TGOC 2014 - Day 8: Ruigh Aiteachain to Glen Dee

Friday 16th May 2014

An excellent high level day over four Munros between Glen Feshie and Glen Dee 

Distance: 30km; Ascent: 1470m; Sunny but quite windy on the tops; with Sue O

See tracked route in new window

The hills were under a blanket of low cloud when I met Sue outside the bothy this morning for our day of Munro bagging; we hoped the forecasted lifting of the cloud in the morning would turn out to be correct!  At 8am we set off walking, initially retracing yesterday's steps for the best part of a kilometre, before picking up the vehicle track that climbs up towards the plateau.

Looking across Glen Feshie to Carn Dearg Mor

Coire Garbhlach

The track made for very quick progress and it wasn't long before we we looking into the misty Coire Garbhlach, and around here we passed another challenger heading into the high hills for the day. As we continued to ascend the cloud gradually began to clear, with most of it having cleared by around 9:30am.  We detoured south for around a kilometre to visit our first windy summit of the day: Mullach Clach a'Bhlair (Munro, HuMP).

On the summit of Mullach Clach a'Bhlair

Returning to the LRT we headed northeast across the plateau, before stopping for a break in the slight depression formed by the upper part of the Caochan Dubh burn.  I was keen to include Sgor Gaoith in today's walk, which would result in a detour of around 7km - luckily Sue was quite happy to have a long day in the hills as well!

Continuing onwards, we left the LRT after around a kilometre to head NW to the summit of Carn Ban Mor (Munro Top), before we continued NNE towards Sgor Gaoith in a strengthening westerly wind.  Approaching Sgor Gaoith from this direction, it just looked like a small lump in the moorland but as we got closer it revealed it's true nature and we were rewarded with excellent views of it's craggy eastern side above Loch Einich.

Heading up the southern slopes of Sgor Gaoith

The impressive craggy arete on the east side of Sgor Gaoith

Looking across the head of Loch Einich towards Carn na Criche and Monadh Mor

Shortly before midday, we reached the very windy summit of Sgor Gaoith (Munro, Marilyn), which I didn't dare stand up on as it is perched above the precipice of the east face and there was a pretty strong westerly wind today!  Therefore I briefly sat on the summit instead to avoid being blown over, whilst admiring the truely fantastic views out over the main Cairngorm hills to the east and over the Moine Mhor towards our next hills of the day: Monadh Mor and Beinn Bhrotain.

On the summit of Sgor Gaoith

Carn na Criche and Loch Einich from Sgor Gaoith

Gleann Einich, Braeriach and Loch Einich

Looking NNW from Sgor Gaoith

We retraced our steps southwards towards Carn Ban Mor in strong winds, before heading SE after a kilometre and a half aiming for a faint track we could pick out traversing the northern slopes of Tom Dubh.  We could pick out a handful of people in the distance across the Moine Mhor, who looked to be heading in a variety of directions towards Braeriach, Cairn Toul and Monadh Mor.  In fact seeing these people in the distance helped demonstrate the huge scale of the Moine Mhor, or Great Moss.  It was a fantastic day to out on the hills :-)

Heading back down the south ridge of Sgor Gaoith

At around 13:20, we stopped for lunch in the small amount of shelter afforded by a cairn on the northern slopes of Tom Dubh.  I nipped off to the south to visit a couple of cairns on the summit of Tom Dubh (Munro Top), before returning to our slightly sheltered spot for lunch.  From here we could pick out what looked to be a sensible looking route onwards to our next objective: Monadh Mor.

One of the several cairns on Tom Dubh, with Carn na Criche, Sgor an Lochain Uaine and Carn Toul beyond

We descended slightly to reach the partially snow covered Allt Luineag, which looked to be surprisingly full today - I presume due to the ongoing melting of the large number of snow patches still remaining high up in the hills.  To cross this without getting cold, wet feet necessitated a detour of a few hundred metres upstream to where the burn was braided into two separate channels.

The Allt Luineag

Once safely across the Allt Luineag, we picked a route in a more or less south-easterly direction up Monadh Mor, following a burn for some of the first kilometre.  As we ascended the ground became more bouldery, which necessitated a slow down in our pace due to the combination of the rocky ground and today's strong winds.  Nevertheless, we eventually reached the cairn on the summit of Monadh Mor (Munro, HuMP) at around 3pm, where we stopped for a short while to admire the truly fantastic views!

