Shieling of Mark

In general terms, things were positive after the most recent Aviemore training block. However, my achilles and the back of my right knee remain troublesome. Thus, I decided to do some lower impact training last weekend, using the gym.

I did 30 minutes on the Stairmaster, 30 minutes of treadmill running at about 9.45min/mile pace, 30 minutes of incline walking at varied paces and concluded with a further 30 minutes of running at the same pace as before. In the end I was really pleased with how it had gone, and it felt very beneficial to get a varied couple of hours on my feet, mostly in low Zone 3 which is about as low as I can go and still remain conscious.

Anyway, it is time to take the plunge and test my legs with some back-to-back runs. Yes folks, it is fastpacking time again and it has been a long time coming. Since the ill-fated Canal Du Midi trip in fact.

In order to limit the distance, particularly on the return leg, and to keep the weight down, I decided to go for another bothy trip. With it being early winter, a weekday and a bothy that is less well frequented, I set out to maximise my chances of getting the place to myself. Always a lottery though.

The plan would be to drive up to a regular spot at the Glen Doll car park, starting later in the morning in order to time my arrival at the bothy sometime not too long before sunset. The route would take me up the viewpoint path at the road end and onwards up the hill to the long ridge above Glen Clova. I would then follow the rough path along the broad ridge, skirting the crags that circle Loch Brandy, to the cairn at Green Hill.

From Green Hill, the route is pathless, requiring some wet and slow plodding down the course of the water sources in the rough direction of Loch Lee. I would meet the track that goes over the hill before descending steeply by way of the Shank of Inchgrundle, down to the west end of Loch Lee.

From there I would turn west again and follow the 4×4 track for several miles, climbing gradually until the faint path head off up the hill to the right. At the summit of that path, it is a case of winging it over very wet and uneven ground down to the river beyond. I remember much cursing on this section the last time I visited! Thereafter, following the river southwest for about a mile or so, I will reach the small and very modest bothy, the Shieling of Mark.

The Shieling of Mark is not on any established walking or hill climbing routes and a deliberate effort is required to reach it, normally from the Loch Muick carpark. It really is in the arse end of nowhere. I am hoping that will work in my favour.

Day 1

I set off during the morning of Tuesday 10 November, intending to be moving on foot around midday.

In the end it was minutes after 1200 hours when I set off from the Glen Doll car park. Heading out to the road, the track up the hillside is joined. This is known as the Viewpoint Trail.

The trail is a generally miserable and demoralising start to the day. The lower section consists of never-ending switchbacks up through the forest.

The trees block the sunlight, the ground is wet and a huge overall distance is covered whilst covering negligible distance uphill as the crow flies.

The treeline is eventually reached and the benefits are twofold. Firstly, no more dank forest. Secondly, the path starts directly up the grassy hillside ahead. Steeper, but finally a sense of actually going somewhere.

The bonus of course are the views which open up as one moves higher up the hill.

I ground on uphill, conscious not to burn out my legs this early in the day. However, everything seemed to be working OK.

After the usual series of false summits, a top of sorts was reached, and this was the start of the long ridge that sits to the northeast of Glen Clova. After an initial section of boggy hillside, a firmer ATV track was reached and progress improved thereafter.

The ridge is a continual series of slight uphills and descents until the highest point of the whole day was reached. This is the top known as Boustie Ley at 876 metres. Don’t know where the name came from. Sounds more like a drag queen’s stage name if you ask me.

A couple of miles later, I went on a very small side quest, taking off to the right of the main track in order to reach the top of the corrie surrounding Loch Brandy below. Great view in the afternoon sun and worth the five minutes extra.

Another descent and short but stiff climb took me up to the cairn that marks the top of Green Hill. Now for the hardest section of the day!

The next two miles (seems more like five!) are pathless, roughly heading cross country to join the water course at the bottom that weaves gradually downhill. It starts off fine; dancing downhill across the mostly dry grass tussocks. However, the further down you go, the wetter it gets and worse still, the peatier it gets. There is no option but to navigate several extensive peat hags which is an energy sapping and frustrating exercise.

