Another nice circular
walk around Auchineden Hill and another chance to try out the camera.
Josh and I headed out from the car park with Dad behind. Many of the
Loch Lomond hills were in cloud, but the Luss Hills were out and mostly
under snow cover and in sun they made for some nice views. We
headed up beyond the stile and onto the high moors where more snow lay.
Up here a biting wind blew across the tops from the west - cold enough to
make me not want to go any higher than this modest hill and as a result, the
camera was hard to work. Although an SLR wouldn't have the simplicity
and ease of a point and shoot, it was a price I was going to pay because
it's
sure good to get pictures that are of good quality. The one exception is
if the weather really is dreadful. If I'm going to get no views then the
small camera becomes the most appropriate option.
I also got to try out my new camera case - a LowePro TLZ Mini. Instead
of carrying a camera bag over my shoulder which is inconvenient, this
camera case can be fitted to a rucksack waist belt. Its out the way when
it's not needed but right there when I want to pull the camera out. A
lot of the shots from this came out underexposed but it's something I've
got to work on. I ran into the same problem on Beinn Ime on the 31st
December, but it's usually because I want to keep sky detail. Unless I
buy a filter there's few practical ways to get around that...
Josh and I headed over the bogs up to the trig point. I didn't know
where dad was but we just headed off our own way, and walked down to the
Whangie, where I got photographs - I've never taken pictures of these
rocks before. However nothing of great quality came out, but nevermind.
We left the Whangie and headed around the side of the hill, taking the track back to
the stile where we stopped at the rocky outcrop for five minutes. Dad
had phoned ten minutes before and he was back at the car so it was now
simply a case of walking back and meeting him. I wondered what it would
be like on the Luss Hills today - the snow was awfully low and if only
the skis had been clear, a nice day could have been had on Beinn
Bhreac and Tullich Hill. These two hills form the northern Grahams in
the Luss Hills and look straight across to the Cobbler and other
Arrochar Alps summits. Climbing Tullich Hill, Beinn Bhreac along with Ben Reoch
on a crisp winters day is certainly one of my plans and it would
certainly make for a beautiful day, should weather permit
Future plans aside, we headed down the final section to the car
park where dad waited for us in the car. It had been a nice walk around
this hill, with some contrasting views across to Loch Lomond - sun on
one side, gloom on the other. Auchineden always has
a lot to offer me for a hill that looks like a bog heap, whether its
views or visiting the Whangie...
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