Marhofn 84.04 - May 2002

2001 Reviews:

Stewart Logan

Not a bad year despite FMD and a month on the John Muir trail in the USA. My main memories of 2001 are of finding some pretty obscure tops. I am trying to avoid asking people or reading about the easiest way up hills, so that I can make the ascents more interesting. I was very fortunate in finding tops which I hear others have failed on. Ones that come to mind are:

• Nutberry Hill - easy approach in the end, after forests to north and east and open-cast mining to SE had beaten me back
• Drummond Hill (knowing that it was not the trig point, which was obvious when you were there)
• The notorious Crock (the summit no problem, the approach problematic)
• Torlum near Crieff, because my map did not show the path up the south side and I fought through woods
• Strathfinella Hill with no map - what a hideyhole for the trig
• Hill of the Wangie
• Craignell - awkward because of new forestry activity
• White Top of Culreoch

My most alarming experience, which I have never had before, was coming off Mochrum Fell through the woods in a gale with the ground under me rising and falling by nearly two feet as the tree-roots tried to rip out. I have to admit that some of the above experiences have persuaded me to buy a GPS to check on the actual summit where there is no trig.