Petestack Blog

Quite recently (a week or two back?) I suddenly found myself wondering why, in all my many, many trips to the Dam, I’d never taken the obvious through route from Altnafeadh when it’s broad, characterised by gentle gradients and quite clearly the shortest approach from any road. So I decided pretty well there and then to try it out (as part of a loop taking in both Devil’s Staircase and Dam) at the first reasonable opportunity, and took that chance today. (more…)

I should be running! Or something like that. (Just can’t afford to pass up the chance of a good workout with the big race in June.) (more…)

Another wet and windy weekend day that just didn’t say ‘let’s go climbing’, so I had to get out for a decent run, and found it in a route to the Blackwater Dam that I’ve unaccountably never taken before! (more…)

It’s raining cats and dogs today. Can’t say that stopped me trying to run to the Blackwater Dam by the Ciaran Path, but it was ‘upstream’ (think about it!) all the way and I had to turn back at the bad ford at the Allt Coire na Duibhe (NN 226606), which was absolutely raging and a long way beyond justifiable. Think that’s only the second or third time ever I’ve turned there for that reason, but I’d likely be floating down the River Leven right now if I hadn’t!

Finished by a clockwise ‘big lap’ of the village to make up the lost mileage, and found that quite strange because I’ve always run it anticlockwise before. Also pleased to report that today’s my fifth in a row of decent off-road running, so the March masterplan seems to be working so far. :-)

So I managed to kick myself out of the house for a run this evening (6.3 mile hill/road combo up past Mamore Lodge and the mast and then round the village)… (more…)