Walk 2 - 2020 - Birkhall

There was much pfaffing about the weather and the location for our 2nd monthly walk this year - would it be Braemar or would it be Ballater? In the end, we chose the latter - mostly because we had gathered in Ballater to discuss the options and with the clock ticking and some potential for precipitation, we opted on a foreshortened version of the walk Gary had suggested - The Coyles, Birkhall.

Off we drove in 3 vehicles - up the Loch Muick road and down a sidetrack, only to find no way through, so back we went, this time taking the next road west which took us safely to our start point where we donned boots and let Gordon's and Dave's dogs loose.

The track upwards was wide and good but we soon hit the snow line where it became a little trickier:

Eventually, we reached what Gary called the "shoulder" where there were terrific views of snowy Lochnagar:

We could clearly see the Coyles but we reckoned it would take an hour or more to get up there and back and we didn't really have time, so we saved that adventure until another day.

There had been a couple of failed attempts at team photos, but eventually we managed this one, taken at a (locked) bothy at the shoulder:

That was it - back down we marched. It proved to be a little tricky for me having developed a groin strain on the snowy tracks on the way up. When we reached the cars again, a few of us asked where we were meeting for coffee, but, in a break with tradition, there seemed to be little enthusiasm for it so we all just headed home.

Here's the stats:

A good afternoon out and we escaped the weather - no rain, just a cold wind at the shoulder.