Petestack Blog

So the MWIS was threatening ‘gusts as high as 65mph’, ‘significant wind chill’ and ‘bands of constant rain and showers […] focused on more western mountains’, but I really needed to check out Mullach nan Coirean (most westerly of the Mamores) by the northern approach I haven’t taken for years. And the MWIS was pretty well right!

Missed an important shortcut (1) because the ‘fire break’ I was looking for didn’t jump out at me from below (seems more obvious from above, but retrospectively clear enough in ascent being c.100m past a gate), so took an unnecessary diversion (2) up the track and a tempting path (3) up the Allt a’ Choire Dheirg that I vaguely remember falling for before. But finally located the crucial path (4) despite taking the more awkward of two starts from a prominent cairn and only spotting the more appealing flight of wooden steps east of that as I passed it on the way back down. Still made the summit in 1hr 27mins, but was slightly disappointed with that till I got home and worked out that my one mile diversion (longer than I thought) had cost me nearly quarter of an hour!

Had thought of continuing to Stob Ban, but knew long before I topped out on Mullach that I’d simply be turning round and getting myself off the hill as quickly as possible. So that’s what I did, finding much of the descent to the track quite awkward (rocks, roots etc.) in the wet and thinking it’s no easier/quicker than running off the Ben (NB I know that I’m often slower descending the rougher stuff than climbing it). But perhaps I should still be happy with a 10.3 mile/3,500 ft hill run (well, OK, some easy track!) at an average of 14:00 mile pace, and should certainly be thinking of easing up on the pace a bit (let’s call this a ‘mini taper’) for any remaining runs over the next few days.

Still hoping to do the Loch Treig round with Jon tomorrow, but depending on forecast of a ‘marked improvement’ to a horrid-sounding morning and have already discussed contingency plans for more wild weather. Looks like we’re in for more ‘unsettled’ conditions for days yet (perhaps not the end of the world when I do need to start easing up now), but there’s a glimmer of hope for next weekend with today’s MWIS outlook suggesting that ‘some computer models are beginning to point towards warmer more settled wetaher [sic.] slowly extending from the south during the middle and latter part of next week’ and tomorrow’s continuing that theme with ‘little change to the present unsettled and at times windy conditions until later next week’.