hilltrek

Autumn is much like Spring in terms of walking in the hills.  The range of weather conditions that you can experience in such short periods of time, temperature changes with altitude or your placing on a hill or valley make a big impact on.  With such variability having good logic behind the clothing layers you put on make a big difference to the comfort level you experience while out in the hills.  Today, the temperatures had been in negative numbers for much of the night so the valley floor frost was melting back in weakening sunlight come mid morning.  Therefore, it was cold.  The first layer to think about was a woolly hat, time to put that in your pocket, ventile walking trousers for me and then a T-shirt, fleece and outer light shell jacket.  All layers were needed for the valley floor, even the runners had their hats on today but then the steeper climbs of the Fungle make you warm up from the inside so the outer shell jacket was opened up plus the big zip in the front of my fleece.  In a deep valley and tree lined the wind was light, also, with just a 100  metres of verticle added, the air was not so cold  (cold air sinks).  So having the ability to cool down is important but then the open heather hill top paths exposes the wind.  Time to zip up again, even put the hat back on but then the sun gets warmer and a dip in the hills provides shelter, time to zip down again but then turn the shoulder of a hill and the wind is blowing across 30 miles un-interrupted from the Cairngorms and its time to wrap up again, even in the even warmer sun.  Then its time to head down towards the valley floor, shelter and sun but then the sun disappears and the breeze disappears and the still cold air is still around in pockets.  While it is not as cold as when starting out the fleece provides the warmth.  No rain or wintry precipitation on this walk but that will come real soon.

It is blowing a gale today in Aboyne and we are on the valley floor. What the conditions will be like up in the local hills let alone on Lochnagar or on the plateaus of the  Cairngorms?   Stormy I guess.  I have taken a few batterings from the wind over the years while out walking in both summer and winter.  I rate a blasting wind as one of the most dangerous weather conditions to be out in, I’d rather have it raining hard or -20c below.  While both these conditions have their dangers good outdoor clothing can keep you dry and warm.  However, add the wind to those conditions and life becomes real tricky.  Sure, the clothing will project from the elements but it does not help you keep your feet.  And keeping your feet on the ground is a critical and mandatory element of being able to walk.  It is also the unpredictability of the wind that makes it a top weather concern.  I recall walking up Meikle Pap on Lochnagar, it was a windy winters day.  It was windy from the car park but sheltered SE slopes were keeping the wind at bay until an exposed plateau delivered the gusting wind however, get close to the next SE slope and some shelter was to be gained again.  At the top  of the Pap, there is no plateau but an increasingly sharpening summit.  Not only are you now high enough for the uninterrupted storm force NW wind to hit you directly, you have the vexing of the wind around the summit twisting up the wind.  It is an un-nerving experience, your body knows it is in danger, it can not win.  What I like to do is to ‘listen’ to the wind.  You have to say, OK, today I will not get right to the summit today.  You learn the pattern of the wind, its gusting routine, this gives time to brace yourself to the mountain before making head way in the less severe troughs of wind.  The wind does not run like clock work so you have to keep alert to anomalies but if that is happening lot then heading down the hill is the best answer.

A windy day with rain or snow is even more challenging.  Here the windchill effect really comes to the fore.  While we all do our best to find outdoor clothing and equipment to keep us dry, rucksack need to be opened, gloves taken off and on etc.  The weather gets in.  And the wind just gives the rain and the snow much more energy to achieve that.  Once in, the wind adds it chilling effects.  When out walking in such conditions my goal is to find a place of shelter to perform those tasks.  Whether is be under a tree or lee side of a boulder or the side of a gully.  I use these places to prepare for the challenges ahead or to address changes in clothing or equipment.

In summary, it is the intelligence of the hill walker plus the performance clothing and equipment that makes you best prepared to walk in stormy conditions.

Over the next few days the freezing level will descend below the summits of the highest Scottish Mountains.  One of the local weather services for hill walkers is MWIS.  But nothing beats seeing, so a review of the webcams is also advisable.  While this is an early blast of arctic air for us, add in the windchill factor and dangers of winter won’t be too far away.  So, pack for winter hiking this weekend.

Sometimes the shortest of walks can give the best of views.  For me a walk up Mortlich in Aboyne provides such an experience.

The most rewarding aspect of the views is that they are to places where I walk the most.  In this photo you get the folding up of the hills, but while you walk up the hill the experience is more narrowly focused to the path ahead.  The hills in front of you mostly out of site.  In the end of the day, its the variety of walking in Deeside that makes it so special.

With the second half of the summer being particularly unsettled weather wise then the chances are you will have been walking a lot in the rain recently?  Especially on longer distance walks, I head in to Glen Tanar from Aboyne the other weekend and it rained for 3 of the 4 hours I was out walking.  It was a muggy and humid day and the Fungle, felt more jungle like but my CragHoppers and t-shirt were keeping me cool enough, but on leaving the tree line behind the open heather moorland brought steady and heavy rain, and a bit of wind, nothing to strong but enough to dramatically lower the temperature.  A few years back I got a pair of made to measure water proof over trousers.  With no lining they are light to carry and easy to roll up into a pocket, zipped at the bottom to save you taking off your boots, but you still need to have good balance to get them on quickly.  I also had a shell outer jacket.  I was wrapped up from both the wet and the cold wind.  I had not been for a long-ish walk in the rain for ages, no views to take in or Buzzards soaring in the sky to watch but it was enjoyable enough, especially guessing when the could might break.   Then it came time to descend and the valley bottom was a lot warmer, the rain became more showery and I could remove the over trousers.  The day became warm before a big shower ensured I finished my walk in the rain as I returned to Aboyne.

There is a strong connection between the local landscape and music.  Camerson McNeish writes about this in a post entitled, Mixing hills with music.  Tarland fiddler, Paul Anderson named his latest music collection the, Lochnagar Collection and many a traditional Scot’s song has a romantic connection with the land, listen to the words of Bonnie Glenshee for example.  If you are out or visiting the Deeside hills over the next couple of months, then why not relax or join in a Deeside Session at a local bar?