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Munros: Beinn a' Bhùird, Beinn Bhreac, Beinn a' Chaorainn.
Date: 02 and 03/09/2022.
Distance: 19.5 + 42 km.
Ascent: 915 + 1600m.
Time taken: 4 hours, 25 minutes and 12 hours.
Weather: Pleasant on Friday evening; claggy and breezy turning to sunshine on Saturday.
Jackie had a busy weekend of online talks planned so I got a free pass to go away walking for the whole weekend (not that a free pass is really required, but I do feel guilty doing overnighters when she isn't well enough to join me). Typically Sunday looked appalling and even Saturday was a bit of a mixed bag but I reckoned if I finished work at 3:30pm on Friday I could have a decent overnight trip into the Cairngorms and be home before the weather went downhill. My chosen route was based loosely around the Munro tops I hadn't visited in this area - Stob an t-Sluichd, the South Top of Beinn a' Bhuird and the two lower tops of Beinn Bhreac and Beinn a' Chaorainn.
It was 4:30pm on the dot when I left my car near Loch Morlich - a major advantage of the Cairngorms is proximity to home
. Plus I hadn't had a proper walk in the Cairngorms in over 18 months - just the odd wander over Meall a' Bhuachaille and round some foothills.
Walking in from Glenmore Lodge There were a few people out walking as far as the Green Lochan, but beyond that they thinned out to a couple of bikepackers and a trio presumably descending from Bynack More.
Green Lochan looking low 
Ryvoan Pass 
Early autumn colours in Strath Nethy There were some lovely colours in Strath Nethy with the first orange of early autumn showing up in the grass. Although it wasn't warm, the sun was out at times.
Bynack Beag from the footbridge over the Nethy 
Beinn Mheadhoin and Cnap Coire na Spreidhe up Strath Nethy 
Reindeer on the Bynack More path Although I've used this path for Bynack More before, I've never followed it beyond there. Despite that, it is one of the main crossings of the Cairngorms and for the most part the surface is good. Is I went further, the eastern Cairngorms came into better view.
Passing Bynack More 
Ben Avon and Beinn a Bhuiridh 
Beinn a Chaorainn and Beinn Mheadhoin from above Coire Odhar I was aiming for the Faindouran bothy area for the night, and didn't intend to follow the paths round to it as a shortcut over the hills seemed sensible. Rather than take the most direct route, I decided to go over Creag Mhor. While this hill barely registers in any views it has a nice tor on the summit and feels lovely and remote.
Barns of Bynack 
Beinn Mheadhoin from Creag Mhor 
North from Creag Mhor 
Creag Mhor summit tor 
Down Glen Avon I continued in a NE direction on the broad ridge before dropping down onto Faindouran. Until I got lower, the ground was pretty good. It had been so dry over the last couple of weeks that even the rougher ground didn't make my feet wet. I was glad to pick up the vehicle track at Faindouran as it was now getting dark.
Faindouran bothy I had a look into the bothy - small but cosy. No-one else was here and I was tempted to stay for the night but I decided I could probably get another mile or two in before dark. I noted a lovely flat bit of grass for camping outside too - probably should have used it!
In Glen Avon The glen was impressive but difficult to photograph in the fading light. My plan was to get up onto Beinn a' Bhuird the following day from Feith Giubhasachain - some maps showed a bridge over the Avon here. In the last light I spotted the bridge below me - down a rather steep heathery slope...
The crossing point was in an impressive bit of gorge with large slabs of granite on the northern side of the river but nowhere obvious to camp. The bridge itself had probably seen better days but didn't collapse under me at least! On the far side I was suddenly contouring a steep heathery slope above the river with no light left - how did things suddenly get so awkward? I eventually descended to the tributary of Feith Giubhasachain hoping for a flat area. There were certainly flat areas, but everything was thick heather. In the end I just had to pitch up on the heather, the tent pegs straining to pop out and a massive bulge of heather underneath the groundsheet. Not uncomfortable actually but a very poor pitch!
Despite the bad camping spot, there were a couple of rocks to sit on nearby and I was able to enjoy dinner and a beer in a strangely midge-free atmosphere. Then bed.
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A badly pitched tent and some gusty spells meant I was up bright and early - full waterproofs on as it sounded like it was lashing down outside. I haven't done enough camping recently - what sounded like pouring rain was just some drizzle blowing hard against the tent. I was on my way by 7:30am, and removing waterproofs 5 minutes later!
Bad pitch I followed the burn of Cul-ath Tarsuinn up to a small col then I was onto the back of Beinn a' Bhuird proper, heading for Stob an t-Sluichd. The cloud was up and down but mostly down and I knew the plateau would be windy today. At least the going underfoot was easy!
Not quite in the clag yet I hit the plateau just north of Stob an t-Sluichd and discovered I was correct about the wind. My heavy bag probably helped a bit and I found the wind more of an annoyance than a hinderance. There were a couple of short breaks in the cloud allowing appreciation of some impressive tors - I think the first one I went up was probably the high point but I visited a few more just in case. With the cloud mostly down it felt like I was traversing a rocky ridge rather than up on a plateau.
Approaching Stob an t-Sluichd 
Stob an t-Sluichd 
More tors on Stob an t-Sluichd After the tors there was a bit of plane wreck that I hadn't been aware of (also a more general memorial to various crashes) and a couple of tantalising glimpses into Garbh Choire. Shame I couldn't see more of this - it was supposed to be one of the highlights of the day.
