OMM training - Carn na h-Easgainn

After my run on Saturday (see previous post) I was oping for slightly better weather on Sunday. The weather in the morning was spectacularly uninspiring. Cloud and drizzle. So I plucked for a relatively low hill close to the house. By the time I left for the 10 minute drive the the start it was already 12 noon, but the weather had improved. From the Farr wind farm entrance which has plenty of parking I headed into the hills and was soon slogging up blanket bog towards Carn na h-Easgainn (616m). As with most bogs it was wet and as I got higher the re-entrants just got deeper. From the cairn the huge turbines of the wind farm turned soundlessly and looked dramatic as the clouds whipped round them. Although I am not a big fan of wind farms, I was actually surprised that I really didn't have any strong emotions on them being there. I presume had the weather been better, the visual impact would have been much greater. Perhaps one reason for building them up here! Now that I was on a ridge I was fully exposed to the wind and the lashing rain. A plus side was the constant winds have kept the vegetation short and it was pleasant running over to Carn Moraig. By now the sun had even decided to come out. The short heather was ideal grouse territory and as I ran past some well maintained butts I made a mental note to avoid here when the shooters are out. One reason for this run was to check out the bothy marked on the map, and as I saw a huge wave of black cloud rolling down Strathdearn I was hoping for a warm, dry break. Dropping over the steep bank to where the bothy was marked I wasn't happy to see that it had been converted into a pigeon cote. The poor creatures certainly weren't posh enough to be doves! Resigned, I put on all my wet weather gear and trugged off towards the A9 in torrential rain. The next mile north back home was through knee high bog myrtle. Lovely smelling but an absolute pain to move through. The traffic steadily roared on my right on the road and the rain was soaking me right through. Not the wildernis experience I was hoping for. Finally I reached Lynemore from where a track should have lead quickly back to the car. Instead, parts of the track were knee-deep in water and moss. Lovely.

Distance: 14km Time: 2.5h