Heading back into deep wilderness
through the Rothiemurchus Forest

Another lie in for me, this time until 7.30pm. The previous routine of 6.30am wake ups meant that it was difficult for me to sleep in much later. After a big breakfast at Safeway I was ready to tackle today. The weather forecast spoke of cloudy with outbreaks of rain; that didn't appear to be the case for once the coach pulled out of the sea fog, we emerged in to a bright fresh sunny day. It was quite a contrast to the previous three days of thick haze. Aviemore was heaving with tourists and the view out to the hills showed that the snow cover had depleted hugely.

After a road slog I was into the Rothiemurchus forest and on my way up to the Lairig Ghru. It was my intention to have a semi rest day but my body didn't feel like it - especially after the Safeway big breakfast. It was pleasant going through the forest through to the Cairngorm Club footbridge, and there were times when I felt alone in the forest. The feeling was destroyed frequently though as this was Easter Sunday and everyone was out for a walk. Mountain bikers, picnickers, and hikers often made this path feel busier than the A9! It was a long way before I was out of the forest and it was now time to look for a good place to camp.

A place below the old location of the Sinclair hut was found and it proved to be a popular location for other campers. I counted four other tents in the vicinity the next morning! It was a good thing I found this place for not long later, it started to drizzle finely. It was to be the last time the good weather would be with me until I was lower down again on Wednesday. It was a reasonable place to camp but the Stakis hotel - an ugly eyesore of a high-rise hotel intruded this wilderness from a distance.

The bleak and snowy Moine Mhor as
seen from the slopes of Cairn Toul

The weather forecast was for Sunday spells with rain moving in by evening. That was certainly deceptive for I was immersed in frequent moderate showers with persistent light drizzle in between. I packed away my tent looking at the ever brightening sky after last nights rain. It took quite a while to ascend Braeriach.

Gale force winds and boulder slopes making the going slow and exhausting. I dreaded the thought of battling through this wind as a ascended up to Sron na Lairige but the wind moderated during the course of the ascent to give easier going. The boulder slopes never moderated though and hampered my speed while moving across the rim of An Garbh Choire. The mist hung persistantly at 1200m and so no view was given of An Garbh Choire- one of the most spectacular corries in the Cairngorms and indeed Scotland.

By the time I reached the Angels peak, my gloves were soaked as I omitted to apply nikwax given the forecast. I also lost my digestive biscuits as they fell out of my rollmat somewhere along the plateaux. It was a good thing I brought emergency rations. To add to the set-backs my yeti rands were also falling apart meaning no more dry feet. Has this all happened on my first day out here, I don't think I could have coped and would have just given up. But as my walk progressed over the last week so did my will to succeed. I wasn't to give up now.

Braeriach seen as the mist rose temporarily
on the way down from Cairn Toul

Cairn Toul was now the next obstacle and now the boulders were bigger to slow me down even more. Still, this terrain was equivalent to that found on an easy going Norwegian peak so I couldn't really complain about that. It was only once I had crossed the 1100m contour that the boulders turned to grass and soon I found a potential campsite. I also emerged out of the mist and it was thus out with my camera to take some shots of the Moine Mhor. It was off to the Devils point to take some more photos before coming back to set my tent up.

Beinn Brotain as seen from the Devils Point

The mighty River Dee seen from the Devils Point

Ben Macdui shying away under cloud

While setting up my tent, it was then that I realised that I was standing on waterlogged ground. The rest of the reasonable gorund was also in this state and it was then that I realised that my camp was going to be a tad damp. Wet ground like this caused condensation to form on the groundsheet and anyway it wasn't nice to hear squelchy noises whenever I walked in the porch. The weather forecast spoke of heavy rain dominating the majority of tomorrow, ho hum! Back to normal Scottish weather service again! I contemplated a lie in tomorrow but the forecast was for more rain on Thursday. It wasn't nice being up here and I wanted to get this walk finished off with. I would think about tomorrow is what I told myself.

The rain drummed down at 7am this morning without relenting. The weather forecast had now been modified to 'frequent heavy showers over north eastern areas'. There were ligher periods, though only for a matter of quarter of an hour in between hour long pulses of rain. I reluctantly got out of my sleeping bag and tent at 9am to begin the packing up ritual - this time with num fingers. In a way I was glad to eventually leave this 'swamp' in place of less boggy ground. It was a shame that my yeti gaiters failed just when I needed them the most but I suppose bad luck in some form is inevitable on all trips. It was now time for my spare mitts - I knew they would come in handy sometime but even these filled up with water pouring in off my jacket sleeves.

