free to be able to rate and comment on reports (as well as access 1:25000 mapping).
There's been a bit of a population explosion in our family recently and over the past 2 months I've acquired 3 new grandsons - bringing the current tally to 7 grandsons and one granddaughter. So for the past 6 weeks I've been off the hills and off line, immersed in a world of broken nights, burping and nappies.
And I have to say all the duff wet weather hasn't really bothered me and has probably made my temporary hill exile that much easier to cope with!
We decided on Monadh Mor and Beinn Bhrotain because MWIS was offering the best odds for the Cairngorms. Since climbing Beinn Eighe at the end of May my knees have been playing up - giving occasional pain walking around the house and particularly on the stairs.
So I wasn't sure how they'd fare. I was also in two minds about bringing my dog Jack. Back in March he was limping after walks and I know labs are prone to arthritis in joints so assumed that's what it was even though he'll only be 8 next month. I stopped taking him out on the hills and started him on a course of bacon-flavoured glucosamine and chondroitin tablets. After a couple of months the limping stopped so I wondered if I should give him another chance.
He must have read my mind... and he decided he was coming.
He always sleeps outside our bedroom door and when I climbed Beinn Eighe 8 weeks ago I put him into the bedroom before I left so he wouldn't see me leaving with Tess (who sleeps downstairs). He saw me laying out my boots the night before and knew fine what was happening so that night for the first time (that we're aware of) he slept downstairs in the kitchen with Tess. The only logical explanation I can find for this change in his normal sleeping arrangements is that he reckoned if he was downstairs there was more chance I would take him.... Co-incidence - or clever canine? Whatever it was, it worked and I put both dogs in the car for the drive to Glen Feshie!
We parked at Achlean and were on our way along the road and up through the trees on the path leading to Carn Ban Mor. A lot of work has been done on the path since I was up it a year ago.
Kath on the improved path
View over Glen Feshie to Badenoch and beyond
The sun catching Meall Chuaich to the south west
We reached the cairn where a left turn leads to Sgor Gaoith and continued on the grassy path heading over the Moine Mhor. There was a high layer of cloud preventing the sun getting through for most of the day but the views were superb.
View south
So far so good. I had taken Ibuprofen when I got up and knees were not complaining. Jack was sensibly pacing himself and whenever there was a stop he took the chance of a rest.
Monadh Mor & Beinn Bhrotain behind Kath's head
Braeriach and bright green moss
Sgor Gaoith
Soon we reached the vehicle track which leads at a good pace into the heart of the Moine Mhor and stops dead at the ravine containing the burn which later becomes the River Eidart.
Landrover track heading over Moine Mhor towards Angel's Peak and Cairn Toul
Monadh Mor straight ahead just beyond the top Tom Dubh
At the end of the landrover track there is a short drop down to the burn which is easily crossed on boulders then a climb up a muddy section and down to the bealach below Tom Dubh. Faint grassy vehicle tracks can be seen going up and can be followed pretty much to the summit.
Tom Dubh is said to be one of Britain's remotest tops and it was recommended we walk over it to reach Monadh Mor to avoid the boggy area south of Loch nan Cnapan. I was glad we climbed it for the views and the dogs were glad for the small lochans we found on it!
Loch nan Cnapan and Sgor Gaoith from Tom Dubh
Jack cooling off in Tom Dubh lochan and Tess wanting stick thrown in - again!
From the top of Tom Dubh we dropped east to the Allt Luinneag which is a surprisingly substantial burn for this altitude. At this point we stopped for first lunch.
Dogs excited about whatever edible morsel Kath has in her paper bag
It was warm and I couldn't be bothered with negotiating wobbly boulders so off came the boots and lower half of trousers unzipped and I had an invigorating paddle across the burn. My feet felt so much better after it I decided to repeat the process on the return. For variety we returned a slightly different way - but we still had to cross this burn!
After the burn it was a steady climb over granite boulders and grass on to the broad plateau ridge of Monadh Mor. Once on the top it was easy walking to the summit cairn.
Jack and Tess at Monadh Mor summit cairn - with Cairn Toul beyond
Cairn Toul from Monadh Mor summit
View north east from Monadh Mor
Devil's Point and Carn a' Mhaim from Monadh Mor
Beinn Bhrotain
With my dodgy knees and Jack's dodgy hips I knew he and I might not be fit to go for the second Munro of the day - Beinn Bhrotain. In my mind the plan was for Kath to crack on to BB and I would lounge around on MM then start a slow descent until she caught up. I know the rules of the hill are not to split up and the vast remoteness of the Moine Mor is to be respected - but on a day like this with excellent weather and the landrover track clearly visible I felt the risks were minimal.
But Jack wasn't limping or even looking tired and my knees were behaving so there was no discussion about it and from the cairn on Monadh Mor we just kept walking.
Path along Monadh Mor to Beinn Bhrotain
Devil's Point and Glen Geusachan
We met a guy doing the two hills the opposite way to us and asked him about the descent to the bealach and the boulder field up to BB. He said the descent was steep on rounded stones that moved and he wouldn't want to do it "in heels" but we should be okay if we were careful - so I was expecting something slightly worse than it was (ie loose scree). It was just a steepish path on gravel.
Coire Cath nan Fionn from bealach between Monadh Mor and Beinn Bhrotain
The path started up through the boulders but we lost it and ended up doing a good bit more boulder hopping than we needed to. We should have kept further to the left. In its favour the granite has good grip and the boulders tend to be flattish rather than angular, making for easier walking.
Beinn Bhrotain summit shelter - the dodgy joints made it!
View east to Deeside and Lochnagar
We met a few other folk who had either camped or cycled in from Linn of Dee and seemed surprised we had walked in from Glen Feshie. It must be the white hair makes us look more incapable than we are!
On the descent we took a better line and avoided about half the boulders we crossed on the way up. We were soon back on Monadh Mor and had a second lunch sitting on a stone built triangular thing that looks like a shooting butt.
Monadh Mor doesn't rate very highly for hill satisfaction on this site but Kath and I loved it! Being able to walk along without watching where you put your feet and absorb the remoteness of this place and see the Cairngorm giants up close and from a different angle was magic. Cairn Toul was stunning with its distinctive sculpted shape making us feel we were on the film set for a western movie.
Cairn Toul close up from Monadh Mor
We enjoyed Monadh Mor so much we decided not to cut down west to cross Tom Dubh but walk off to the north and risk the bogs around Loch nan Cnapan where we could see an orange tent pitched. We reckoned it was dry enough for this not to be too much of a problem and so it proved to be. So we stayed high in a northerly direction giving us a good view of secretive Loch nan Stuirteag before dropping down over grass and boulders to the burn we crossed earlier, but this time a bit higher up it. Once over the burn we made our way, with a little peat hag hopping but fairly easily, back to the yellow brick road we could see coming reassuringly ever closer. Of course there's still a fair distance to cover but once on the road it feels like you're home and dry!
Orange tent by the loch and the cliffs of Sgor Gaoith
We felt it was worth returning this way to get this shot (taken from boggy area south of Loch nan Cnapan)
And the dodgy joints? I was feeling my knees on the descent but it was a long walk and I would expect that. But neither Jack nor I were limping as we got back to the car so I was very pleased I'd taken the risk of bringing him.
There's life in the old boy yet!
