Ben Chonzie and the first snowball fight of the year!

Ben Chonzie is regarded as one of the easiest Munros! The hike to the summit was going to be relatively easy by Munro's standards, but it was a massive milestone for Eve and me. Ben Chonzie was our first Munro since completing our challenge of hiking all the great trails of Scotland, and for Eve, her 6th Munro! We intend to ‘bag’ them all over the next few years!

‘Munro bagging’ will be one of our new challenges—not an intense charity challenge like the one we just completed, but something more integrated into our ‘normal’ lives and future challenges!

We started the day early, setting our alarm for 6 am. We had intended to be on the road for the short 90-minute drive to the start by 6.45, but at 7.30, we were still chasing our tails! We've been out of practice for too long!

It was a cold and foggy morning, but the weather forecast was for a clear day but cold, with the summit temperature below freezing. We went expecting some snow on the summit, and although we did have some, it wasn’t as much as we had expected or that Eve had hoped! I think the prospect of some snow was the primary motivator for Eve.

When we arrived, the car park at the base of Ben Chonzie was quiet, with just two other cars. Foolishly, I hoped we might have had the mountain all to ourselves. Although it started quietly, it was bustling by the end of the day. We even got recognised by some Facebook followers, which always comes as a shock.

Starting the hike, it was freezing. When hiking, we usually remove layers as we warm up when we first set out, but today, we added layers, including thick gloves! The air temperature was cold, with a frost still covering the grass, but the wind chill was cutting. We could see the sun hitting the ground before us as we walked. We walked faster than we usually would to try and reach it. When we did, the feeling of the heat on our skin almost stung, but it felt so good!

The trail up Ben Chonzie starts by following a rocky track used by local landowners and gamekeepers. It was straightforward to follow, and to begin with, it didn’t feel like we were walking into a mountain landscape at all—it looked and felt more like a gentle stroll on a Sunday afternoon!

We passed through several gates, forded a few burns, and passed a dam. Once we passed the tree line and entered the open moorland, it felt like we were heading toward a landscape more challenging than a simple stroll—albeit not technical in any way! The Munro had begun!

We walked well and made good progress but still struggled to find our rhythm together! This resulted in annoying ourselves and each other! Eve would get frustrated if I were too fast or too slow, and equally, I became frustrated at our inability to match each other's pace! It started to feel like we hadn’t just hiked 2000 miles as I sped up to Eve, or she would wait for me to catch her up! Ultimately, we decided to hold hands and force ourselves to at least be within arm's reach! This worked well, and I have to admit, I enjoyed it a lot! I fear how long Eve will still want to publicly hold her dad's hand!

We paused a lot for breaks and to sip our drinks. By now, it was late morning, and it was warming up nicely, although the cool breeze was still cutting. The physical effort was enough to keep it at bay! The views were starting to open up, and we could see the mountain in Ben Chonzie coming into view, albeit the summit was out of sight!

At the end of the gravel track, we reached a small cairn on the left that marked the start of the actual ascent up Ben Chonzie. This area is also notorious for being boggy, but today, we were lucky and managed to avoid just about all of it by simply walking around or stepping over it!

By now, we had only passed one lone female runner, and we could see our first group of walkers coming into view behind us. We had foolishly hoped to have the whole mountain to ourselves. But we soon realised this would not be the case as we saw several other groups hiking up the track, presumably for the same reason we were! 

For us, as it is for most people, the fun of hill walking is the hike itself. It’s not reaching the summit or simply ticking it off, but rather, the challenge of achieving it. The summit is just the goal; it's the game of reaching it we get excited about. As the saying goes, 'it's about the journey, not the destination'. Leaving the main trail behind, we both became excited. I could feel the adrenaline and endorphins, and it was easy to see Eve feeling the same as she power-walked ahead!

I had expected this section to be more challenging. Without sounding arrogant, it was easy! It was simply a walk up a steep, muddy, grassy trail that, due to the popularity of the hill, had been hiked into an almost staircase of muddy step after step. It made walking easy and reminded us of the damage we cause by walking on the hills!

I find this confusing and unsettling, almost a paradox in my head! Eve and I love the outdoors, hiking, and exploring, but seeing the damage we help cause by simply walking is unsettling! We don’t want to stop hiking, but in doing so, we cause so much harm! Even the fuel in our internal combustion engine affects the landscape with global warming and changes in the climate as we drive over the country to hike the mountains! I like to think that we have all these wild and untamed landscapes in Scotland, but the truth is, most of it has been shaped by man, and not for the better! This mountain is no different!

We walked together, slowly increasing in height, watching the stunning view of the snow-kissed mountains around us come more into focus and feeling the cold breeze becoming more bitter and cutting. 

This section of the mountain trail is easy to follow, but in poor weather, you could be lost without knowing it. One of the appeals of Ben Chonzie as a beginner Munro is that it has a famous navigation aid (a fence) that, if followed, would lead you directly to the summit and subsequently back down again!

As the steep section of climb levelled out, all we needed to do was to look for the mental fence posts that, using a navigational term, we would ‘handrail' up to the summit! The fence posts are an odd sight on the mountain and look slightly spooky, like the spine of a deceased creature! Perhaps a dragon, or is my imagination running a little too wild?

The upper section of Ben Chonzie is a gorgeous walk. It flattens out to nothing more than a gentle incline, offering any wild camper nearly limitless choice on where to pitch up for the night!

