[Trip Index] [Munro Index] [Home] 3rd July 2006   Another Fiasco - This time on Braeriach Map It was a cloudy day and Andrew wimped out so I set off alone (10.10), soon catching up with a girl I'd seen leaving the car park on her own. This was Janet, a 28-ish year old stocky, dark-haired lass, from Surrey who was now living in Aberdeen. She wanted to be an Outdoors Instructor. I walked with her for about 2 miles or so and then she turned off towards Lurchers Crag. Janet approaching the Chalamain Gap I carried on and ended up going the wrong way, following the Lairig Ghru south instead of crossing it. It was a mile before I realised my mistake and by that stage I didn't feel like going back so just carried on instead, as far as the Pools of Dee. There I turned West and climbed directly up the hillside - steep but not really difficult. Everywhere was in cloud at the top so I followed my GPS and compass to find the three spot heights I'd seen on the map. There's a great big, sprawling plateau at the top so it took me some time to get to the furthest peak (3.15) Then, having copped them all, I set off back down. The cloud starting to break a bit on the way back and I saw an inversion as I passed over the shoulder of Sron na Lairige, with Lurchers Crag floating in cloud. Lurchers Crag in cloud It was a long way back but I had no problems with navigation, following an obvious path all the way. Right at the end, however, I did manage to go wrong again by rather carelessly missing the path to the U-bend in the road and ending up half a mile past it, heading for Glenmore. I had to break through the shrubbery to get to the road and walk back to the car park. (7.30) The fiasco only became apparent when I came to write the trip up and looked at the summit grid references. They were different from what I'd expected. Closer inspection of the map then revealed, to my growing horror, a fourth spot height, cunningly camouflaged amidst a cluster of closely drawn contour lines. This, of course, was the true summit, which I'd walked straight past in the mist. Once again I was going to have to go back and do a mountain all over again.