Monadh Mor summit cairn, with Beinn Bhrotain beyond

Carn na Criche, Braeriach, Sgor an Lochain Uaine and Carn Toul from Monadh Mor summit

On the summit of Monadh Mor

Not wanting to linger too long on the exposed summit, we soon continued towards our final hill of the day: Beinn Bhrotain.  There were a fair number of snow patches still on the southern ridge of Monadh Mor, but we were able to easily avoid them all as we skirted the southern top to reach the top of the steep descent down to the 975m unnamed bealach.

Traversing the very windy southern slopes of Monadh Mor (hence the tilted camera angle!)

Beinn Bhrotain from the SSE slopes of Monadh Mor

Looking across the 975m bealach to the steep climb ahead up Beinn Bhrotain

Snow on the eastern slopes of Monadh Mor

From the bealach there was a good view across to Beinn Bhrotain, where we could pick out a path up the first half of the ascent before it looked to become bouldery again.  Picking our way carefully down the steep slope we reached the 975m bealach, where we stopped for a quick break in this marginally more sheltered spot!  Continuing on, we ascended up the steep slopes on the eastern side of the bealach to reach the trigpoint on the the summit of Beinn Bhrotain (Munro, Marilyn) at 4:15pm.

The summit of Beinn Bhrotain

On the summit of Beinn Bhrotain

Carn na Criche to Ben Macdui from Beinn Bhrotain summit

Again the views were excellent from this vantage point, which was actually my highest point on my route for this year's TGO Challenge.  I'm not sure I've ever had quite such expansive views when out walking in the Cairngorms before!  My original plan had been to follow the SSE shoulder of Beinn Bhrotain down towards the Munro Top of Carn Cloich-mhuilinn.  However as it appeared that the wind had noticeably strengthened throughout the afternoon, Sue and I were both keen to get out off the wind as soon as possible.  Therefore instead we opted to descend eastwards along the pleasant clear waters of the Allt Garbh.

The lovely clear waters of the Allt Garbh

Looking across Glen Dee to Sgor Mor

After much walking down through pathless heather we finally reached the floor of Glen Dee, and as it was now almost 6pm we started to look for somewhere to camp.  We didn't have to look far as we found a pleasant spot to camp in Glen Dee a short distance to the south of the Allt Garbh.  It had been a long day in the hills, but easily one of the best hill-walking days I've had this year :-).

During the early evening, the sky clouded over and there was light rain whilst I was cooked my dinner in the porch.  I must have been tired that evening, as after eating dinner I managed to fall asleep without zipping up the inner tent!  Not to worry, there'd be plenty of time for rest over the next couple of days as I only had half-day walks planned in and out of Braemar.

Our pitch for the evening in Glen Dee

TGOC 2014 - Day 7: Newtonmore to Ruigh Aiteachain

Thursday 15th May 2014 

A shorter low level day in Badenoch, linking the high peaks of the Monadhliath Mountains and the Cairngorms 

Distance: 22.5km; Ascent: 450m; Dry, overcast and windy; Partly with Laura & Louise

See tracked route in new window

Today was meant to consist of a long low-level walk followed by an approach to a high camp at the north end of the ridge between Glen Feshie and Gleann Eanaich, with a further high camp planned tomorrow night somewhere in the vicinity of Beinn Bhrotain.  However the forecasted strong winds put pay to that plan, as I didn't fancy camping in high winds.  Therefore I switched to a mixture of my FWA and main route, with the intention of heading to Ruigh Aiteachain bothy today followed by a high-level route over to another valley camp in Glen Dee tomorrow.

This change in route meant that I now had a relatively easy low-level day ahead of me today to Ruigh Aiteachain in Glen Feshie, as there was little point trying to push on any further than there today since I planned to head up Mullach Clach a Bhlair tomorrow morning.  Therefore I had a leisurely first half of the morning in Newtonmore and sorted through my kit.  My micro spikes were waiting for me in Newtonmore and I decided to carry them through to Braemar as I'd heard that there was still plenty of snow up high (although in the end I didn't actually need them!).