Once the burn is reached, there is a glimmer of improvement as there is a faint deer track alongside the burn. Barely runnable but progress speeded up a little for a while.

A number of burn junctions are reached and must be crossed. Most are only ankle deep but nevertheless, the constant immersion finally defeated my waterproof socks. Anyone who has spent any time wearing waterproof socks that are holding water knows the feeling! In the last half mile or so, it is impossible to judge which side of the river it is best to be on and I probably crossed the same section of water three or four times.

Arrival at the start of the hard track was a highlight of the day. I paused before the climb to take on some calories and to reset. That last couple of miles had taken a lot out of me and my knee was starting hurt quite a bit due to the continual drops and uneven ground.

I took my time climbing the 4×4 track and eventually reached the top with mixed feelings. I was looking forward to the views, but not to the unrelenting torture that the descent of the Shank of Inchgrundle was going to inflict on my knee. Nothing else for it but to grit the teeth and go for it.

Predictably, the views on the descent were fantastic. To the front, the view over Loch Lee to the hills around Glen Esk.

To the north, the view down to the track winding up Glen Lee and Mount Keen prominent beyond in the late afternoon sun.

The descent did put my knee through a lot of discomfort, but it was no better or worse whether I ran or walked, so, I took a slow running pace down to speed things up. It is a very rocky track in any event, even without one limb that is less than 100% nimble.

I reached the bottom and crossed the level ground before joining the Glen Lee track. Aside from my knee, my legs in general were fairly cooked by this point so I resolved to continue with a speedy walk, running short sections wherever the gradient was kind.

The views were great though. Rushing water in the bottom of the glen. Forest dappled with green and russet and the autumnal hillsides behind.

I plodded on, the track starting to rise considerably. I eventually passed a stone estate building next to the track and knew it was only a short distance to the turnoff for the final climb of the day. My enthusiasm for the day to be over was somewhat influenced by the rapidly fading light. It seemed that my goal of reaching the bothy in the last of the daylight was not going to be attained. Oh well.

I turned onto the ATV track up the hill and I have to admit that the climb was not as bad as I remembered. I think I lost the narrow, stony track last time but managed to stay on it this time which helped considerably. By the time I had reached the top of the hill, the head torch was on and it was properly dark. I had also put my jacket on as I was getting cold fast. This was all to make the last mile and a bit more interesting anyway.

I crossed the top of the hill, picking out the faint ATV track in my not-so-bright headtorch. Between the mediocre light and continual reference to the GPX track on my watch, I did manage to hold the track, with very few deviations. Difficult ground though, and somewhat treacherous from an ankle-snapping perspective.

Eventually I reached the river below for the last half mile. This is a thoroughly miserable finish as there is no path and the river meanders continually. I must have waded the river about five or six times in that small distance until the modest stone bothy appeared in the light of my head torch.

I swung the door open to find it empty. The visitors book revealed the last visitor to have been a month before. So, at least I had the place to myself. Or, so I thought…..

I rushed through the process of getting some lighting set up, setting up my sleep system then changing into warm dry layers. I tried wringing out my socks, but they were absolutely sodden. That would be fun in the morning!

Once in my sleeping bag I warmed up fast, speeded up by getting some calories inside me. I managed several hours of slow eating and viewing of downloaded video before fatigue got the better of me around 2200 hours. I forced myself out of the toasty bag for the final toilet outing then off to sleep.

Now, as I said, I should have been alone, but I wasn’t. During the evening, there was a loud scratching, scurrying noise somewhere up amongst the rafters. I assumed a mouse or rat and hoped I wouldn’t get any of my kit gnawed during the night.

The next time the commotion happened, it was louder and more prolonged. I realised it was coming from outside, on the bothy roof. A scratching, scurrying noise on the roof tiles. I can safely say that anyone of a nervous disposition or who might believe in any kind of haunting lore would have shat themselves.

