Luss

Perfect weekend for Luss hills, ground frozen and feet stay dry and warm. Anti clockwise circuit of Glen Luss/Glen Mollochan, 14 miles and about 6000' of ascent. Beinn Dubh, Mid Hill, Doune Hill, Beinn Lochain, Beinn Eich, Coille Eughain Hill and down over the Paps to finish back at the mouth of the glen. Busy day with lots of walkers out enjoying the air. Quite warm climbing Beinn Dubh until the last couple of hundred feet, jacket on as the breeze freshened. Great views to the snow capped peaks of the Arrochar Alps and beyond while running along the ridge to Mid Hill. I took a wider than normal route down into Sith Mor starting off West then North dropping in on a herd of deer on the way. The climb up Doune Hill a bit easier than usual on the frozen ground. Different route at the top taking on the North side picking my way round snow patches while traversing the steep slopes overlooking Glen Douglas. On the way back I met a crowd from the Langcrags walking club on Beinn Lochain, I'd run with a couple of them. Lots of frozen snow made the going easy at the top of the ridge to Beinn Eich then good ground on the way down to the Glen passing groups of walkers. As usual I wanted to avoid the run down the road and set off across the Glen for the short climb up Coille Eughain Hill, this took its toll and the run across the tussocks and bogs at the top tough on tiring legs. The reward was a fern free run down off the Paps with only the usual boggy bits at the bottom to slow me down. Finished in about 4 3/4 hours incl a few stops to chat and a sheep rescue.