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Feeling knackered, sore and as stiff as a board. Discovered muscles that I either forgotten existed or never knew I had. An Sgarsoch and Carn an Fhidhleir is a massive walk and we cycled two thirds of it!! I had done Ben Alder last year but found this to be a tougher cycle though shorter.
I had used google earth to review the path and it looked ok. A good land rover track and quite a few people had cycled it in. What was not so clear was just how hard it is to cycle. The “hard core” and various bricks & boulders make this a tough cycle. With all the rain lately there were plenty of puddles and lots of grit.
The bikes struggled due to the dirt and grit getting up and down the gears and the derailer just did not do its job, which made it a bit harder.. The good thing is the gentle slope which gradually climbs to give you a 500m height advantage when you reach the lodge.
There are a few burns to cross and the Geldie Burn is deep with no obvious crossing area. The bikes came in handy as they provided something to balance against as we crossed and put the bikes in a lean too at the side of the ruinous lodge. Though our feet got wet it was slight and worse was to come with the bog +++.
The weather was dull and light rain hence no photos. However the path is great and leads straight to the Allt a'Chaorainn, which was easy enough to cross. The only bad this is the loss of around 100 meters in height but that’s the least of the issues. Once across though the path disappears and you are walking across bog filled moorland and peat hags. If you do find at path it always seems to be the end, agghh. As you climb higher and the mist lifts the ridge comes in to view. As you head towards this you soon come to some boulder fields. It is a long walk to bag the first munro but easy enough though tiring.
As you can see from the photos there are no extensive views. The clouds where in and there was plenty of drizzle
After a well deserved break we headed off to the next munro An Sgarsoch. There is a good path to follow and yet again a huge peat bog to cross.
Theres a lot of boggy ground to cross!!
You do lose a fair bit of height again but surprisingly enough the ascent was quick and you reach firmer ground with a large cairn to guide you in.
The weather was not great but it was starting to lift and occasionally the clouds would break to give some great views. This is when it dawns on you just how beautiful this part of the world is. I have read about the remoteness, the feeling of solitude but for me it is the breath taking beauty. Braemar is a stunning part of the world and I have yet to go there early in the morning and not find at least 5 to 6 other cars parked.
The route off An Sgarsoch to Geldie lodge has a good path and again it is lost in the heather. We followed a small burn and found the path we took on the way out as we travelled back to Geldie Lodge. Back on the bikes for the ride back to the Linn of Dee carp park. We saw quite a few bikes at the side of Geldie Burn and also a few people walking back towards the Linn of Dee
We were both glad we took the bikes. It's a huge walk in and some people has camped overnight. These two munros are remote and usually you see other people on the tops. Not these 2. Well worth it and glad we did them. It is a pity about the weather and we only got a glimpse of the stunning scenery.
