I found myself with a reasonably short-notice weekend available due to the cancellation of a remotely supervised Explorer hike, so I thought I'd capitalise on the spell of warm and dry conditions and make an effort to get a big round complete in the Cairngorms. With five hills south of the Great Glen left on my list, I reckoned if I ran I could manage three of these in one go.
Looking at the forecast really influenced my plans - the temperatures were due to be high in the afternoon and there was a low-ish risk of thunderstorms, so I wanted to get the bulk of my route completed by morning. With the van now in play, I had the flexibility to do that. Using the bike would make things easier too. Unfortunately my usual hill buddies were busy but I was comfortable on my own.
I sat in Cafe Circa at lunchtime on Saturday and walked Isa through my risk assessment and route card and then by 1330, Gunter and I were on the road up to Braemar. No dramas on the drive up and the traffic was quite light, so I stopped in Braemar to have a very nice ice cream and to watch the tourists milling about. Then it was down to the car park at Linn of Dee where Gunter rolled in and parked up about 1630. The question now was, what am I going to do? I needed to make dinner, but I decided to head out on the bike for a bit, initially along to White Bridge, remembering a few other hikes where I did exactly the same.
I pushed on beyond White Bridge, vaguely aware of a building near the Geldie Burn, which I recall being a ruin. I stopped to chat to an older chap on his way and he reminded me that this was the new Red House bothy, originally Ruighe Ealasaid. This was the perfect target for a Saturday evening cycle, so I rocked up and chatted to the only inhabitant for the evening at this point, a nice fella from Kilbarchan. We chatted for a while about the bothy and hooks and midges, while I admired the place. It's really lovely!
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| Red House |
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| Red House |
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| Bothy Stove |
That was a fab wee visit and I was feeling really good about having done something interesting with the spare time. I headed back to the van, chained the bike to my rear alloy wheel and set about making dinner then I just sat and read the Munro book for a while with the roof up and the doors open - no midges to pester me.
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| Gunter ready for dinner |
After a while, I took a wander down to the Dee which was sitting pretty low, then walked upstream a wee bit and lay for while in the river, letting the flow pass over me. It was oddly not freezing so I stayed under for a few minutes and just enjoyed the feeling of the water and the solitude.
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| Dee swim |
I got dried off and headed back to the van and then it was time for a wee beer before an early night, aware of my early start.
I was awake before the alarm went off at 0500 but was just dozing and really comfortable, so it wasn't a surprise. I was up and ready quickly, my overnight oats prepared the day before and chilling in the van fridge was the perfect start to the day.
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| 5am Cairngorm forests |
I was on the bike and heading away from the car park at 0600 but as I headed up through the forest to Glen Lui, I realised that my hands were freezing! There must have been some kind of temperature drop in the glen. It was only 20mins or so, so I figured I could last, though I did have a pair of light gloves in my wee bag.
I stashed my bike at the MRT hut and was on the way up the slopes of Derry Cairngorm at 0629. Running, but not going to mad - I knew I had a big day ahead of me. It got warm and by the time I'd hit the easing contours I was roasting. It was good running almost all the way to the top of Derry Cairngorm when it changed to boulder field, which slowed me down quite a lot.
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| Boulder field on the top of Derry Cairngorm |
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| Looking over to Beinn Mheadhoin |
I was on the top at 0755 and felt great - the views of the Cairngorms all around me - picking out familiar hills and looking towards the hills of the day ahead.
From there it was over to Beinn Mheadhoin. I followed the long track and then hit the steep ascent. I had some folk ahead of me, but I soon swept past them, still full of energy and pushed right on to the barns on the top of Mheadhoin. The tallest is the summit and it's a bit of a scramble, but the rock was dry and grippy and so it was a real rush. I made the top and it feels like a great achievement - not just because of the scramble, but also Beinn Mheadhoin's location, so far from a road. I was on there at 0905. Two Munros down before most folk have had their coffee!
I met the people again and they'd stayed at the Hutchy hut the night before so I told them about Red House before I ran off, back down the steep slope to the loch.
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| A barn on Beinn Mheadhoin |
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| Derry Cairngorm seen between the summit barns |
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| More barns away over on Beinn a' Bhuird |
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| My new pals on the summit of Mheadhoin |
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| Looking down to Loch Etchachan and Macdui |
I stopped for a while at Loch Etchachan just to take some photos and enjoy the sun.
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| Loch Etchachan |
Pretty soon I was on the way again, my legs just kept going and the distance just getting eaten up. I felt like this is what hillwalking should feel like, just covering loads of ground and looking back at things moving away quickly. It was a pretty nice feeling.
I headed up towards Macdui, which I did before in
April 2022 with Toezi. Not as much snow this time and a different approach direction. The boulder field around the summit is littered with shelters! I hit the summit cairn at 1035.
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| Biggest of the shelters - with it's own fireplace |
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| Summit of Macdui |
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| Looking over to Lochnagar and Miekle Pap from Macdui |
I had the top to myself so I ate some food and then headed for the Allt Clach nan Taillear, expecting I'd get some water there.
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| Dry burn |
No luck - it was dry. I was ok for water though. The next part was a descent down a boulder field which felt like it went on forever. I was getting used to moving quickly on those big paths! Eventually, I made it down to the bealach and started the long climb up the ridge of Càrn a' Mhaim. It was getting hot! I had a cracking view of the Devil's Point and Corrour Bothy, which I read a book about earlier this year.
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| Corrour Bothy and the track up Bod an Deanamh |
Incredible views were had up and down the Lairig Ghru and across both sides of the Cairngorms. What a pleasure! I made the top of Càrn a'Mhaim at 1225.
This pic is my favourite of the trip - all the summits I climbed in the one day are visible.
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| All my summits |
I made a really fast descent down Càrn a'Mhaim - the path is essentially stairs - so it was a skoosh really. However, a really warm wind was blowing up the hill from the East so I was getting pretty cooked!
I made it down to the Luibeg burn and had a quick wash and cool off. I didn't even need to use the bridge, the water was so low.
Then it was a swift run the last few kms back to the bike and a hot bike ride back to the car park. I got back just before 1400 and was glad of the cold drinks in the van fridge!
I stopped for a phone check in Braemar, then it was a long drive back, but I was in Glasgow for 1730. Can I do it all again please?
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| #vanlife |
Run Distance: 27.1km
Run Ascent: 1662m
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