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The Black Spout - once more
We’ve all been there - juggling the pros and cons of doing (or not doing)
a Stocket walk. I had just about convinced myself that I had too much to
do (having just got back from my holidays a few days earlier) and I was
looking forward to going out on Saturday night. In addition, it was too
early a start, I’ve done Lochnagar loads of
times (including the Black Spout route), I didn’t want to be too late
getting home and the weather was probably going to be bad. Isn’t it
amazing how the cons can add up?
And
then I received a text from Lois asking if I was going on the walk. A
quick chat followed during which we talked each other into going. After
all, Lochnagar is always worth doing, the exercise would do me good, it’s
10 years since I last did the Black Spout route, the forecast was
actually quite good, the bus journey was relatively short and we would be
home in good time to get ready for the working week. It seems that the
pros can add up just as quickly as the cons.
And
so once again I found myself at Mile-End in anticipation of another good
day of walking. I had missed the previous, unsuccessful, attempt at the
Black Spout, but it’s a walk that usually generates a fair bit of interest
so it was disappointing to see a relatively poor turn out on the bus.
 We
started, as planned, at Invercauld with Peter Stephen leading us off into
the woods and an unscheduled visit to the Norwegian hut. By this time the
sun was shining brightly and it was beginning to look good for the day
ahead. A quick stop for elevenses (at 9:30am) saw some of us change into
shorts before the walk out of the trees and the long pull up (through some
fairly high heather) to the Sandy Loch. The perfect place for lunch and a
bit of sun bathing on the beach.
From there it was a steady plod up round the
northern slopes of Cac Carn Beag until we reached the first stunning views
of Lochnager below. A tricky scramble round the steep side of the loch
eventually led us to the start of the gully and the route up the famed
Black Spout.
 The
group managed the scramble up and through the gully without any problems
until we neared the top end and a few hardy souls decided to try their
luck on the Crumbling Cranny route. Those of us on the “normal” route
listened as we heard much shouting and discussion from the neighbouring
gully.
Eventually the adventurous group reappeared back on the main route, their
path apparently blocked by a nervous sheep! How it got there is a mystery
but there are local rumours about bringing a sheep to the edge of a cliff
(see Peter Stephen for further information). The final climb out onto the
main path and then to the Summit of Cac Carn Beag was managed without
further incident. It was still sunny but quite a bit colder up on the tops
so after a quick look around we set off down to our finishing point at the
Spittal of Glen Muick.
The
walk was completed slightly ahead of schedule and there was time for a
couple of beers at the Prince of Wales in Ballater before arriving back in
Aberdeen around half past seven.
All
in all it was a fantastic day out with perfect walking conditions on one
of Scotland’s finest hills with a bit of scrambling thrown in.
Dereck Johnstone
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This site was last
updated by Sylvie on
26/01/2008
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