Plane wreck above Garbh Choire 
Garbh Choire down there somewhere... I took a bearing to Cnap a' Chleirich and picked up a bit of a path which led me to the cairn at the summit of Beinn a' Bhuird. One of the other highlights (the eastern corries of Beinn a' Bhuird) was completely invisible, not that this makes much odds at the summit which is right in the middle of the plateau and not overly inspiring.
The path picks up the edge from here for the most part (the one where the amazing views should be...) but I still took a couple of bearings. On my map (quite old) the South Top is marked a significant way south of the cliff edge with a 1177m spot height. Although my map also showed a 1179m spot height next to A' Chioch I assumed that these had been re-surveyed and switched. Turns out I was wrong and I had added a couple of unnecessary km onto my route with nothing interesting to show for it. Still, I suppose the entire morning had been a good exercise in taking bearings and using a rough estimate of my speed to work out where I was - something that is easy to get rusty on.
I decided to make a descending traverse to cross the Alltan na Beine and main path up from Glen Quoich rather than retrace my steps. The ground was good for the most part once I got off the summit boulders and eventually I could spot the burn. After climbing out of the corrie and across the shoulder of the hill I finally began to get proper views for the first time today - lovely.
Beinn Bhreac from An Diollaid The route over to Beinn Bhreac is a bit messy - some heather wading and 3 further burns to descend to, cross and climb back out of. I hadn't been that excited about this bit of plateau but after the last 3 viewless hours it was great. I picked up a path that led me to Beinn Bhreac, where it was time for lunch.
Alt Coire Ruaridh 
Beinn Chaorainn across the Moine Bhealaidh 
Glen Quoich from Beinn Bheac 
Beinn a Bhuird finally clearing Turns out if I'd stayed overnight in Faindouran and left an hour or so later I might have actually seen something from Beinn a' Bhuird! Grrr....
Never mind - these hills were the less interesting part of the route at planning stage but now they were the highlight - and they were very enjoyable now that I was here. Although gusty and hazy, the sun was out as I plodded across the Moine Bhealaidh. Having taken in the western summit of Beinn Bhreac I somehow managed to miss anything approaching a good path for this bit and wandered through a mixture of peat hags and animal tracks. Some of the best corries in the Cairngorms were lined up to the west.
West to Beinn Bhroatain, Cairn Toul and Derry Cairngorm 
On the west summit of Beinn Bhreac 
Derry Cairrngorm and Beinn Mheadhoin 
Coire Etchachan Beinn a' Chaorain and its smaller sibling aren't exactly imposing but they stand out more than Beinn Bhreac. The grass shortened on the final ridge to Beinn a' Chaorain Bheag and the top had a lovely view down the higher reaches of Glen Avon - pretty desolate.
Beinn Bhreac from Beinn a Chaorainn Bheag 
Glen Avon from Beinn a Chaorainn Bheag After another stop I negotiated some lochans at the col (this bit was really nice and had passed me by previously) and headed onto Beinn a' Chaorainn. I could now see down to the Fords of Avon and into the middle of the Cairngorms. The section from here to the upper reaches of Strath Nethy was my favourite bit of the entire trip.
Beinn a Chaorainn from Beinn a Chaorainn Bheag 
Fords of Avon and Bynack More I took a pathless route down to the Lairig an Laoigh - straightforward enough until the last 50m or so of deep heather. The light on the lochans below and Beinn Mheadhoin improved as I got lower - it was turning into a lovely afternoon
.
Beinn Mheadhoin and Dubh Lochan 
Cairn Gorm from Dubh Lochain The Fords of Avon might be a bit of a wade normally (or even impossible to cross at certain times of year) but it had barely rained in the last 2 weeks so the levels were low. I decided to brew up some coffee outside the shelter but eventually I had to go inside as there were too many sudden gusts of wind coming from all directions and blowing my stove out. Even the metal wind guard couldn't protect it! Just before the river crossing, I passed the first people I had seen since the trio coming off Bynack More the previous evening.
Cairn Gorm from the Fords of Avon 
Easy crossing today 
Fords of Avon shelter I followed the rough path up from the Fords of Avon to Loch Avon itself. This is fairly obvious but also quite slow as it is very bouldery. Great spot though, especially when I suddenly popped out on the shores of the loch itself. I went up to the Saddle and picked up the path down Strath Nethy. This wasn't the shortest way back but I'd never walked the length of the upper glen before.
Up Glen Avon to Cairn Gorm 
Down Glen Avon to Ben a Bhuird 
Loch Avon and Shelterstone Crag 
Loch Avon from the east 
Loch Avon from the Saddle 
Last look down Loch Avon The top of Strath Nethy is a jumble of boulders and the path isn't particularly fast but the landscape is really interesting - a bit like the lower reaches of the Lairig Ghru on the north side. I was tiring now but able to make reasonable time for a few miles.
Stacan Dubha and Shelterstone Crag from the top of Strath Nethy 
Down Strath Nethy 
Moraine in Strath Nethy Lower down the path becomes a narrow line between knee-high heather and keeps going over little bumps. It is probably pretty wet normally but it wasn't too bad today. I was relieved when I finally reached the footbridge over the Nethy though, and the better path. Today had turned into quite a trek!
Stac na h-Iolaire 
Back at the bridge It was an easy hour back out to the car and I ended up with an unexpected break at the Ryvoan fork of the track where I bumped into Debbie, Hazel and Connor. They were out to camp a little higher up Strath Nethy - nice to catch up after such a long time.
Into the Ryvoan PassI was quite relieved to reach the car - can't remember the last time I walked that far in a day with a heavy pack and it definitely showed! I was quite pleased with the trip though, managing to salvage a pretty decent day-and-a-half out of a fairly iffy looking weekend.
