Geal Charn Mor and The Burma Road.

Day two of our weekend up at Milehouse cottage saw all groups getting ready to do battle with the peaks again.We have a small but growing Polish contingent in our club which adds an extra  conversational dimension culture and interest wise.

They were all off  on a mass ascent to climb Sgor Gaoith from  the wonderful Glen Feshie and struck it lucky with the weather.
Others in our club climbed Geal Charn the Munro in the Monadliath while Alex and Myself Picked  nearby Geal Charn Mor,a Corbett not far from Aviemore and  directly facing the Cairngorm Plateau.
I,d never heard of the Scottish Burma Road before this hill but it ran straight,steep and mighty from the valley floor to the heights above taking us up 2000 feet fairly quickly.Even the view from the bottom was stunning.

Looking across the valley at the Giants of the Cairngorms rising into the clouds,still wrapped in winter snows..By comparison we had our usual sunny day.It felt like spring in the heat and the Burma road seemed well named.
A couple of keen cyclists were a stones throw ahead of us.This is a tough road  to walk up as it is so unrelenting but on a bike it must be very hard indeed.Although we were going at an easy stroll they did not pull away from us,legs going round in lowest gears like the clappers for each foot of height gained.On this occasion walking looked far easier.
They stuck at it though and were rewarded by easier ground eventually.It must be a big tick on a bike if you can reach the brow of this road pass without getting off.

It was a well made road  and did the job for us.At the top of the pass it was a straightforward plod to the summit.An unremarkable mound it has to be said.At this point Alex mentioned as motivation It was down in the guide book as a summit with good views.
I wasn,t fooled by this though.If there is nothing remotely interesting about a summit, guidebooks always say it has good views. Oh yes I know all the ploys.
Happily Alex has only 40 Corbett,s left  to do now so the end is in sight for both of us.Him to complete his tally......me to dig a giant  deep suntrap in the garden as celebration with thermal heat retaining bricks and a glass roof  keep the rain away forever. Toasty!
It was seeing Ratho Quarry covered over that  first gave me the idea.Instead of energy sapping bouldering and climbing overhangs though I,d have mud baths, palm trees,fester chambers, flower filled basking bays,slumber sofas , daily pampering and oiling sessions and handy tips on perfecting good yet easy blubber maintenance.Food ,sweets and drink mega waist harnesses  would be clipped on at entry to save on  tiresome walks to the bar and kitchen  and I,d maybe  have a few naughty girls on the payroll too for those duller days.Now that,s something to get inspired about!
What would I call such a paradise on earth? Why" the tropical beach underground "of course.

We met a couple of big bouncy Siberian huskies running around  up here along with their owners.All that was missing  to be in  the far north was a glimpse of the herd of wild reindeer grazing across the valley,Santa , the cold and the snow.
I didn,t miss the last three though,more than happy with my heat and blue skies again.

Lower down we passed  some kind of large religious building and grounds.A modern one with newly built assault course,zip wire slides,jumps and zig zag runs.They seemed to have plenty of money and ambition. Might be wrong but it looked a  tad cultish to me as if they were all preparing for the rapture by getting really fit.I had a quick look to see what it was on the internet but nothing showed up.Wish I,d taken a picture of the name on the gate now to remind me what it was called.
Just get those students running up and down the Burma road before every meal.That,ll get them fit and save  shed loads of wood ,bridges, hoops and tyre swings.

While we marched in sunshine most of the 4000 footer Caringorm peaks hung on to the cloud til  the afternoon.By two o'clock though It  had burned off into a fine day up there too.

Even the drive back was a joy with sweeping roads catching the sun and reminding me,at least, of American highways.

Stirling Castle seen from the North.