Powder Day

After the previous day’s fun in the driving snow, we opted for a slightly lower-level adventure, a run along the Cateran Trail from Spittal o’Glenshee to Enochdhu and back. We set off in clear weather but with a few centimetres of snow on the ground and quickly climbed up to the high point of the route. As we dropped down the other side we saw lots of signs of deer – hoof-prints and cleared snow. Then we caught sight of the herd. There must have been close to 100 of them climbing up to the ridge on the far side of the valley – a lovely sight.

After watching the deer until we got too cold, we continued down the valley before diverting off the trail to find a stone circle. It wasn’t very obvious, but we found it eventually!

We got to Enochdhu to find that there was very little there. We’d hoped for a cafe, but had to satisfy ourselves with a standing stone and “The Giant’s Grave”. We didn’t stay long as by this time the snow had started to fall again.

We and the deer weren’t the only ones out and about. There were lots of interesting tracks in the snow as we returned up the valley. Anyone care to identify these?

The rest of the day was also eventful. We decided to head down the valley rather than trying to cross the pass at Glenshee in the heavy snow. However, at the first steepish downhill, after we’d crept carefully down, we got rear-ended by the next driver, who wasn’t quite so cautious on the descent. Given that there was another accident on the same hill that required an ambulance we got off lightly. We decided to wait for a gritter, or for conditions to improve, and spent the next two hours pushing cars up the hill before the gritter finally made it through the stranded cars and got to us. Rather than driving further, we found a B&B in Blairgowrie, enjoyed a nice dinner, and are waiting to see what conditions will be like in the morning.