In the end, I concluded that it was a large bird who liked to frequent the bothy. During the night, it seemed to return periodically, sometimes to attack the chimney stack, sending small stones tumbling down the chimney into the hearth. Like I said, this is not a place for the faint-hearted!

Day 2

I slept pretty well though, despite the pesky pterodactyl on the roof. Nice and toasty and I managed to languish until just after 0700 when I could see it getting light outside.

I ate and eventually got up to pack my stuff which was quick, all things considered. I left my socks and shoe until last. Not great to pull on sodden socks but once the shoes were on and my feet warmed up a bit, no big deal really. They would be wet again soon in any event.

Thus, I left the bothy about 0730. No sign of my malevolent rooftop companion who clearly only haunts in the hours of darkness.

My knee was sore and stiff as hell but I rightly assumed that this would improve a little once I got moving and warmed up a bit. It was bitterly cold but like the previous day, almost no wind so that was a blessing.

A faint grass path leads away from the bothy. I knew that this path would actually lead me all the way down to Glen Muick if I took care to follow it, which I did. After a short spell along the river, the path veers up the hillside through the heather, coming down on the other side into the hollow occupied by the Tammie Burn. I continued to follow the path across the wet ground, taking care to avoid some of the hidden holes created by the small rivulets occupying the water course.

Progress was good however and I although I was managing a tentative jog at best, the knee was easing up a bit. Soon, I reached the intersection with the Burn of Mohamed. Strange name for this neck of the woods but I’d put money on there being some connection with the days when Queen Victoria wandered these parts.

I persevered downwards, the next waypoint being the convergence of the Burn of Mohamed with the Allt Darrarie which becomes the ever-growing river that continues downhill through the gorge towards the River Muick below. This is actually a very rugged, wild and scenic place, and I was starting to enjoy the morning, despite my knee.

A little further on, I crossed the small bridge and continued along the path on the west side of the river.

The path improved as I got closer to the bottom, eventually transitioning to smooth grassy path for the last few hundred metres down to the Loch Muick track.

I ran most of the track towards Loch Muick then turned off to the left, up the Capel Mounth track.

The Capel Mounth track climbs slowly away from the Loch and can be tackled best at a speed march. However, I knew that the track was going to last for the next four to five miles so no point rushing into it!

The morning views across Loch Muick to Lochnagar and Broad Cairn beyond were moody and autumnal in the chilly early morning.

I reached the first high point and from there, there are several miles of undulating track which I tackled with some good running and power walking.

My knee caused little discomfort on upward walking and settled to a manageable level on flat and gentle downhill running. However, I knew what was ahead which did worry me a little.

Eventually I reached the top of the track and the view down into Glen Doll opened up below. Nice, but it is a long way down and my knee was not going to be happy. However, like before, it was no better when walking downhill so again I set off at a gentle running pace which suits the fairly technical path in any event.

I made good time and just ignored the odd stabs of pain in my knee. It held up and I soon found myself at the bottom, winding my way across the last little section through felled trees to the main track.

Once on the main track, it is just less than a mile to go, mostly at a run. To be honest, my running legs had been feeling strong all day, despite the arduous day yesterday. If only this knee would sort itself.

And then I was back at the car. Just over two hours movement from the bothy which I felt was pretty good, all factors taken into consideration. If anything, I had enjoyed the day today more than the day before. The first day was longer, over some very difficult ground and I always felt a little as if I was racing against the sunset.

Overall, I declare the outing to be a success. On the side of the positives, a challenging fastpack completed. My achilles tendon seems absolutely fine, and I did manage back-to-back running days. An enjoyable, if somewhat creepy, night in the bothy. Great weather overall.

On the negatives, this is a hard route. Not itself a bad thing, but having done it twice now, I won’t be rushing to go a third time. The biggest negative is that my knee was the worst it has been in recent times. Not quite as bad as the injury last year but it is not getting any better.

I am going to rest from running for the next week to see how things progress. I might have to take a slightly longer, enforced break to get my knee right again as continuing to batter it now seems as it might be counter productive. Decisions, decisions…..