it looked tantalisingly close. Although like most Munros, the summit was further beyond the point we could actually see. So when I kept saying 'nearly there' I wasn't lying - but it was just that bit further away than I thought, sorry Dave.

I was feeling good, although I had to remind myself that Dave was carrying the heavy bag with all the water, and I was bag-less, a rare treat. I did do the decent thing and carry the bag on our return journey, once we'd eaten most of the food inside of course.

The summit in sight

We reached the summit of Mount Keen just before 3pm, and met some lovely people that had come up from Glen Tanar, who offered to take our picture. We spent 15-20 minutes on the summit, enjoying the extensive views and eating our lunch.

Mount Keen - Munro number 35/8!

 

Then we retraced our steps - taking our time, trying not to think about how far we had to go back, and enjoying the most stunning Scottish day.

When we got back to our hill spring, Tig lay down in the water, which was very amusing! We both wanted to do the same!

As the day marched on so did we, and soon we were back where we started. We had a lovely chat with a birdwatcher about Patterdale Terriers, before heading down the water and dipping our feet in. It was the perfect end to this most enjoyable walk.

Five hours, eleven miles, one Munro, a happy hot dog, tired feet, plenty of vitamin D, and just a wee bit of sunburn. You can't get better than that.

Mount Keen is definitely one of my favourite and most memorable Munros - for its simplicity, beauty, challenge, views, but most of all, for the company shared on this stunning May day.

thirty three AND thirty four down, 248 to go!

With all this amazing weather we've been having recently, I was itching to get a day in the hills that involved blue skies and amazing views, with no worries about clouds coming in. A day with some straightforward Munros and no navigational issues.

Glenshee seemed like the perfect fit. I had a tentative arrangement with my friend Kate, who had expressed an interest in joining me in the hills, that Monday 8th May would suit us both should the forecast be good. And it was...

The day didn't start too well when it took me over half an hour to get from Dobbies on the A7 to Hillend, a journey that would normally be 10 minutes max. I picked Kate up then we joined the traffic again on the bypass. However thankfully it moved fairly steadily, and we were over the Forth Bridge and on our way before long. A smooth journey saw us reach the Glenshee Ski Centre at 10.30am. It was a beautiful morning, and it had been a stunning drive north. There was a wee bit of cloud above Carn Aosda, but I was hopeful it would shift.

This was a slightly unusual Munro adventure for me, as it involved repeating a Munro I'd already done. I bagged Carn Aosda on a winter skills course in January 2013. I didn't mind doing it again because of course it would look completely different in May than it did in the winter, and it would also be Kate's first Munro and Tig's fifth! It made sense to include it on the way to Carn a'Gheoidh and The Cairnwell.

It was a bit of a steep push from the car park when we began at 10.45am. Instead of opting for the stony path, we made our way up a grassy slope. It eventually joined the path, and continued upwards - our calves and thighs feeling every step up.

The push up Carn Aosda

Looking back to the ski centre with The Cairnwell in the distance

We reached the directional sign to Carn Aosda, and then...we were at the top! It was a super quick Munro bag, only 40 minutes from the car park to the summit. The views were great and the skies were getting even more blue above us.

My first repeat Munro and Kate's first Munro!

Kate's 1st Munro!

We then made our way back to the path and headed out to the second Munro of the day, Carn a'Gheoidh. The path was obvious at this point, although it looked reasonably far away! The scenery was just wonderful, with extensive views opening up in front of us. Loch Vrotachan looked particularly scenic.

It was pretty windy, and we took wee rest breaks as we made progress towards the summit of Carn a'Gheoidh. We detoured to the small plateau Carn nan Sac, which provided us with lovely views to The Cairnwell, which would be the 3rd Munro of the day.

Looking to the The Cairnwell

The Cairnwell from the summit of Carn nan Sac

A wee bit further, and we finally reached the summit of Carn a'Gheoidh, around an hour and a half after leaving Carn Aosda. My 33rd Munro, Kate's 2nd and Tig's 6th!

Wee figures in the distance approaching Carn a'Gheoidh

I'm feeling 33

 

There was a walking group at the summit, so we hunkered down on the other side of the cairn for a wee bite to eat. It was a bit of a struggle getting back to our feet!

We now retraced our steps towards the main path, although we didn't go back via Carn nan Sac. We skirted around the side of The Cairnwell, and after a short rest before the final push to the top, reached the summit around 2.45pm. My 34th Munro, Kate's 3rd and Tig's 7th!

Top of the Cairnwell just visible in the distance

Wee breather at the chairlift!

It is bizarre to see concrete buildings at the summit of a Munro. We walked a wee bit further past the human creations, and enjoyed an unspoiled view down Glen Shee. We soaked up the peace and quiet.

34!

 

For the return to the car park we decided to stick to the paths rather than picking our way through the heather for a more direct, but steeper, descent. It took us around 45 minutes to get back to the ski centre. We were both tired and looking forward to getting a drink and some food back at the cafe - which is exactly what we did! We were just under 5 hours for the whole walk - this could have potentially been quicker, but we took our time and enjoyed the beautiful scenery and weather on offer.

It was pretty much the perfect day in the hills. Good company, good exercise and stunning views/weather!

I think Kate enjoyed her first three Munros and is keen to go out again - although we won't always have the high starting point these hills offered!