Off I plodded towards Loch nan Stuirteag and the bealach just beyond. Numerous snow bridges had to be crossed and these made me feel nervous for fear of them collapsing underneath me. I dumped my rucksack at the bealach and filled my pockets with mars bars for it was a long round trip to Beinn Bhrotain from here. The rain was unrelenting and with the wind being strong higher up, it made for unpleasant going towards the Beinn - and that was without the rain in my face.

I passed two people on the summit of Monadh Mor."Nice day for walking" one of them said, "Indeed!" I replied. They were from 'The Bothy' I presume it was corrour bothy. They had dry shelter to look forward to at the end of the day; I had a wet tent and cold wet sleeping bag to look forward to at the end of my day - after setting the tent up with numb cold hands.

Beinn Bhrotain was reached and it was now time to face the rain, Yuck! It was now a slow grim walk back to my rucksac battling into was is now a gale with icy bits in the rain. It was painful for my face and exhausting work even without the rucksac. It was amazing how I managed to feel dry on my legs and inside my jacket. The new trousers were doing the job my old waterproof trousers didn't - and it made today that bit more bearable. I was back at the rucksac and I was due for some water but I didn't have much - it's not nice forcing near freezing water down your throat under these conditions! Time to walk down the Allt Luineag and find a place to camp,

The rain stopped and allowed me to pitch my tent without completely soaking it. It was now down to the ritual of setting up camping and having some hot food. The cloud and showers lingered all night and so nothing had an opportunity to dry at all. To make things worse I had cold feet, I hate cold feet! They were so cold that I didn't feel any cold shock when it came to putting my cold socks and boots back on at various times of the night. Cold feet normally occur from wearing damp socks in my experience but not this time. The Moine Mhor was a inhospitable place to camp at the moment and I longed for the time to camp at lower level.

Sgor Gaoith

The rain this morning was more broken with longer periods of no rain. But I was cold and reluctant to strike camp, even contemplating a rest day. However boredom crept in and I eventually set off. I warmed up quickly and with it my morale gained strength. The winds were light but there were still grotty periods. I left my pack at the end of a bulldozed track to bag the first summit. The going was easy but alas no views were provided.

After returning to the sack, the clouds periodically lifted and I moved to the next drop off point. I omitted to bring my camera which was a mistake for there were some views down to Loch Einich. I met a couple just before the summit of Sgor Gaoith, they said the barometer yesterday dropped like a stone. This was odd for deep low pressure systems normally bring vicious winds with them. They spent yesterday doing some bird spotting in Glen Feshie instead, a wise choice!

I now climbed the last munro of the trip, I felt achievement and relief at this, all I had to do now was make my way home now. I returned to my sack and I now had the next obstacle to tackle - a survey from above suggested the descent down to Glen Einich would be steep. It proved to be steep but not dangerous - only slow provided your route finding was good. I opted to take the east coast of Loch Einich to the track on the other side. This traversed less steep slopes but there was the obstacle of getting wet feet at the streams feeding the loch.

The walk down the
empty Gleann Einich

The day was now much improved weather wise and there was an enormous difference in the weather across Loch Einich itself with broken cloud and blue sky at the north end compared with persistent grey cloud at the southern end. I was now drying out quite nicely giving my mitts a reasonable chance in the breeze. I found a good camp and I managed to get the tent and other stuff dry in the last hour of sunlight. This night was much improved on last night in terms of warmth and comfort and I was again glad to be here. It was my last wilderness day and it was with sadness that the next day would finish the trip.

Back into the Rothiemurchus forest

The southern end of Glen Einich dawned grey and rainy, this part of the glen stayed dry however. My choice of where to camp was wise but the weather improved during the morning while walking down into the Rothiemurchus Forest and out to the road and into Aviemore.

Out the other side of the
forest for a view of Cairngorm

I had finished my walk, but not quite the trip. I feared that the coach to Manchester may be fully booked and it was to my disappointment. I was eventually going to end up in London and so I decided to take the coach going to London instead as it would work out cheaper for me. With transport sorted, it was now time to treat myself to some nice sausage and chips, easter eggs and fairy cakes.

I deserved a treat and besides I had seven hours to kill before my coach would arrive. Both TGO and Trail magazines were bought to kill time, but eventually the coach (sardine tin) arrived and I squeezed my legs into the limited space given to me. It was going to be an uncomfortable eleven and a half hours down to London. But home at last at least after travelling out of London on a rust bucket of a train down to Horsham. Now time for some home comforts!

It seemed at shame to leave so soon, the weather was to become much colder the next week and I would have liked to have tried some winter camping for the last opportunity in the season. Oh well, it's back to lab reports, example sheets and nasty housemates again! It was a good trip and I'll be back to Scotland for the May Day Bank Holiday weekend!