Heading along the cycle path with views of the hills beyond Glen Feshie

Ali came to find me shortly before I left to see if I was heading to Ruigh Aiteachain today and if so could I please take Jamie's camera with me, which he had accidentally left behind in the hostel.  As I was indeed heading that way, I was happy to oblige; so after saying goodbye to David, Ali & Neil, I set off walking at around 10am.  My first stop was the post office, a short distance along the main street, to post a few things home.  Shortly afterwards I bumped into Chris and Tony again, so I chatted to them for a while before heading to the Coop to re-supply with food.  The tarmac cycle path provided pleasant enough off-road walking to Kingussie, where I stopped for a quick break in the Gynack Memorial Gardens.

Entering Kingussie

Gynack Memorial Gardens in Kingussie

Flowers and lichen in the woods near Ruthven

Around here I bumped into Laura & Louise, who were heading for the Cairngorm Club Footbridge today.  As this meant that we'd all be walking the same way for the next five or six kilometres, I decided to join them for the road walk to Ruthven Barracks followed by a pleasant wander along the first section of the Badenoch Way through the RSPB's Insh Marshes National Nature Reserve.  Even though this was longer than just following the road to Tromie Bridge, it made a very pleasant change from the road walking!

Ruthven Barracks

At Ruthven Barracks

Start of the Badenoch Way

Heading through the Insh Marshes Nature Reserve

The Insh Marshes

We passed a few other people out for a stroll as we followed the waymarked route through the woods to reach the River Tromie, with its impressive looking rapids, stopping on route for a spot of lunch.  Soon afterwards we reached Tromie Bridge, from where we headed up into Drumguish; this marked the parting of the ways as Laura & Louise continued straight on following the Badenoch Way, whilst I turned right and headed towards Glen Feshie, stopping for a second lunch quick break just before I entered the forest.

The Cairngorms from the Insh Marshes Nature Reserve

River Tromie near Tromie Bridge

River Tromie near Tromie Bridge

It was quite warm as I followed the tracks and paths through the woods, across footbridges and open country before entering the Glen Feshie woods.  Soon I reached the private road along the western edge of the glen, which I followed southwards for around a kilometre before stopping for a well earned break!  I dropped down to the river to cross by way of the bridge, where I found a fellow challenger camped on the east bank, who I stopped to chat with for a while.

Heading through the Inshriach Forest

Bridge over the Allt Mor

River Feshie ~500m south of Stonetoper

As it was now around 4pm and I still had phone signal, I quickly downloaded the updated MWIS forecast to help me decide on tomorrow's route - it looked a bit windy, but otherwise fine so my Munro bagging plan was probably going to be possible :-)  I continued southwards along a new looking path through the woods to reach a new looking land rover track, which led me all the way to Ruigh Aiteachain bothy.  This was slightly confusing as lots of these tracks seem to have appeared in the six years since I'd last been here on my first TGO Challenge back in 2008, which seemed a very long time ago now!

River Feshie near the confluence with the Allt Garbhlach

Makeshift Bridge over the Allt Garbhlach

Ruigh Aiteachain Bothy

I arrived at the bothy at around 5:30pm, and headed inside to find two or three challengers and a few other backpackers here for the night.  Peter and Jamie were amongst them, and Jamie was very happy to discover that I had brought his camera with me from Newtonmore today :-)  I stayed inside and chatted for a while before heading outside to look for somewhere to pitch.  About now Sue arrived after a long day in the hills between Glen Tromie and Glen Feshie; I chatted to her for a while and she decided to join me on my planned high-level route over to Glen Dee tomorrow - it would be nice to have some company for a change :-)

After pitching my tent on a pleasant spot near the river a couple of hundred metres away from the bothy, and cooking dinner, I headed back into the bothy to enjoy a wee dram whilst chatting to Jamie, Peter and a few other walkers.  I was quite surprised that there weren't many more challengers here this evening, as previously in 2008 I'm sure there were 10-15 of us on the Thursday evening - perhaps they had pushed on further up the glen?  Anyway, as tomorrow's walk would be quite long, with potentially 4 Munros to climb, I didn't stay up late and was soon heading back to my tent for a reasonably early night!

