Over the mountains.

Gramaisc

Forum O. G.
Today, I took a short cut, using one of my favourite roads. It rises to 1,400 ft and the last part of the ascent is avoided by the road being sunken into a cutting - thus, the area is known as The Cut.

There is a recreation area either side of the summit of the ridge which has become world famous over recent years, not so much because of its scenic aspect, nice though it is, but largely because of the unique font that has been used on the sign.

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Gramaisc

Forum O. G.
On the ascent from the north, I only met one other vehicle, at around the 1,000 foot mark - an old boy on a mobility scooter.

On the descent, the only vehicle was a full-bore Escort Mk 2 rally car, being driven with due care, presumably learning the road for an organised event at some point.

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Gramaisc

Forum O. G.
These mountains are in an area largely devoid of lakes, but they do have a really odd lake, rather off the beaten track. Odd, in that it's almost exactly circular and within a few feet of the top of the ridge. I've never been to it before, but this morning looked like a good time to make the effort. The only large scale map of the area I have is from 1912 and doesn't show the lake, it isn't really visible from anywhere on the Earth's surface more than a few yards away, so the authorities of the time may have been unaware of its existence, or it may not have even been there then? Because this map has never been folded, I elected to make the attempt with a map in my head, and the assistance of a watch and a reasonable prospect of knowing the Sun's position.

The first half of the journey was fairly easily followed, being forestry roads.

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Here, the initial 'good' road gave way to a 'reasonable' one, that was actually rather nicer to walk on.


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This went on for some way, in a most pleasant manner.


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Some of the trees were monstrous specimens.
 
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Gramaisc

Forum O. G.
Eventually, I arrived at the end of the 'Reasonable Road'.

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Looking back from the end...


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...and looking forwards - from here on, my Mind Map was going to be tested.


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I passed a cairn that gave me some confidence that I had guessed right - so far.
 

Gramaisc

Forum O. G.
I crossed the ravines with minimal casualties and began to feel that I had 'done well so far', but with a subsiding confidence in the accuracy that I was achieving.

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Then, I found evidence of Viet Cong activity in the area - I did check for remains, but there were none to be seen...


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Eventually, I emerged from the tree line - and decided to remember the Dead Bush, in case I needed to find my way back in, if I had to wander about along the ridge to find the lake.

At this point, it was necessary to determine a line to follow over the heather, in the hope of getting close enough to the lake to see it.

As I started to approach the summit of the ridge, I was deciding that I must have passed the lake by now, and it 'should' be somewhere on my left.

Then.

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In less than perfect weather, you could easily walk into it.
 
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