Eve and I loved this section. It was so easy to walk, and we started seeing our first snowfall evidence hidden in the longer grass. I'm not sure who spotted the ice first, Eve or me, but either way, it was exciting!

Eve picked up a patch of snow that was more akin to ice, studied it, and made several remarks about it being the first snow of the year before throwing it at my chest and proclaiming a “snowball fight”. The game had begun, and I wasn’t about to let Eve beat me! I did fail in one regard… Eve has a near-endless amount of perseverance and determination that I could not match! I had got myself into a fight I couldn’t possibly win! After a brief exchange of projectiles, I bartered for my life, and we agreed upon a settlement or, rather, a reprieve! It would be paused for humanitarian purposes before the fight recommenced upon the summit!

By now, we were sharing the mountain with a near-infinite stream of people, from individuals out for a walk with their dogs to groups of tourists speaking French, German, and a host of other languages! It was turning out to be a busy day!

We walked following the fence posts, round a sharp 90-degree bend to continue up the last section, and passed some grouse shooting butts bringing the summit shelter slowly into view.

As we climbed, albeit gently, the wind continued to increase, and the perceived temperature continued to drop. It was cold, and my fingers were going numb. It always has, and will always surprise me, seeing people in places like this looking unprepared. I might be slightly overkill with the mantra “safety first”, but seeing a female with nothing more than a vest top covered in ‘goosebumps’ strikes me as foolish! We saw several people dressed like this! I will be the first to confess that I might come across as a little judgemental, so please tell me if you think I'm wrong!

Reaching the wee stone shelter at Ben Chonzie's summit felt exhilarating! It was still only about noon and earlier than we had hoped for! We had reached the summit and, in doing so, had ticked off another Munro for Eve on her way to bag all 282! We still have some way to go, as this is only Eve’s sixth Munro!

The shelter was busy with other hikers seeking a break from the cold wind, and despite our dislike of being in close confinement with others, we pushed ourselves into the corner, sitting on some ice-covered rocks to escape the wind, eat lunch, and enjoy the moment. Our food for today was a sausage roll and flapjack! Yum!

We must have done something to annoy everybody, as while we were sitting there, the groups departed, leaving the summit to us. We stood and looked around and saw nobody. Even a young girl sitting on some grass a few hundred metres away had departed! We took the opportunity to go for a wee walk, record a small video, and, for Eve to commence the snowball fight!

I had hoped she had forgotten, but as we walked, we passed a large area of snow that would have tempted anybody, especially a child in her element! On the summit of a mountain, nobody else about and miles from ‘civilisation’! Eve and I felt at home. Ironically, we feel more at home in these places than at home! I think that's why we write these blog posts: to almost re-live it and escape the confines of the walls of our house!

We stayed at the summit for about 45 minutes until a group of hikers reached the shelter. By now, we were also getting cold despite having extra layers on. This is usually the case; as soon as you stop, with sweaty clothes on, the cold soon creeps in, no matter how much you might spend on the best designer-label outdoor clothing!

The views from the top were simply spectacular, and given how isolated Ben Chonzie is from the bulk of Munros, it gave us some stunning sights. It was exceptionally clear with little to no clouds in the sky, which helped no end! It’s a pity not all hill walking can be as picturesque and rewarding to the eye!

We walked back, passing most of the grouse shooting butts, but not before a slight detour. Sarah had saved a Geocache for us to find. I will not detail its location as it would defeat the point! Geocaching is a kind of ‘treasure hunt’ without the treasure! We did find it, although it was soaked and filled with ice! At least we can record it as a ‘find’. Eve managed to find it, despite me looking in the exact spot and not seeing it! My excuse was, “I didn't have my glasses on”, and I'm sticking to it!!!

Re-hiding the cache, we walked on at quite some pace. We had found our rhythm, and our mojo had returned! Eve moved quickly, and I had to work hard to keep up with her!

Following the fence posts, passing countless walkers and dogs, we slowed slightly on the steeper downhill section! Ben Chonzie was now as busy as most high streets on a weekday! I was surprised by how busy it was! We can go days without seeing people on many of the trails Eve, and I have walked. Now, it was impossible to avoid people and find places to wait for them to pass!

Reaching the main track again beside the cairn, we had a small break before continuing. It was still only early afternoon, and I had planned, almost looking forward, to doing some night hiking. The speed we were now walking meant we would, most likely, be home even before dusk!

We paused a lot on this final section as we returned to the car. Why did we keep stopping? I don't know! We didn’t need to, and sometimes we just stood talking without sitting, drinking or not for any other reason, just stopping, looking and breathing in the fresh air. I was in no hurry, and Eve did not want to return to the car. It had been a great day, a great reminder of our passion for the outdoors and adventure, and I didn't want it to stop! I know Eve didn't either… or she wouldn't have kept stopping for no reason and telling me to just “stand and look.”

We reached the car at about 3.30 in the afternoon, hours before I had imagined we would. We were one of the first cars there this morning and one of the last to leave!

Both Eve and I can't wait for the next one, and we are already planning which one we might do! If the snow holds off, we might even attempt three Munros in one day!

Ben Chonzie was an epic hike and a fantastic day out! I can wholeheartedly recommend it to just about anybody! This was by far the easiest of the six muros we have done! It barely felt like we had ascended over 3000 ft of Scottish mountain!

There you have it, another adventure in the Great British (Scottish) outdoors.

I hope you enjoyed reading our journal. Please feel free to leave us a comment.

See you again soon on our next adventure!

Ian & Eve