TGOC 2014 - Day 6: Chalybeate Spring to Newtonmore

Wednesday 14th May 2014 

An excellent high-level day over two Munros on the edge of the Monadhliath Mountains 

Distance: 29.5km; Ascent: 680m; Dry and sunny, followed by showers; Mainly with John B

See tracked route in new window

I woke at around 5am this morning due to the cold - there was a heavy frost outside and ice on the inside on my flysheet!  Therefore I added an extra layer and soon was back asleep for a couple of hours.  The vast majority of the other challengers camped at Chalybeate Spring were heading east from here, whereas I was planning on detouring to bag a Munro: Geal Charn.  This therefore meant that I set off walking alone at around 9am and followed the burn southwards to reach Loch na Lairige, which looked like it might be a pleasant spot to camp.

Camp by the Allt Mor

The Crom Allt below Loch na Lairige

The outflow of Loch na Lairige

Loch na Lairige

From Loch na Lairige I followed the Allt an Iuit up past several large snowfields to eventually reach the NE shoulder of Geal Charn, where I picked up a faint path through the moorland.  Around here I bumped into John Braide again!  He had just come from the summit, but opted to turn around and retrace his steps with me to the large summit cairn of Geal Charn (Munro, HuMP), which we reached at around half past eleven.

Snowfield SE of Loch na Lairige

Looking back to Loch na Lairige

Snowfields above the Allt an Iuil

On the summit of Geal Charn

Geal Charn summit cairn

John & I both had the same route planned for the next few hours, so after a short break we set off walking together in a north-easterly direction over the gentle rolling hills of the Monadhliath.  There were excellent views in all directions as we passed over the summit of Carn na Criche (Corbett Top) and the summit of Cairn Ewen before reaching the summit of Carn Odhar na Criche (Corbett Top), where we picked up a line of fence posts.

Looking NE from Geal Charn

Carn Odhar na Criche

From here we dropped ESE to seek some shelter from the brisk wind for a spot of lunch, before continuing on over Beinn Odhar and the former Munro Top of Sneachdach Slinnean before bumping into Chris Townsend and Tony Hobbs again.

Superfluous gate on the west slopes of Sneachdach Slinnean

Looking towards Carn Dearg from Sneachdach Slinnean

We walked together to the summit of Carn Ban (Munro Top), before continuing on to my final hill of the day: Carn Dearg (Munro, Marilyn), whose summit we reached at around twenty past three this afternoon.  As we reached the summit the threatening clouds finally started to rain, so we didn't linger long here.

John, Chris and Tony heading for Carn Dearg

Carn Dearg from the NNW

One of the remaining snow patches on Carn Dearg

Gleann Ballach from Carn Dearg

Summit cairn of Carn Dearg

We retraced our steps back to the bealach, where John left to continue on his high-level route through the Monadhliath for another day, whilst Chris, Tony & I descended NE into the coire at the head of Gleann Ballach.  Here we bumped into a team of balloon herders, also known as Andy, Alan and Phil, whose cheese and wine party I had attended last night.  After stopping for a chat, they continued down Gleann Ballach whilst Chris, Tony & I crossed over into the next glen to the east.

Alan, Andy & Phil in Gleann Ballach

Footbridge over the Allt Fionndrigh

After missing the start of the path shown on the OS map, we had a steep descent down to the Allt Fionndrigh, which we boulder-hopped across before finding that there was a bridge a few hundred metres further downstream.  By now it was around 5pm and as I was due to be meeting Martin in Newtonmore for a pub meal I picked up my pace and headed off down the vehicle track towards Glen Banchor.

Looking back up Glen Banchor

Soon after joining the minor road, I came across a welcome sign tied to a nearby tree - free tea, coffee and cakes! :-)

A welcome sign :-)

The River Calder NW of Newtonmore

Spurred on by the thought of this, I continued along the minor road into Newtonmore to reach the excellent Newtonmore Hostel, where I found Martin and I were sharing a room.  Martin headed out to the pub shortly after I arrived, whilst I enjoyed tea and cake before unpacking, grabbing a shower and heading over to the pub to join him.

I enjoyed a most sociable evening in the Glen Hotel with Martin, Markus, Philipp, Laura, Louise, David, Ali & Sue amongst many others :-)