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Beinn Bhreac and Beinn Dearg - A Bike ' Hike... (Part 2)

Beinn Bhreac and Beinn Dearg - A Bike ' Hike... (Part 2)


Postby wilkiemurray » Sat Oct 18, 2014 9:55 am

Route description: Beinn Dearg from near Blair Atholl

Munros included on this walk: Beinn Dearg (Blair Atholl)

Corbetts included on this walk: Beinn Bhreac

Date walked: 12/10/2014

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Beinn Bhreac and Beinn Dearg

http://youtu.be/J57no2sAyyY?list=UUJyJKu3ysdceGqK_JaZFUNA

A Bike n’ Hike

After a successful wild camp in Lochaber, the hangover from Friday evening was finally gone :crazy:  I descended from the camp spot and said my farewells to the Wee Minister and headed East to meet my brother near Calvine for another adventure – A bike n hike into some pretty remote Perthshire hills.
Almost exactly 12 years previously I had headed off from Old Blair and into Beinn Dearg. The outcome from that trip (and a walk into Ben Alder) was that I needed to invest in a Bike! 12years on and the bike was at the ready, and we headed off in toward the Tarf area.

The weather was fantastic as we headed up the initial steep hill. Following this we descended quickly before a gentle uphill pull towards Bruar Lodge. The track is good and well used at the moment as a new hydro scheme is being constructed at the moment. Not sure how big it’s going to be but there are some major works going on.

ImageBeinn dearg by mountains MJVW, on Flickr

After about an hour and a half we left the bikes and headed up the stalkers path beside the Allt Beinn Losgarnaich. This is where it started to feel remote! However the weather was perfect and no navigational issues were had – I can imagine a lot of map readings and bearings being required when the mist is down! The path soon petered out and we headed directly (well if you don’t count the hundreds of small diversions around peat hags!!) for Beinn Bhreac. The Tarf was crossed and the ascent of what looked like a small hill seemed to go on and on and on. However we eventually reached the summit and the mountains of the Cairngorms could be picked out. Nice seeing them from this angle.

Not too sure how this ranks in terms of being one of the most remote Scottish Hills? However it certainly had a very remote feeling and air about it. Looking at the time, we realised we didn’t want to hang around too long. With Beinn Dearg next on the list and having a cycle out we headed on not wanting to be cycling out in the dark!
The pull up Dearg was not too bad (Benn Bhreac felt more tiring for some reason) and we were soon on the summit soaking in the sweeping views.

ImagephotoW2M1WGMA by mountains MJVW, on Flickr

It was now 16.15 – time to head home. A steep descent through a boulder field to the west saw us back and descending the stalkers path. The bikes were soon reached and by 17.25 we were back at the car – a swift retreat!! Legs were sore after lugging a heavy pack over some Corbetts the day before and a long cycle and walk today- however the mind was clear and the synapses refreshed – oh and the mountain fix was now resolved :D

Imagedearg pano by mountains MJVW, on Flickr
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Re: Beinn Bhreac and Beinn Dearg - A Bike ' Hike... (Part 2)

Postby dogplodder » Sat Oct 18, 2014 10:31 am

Amazing sky pics. Did Dearg walking but think we'd have needed bikes to include Bhreac. :D
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Re: Beinn Bhreac and Beinn Dearg - A Bike ' Hike... (Part 2)

Postby SAVAGEALICE » Sat Oct 18, 2014 9:18 pm

wwweeeeeeeeee! love those ride outs downhill all the way! Best way to finish a mountain day :D
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Re: Beinn Bhreac and Beinn Dearg - A Bike ' Hike... (Part 2)

Postby wilkiemurray » Sun Oct 19, 2014 9:14 am

dogplodder wrote:Amazing sky pics. Did Dearg walking but think we'd have needed bikes to include Bhreac. :D



Thanks DP

I really felt out on a limb and remote when at Beinn Bhreac- however not too sure it the white water bridge approach is much easier- never really looked into the ascent from that side - however bike was a massif help - especially on the way out!! ----

ATB

Murray
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Re: Beinn Bhreac and Beinn Dearg - A Bike ' Hike... (Part 2)

Postby wilkiemurray » Sun Oct 19, 2014 9:16 am

SAVAGEALICE wrote:wwweeeeeeeeee! love those ride outs downhill all the way! Best way to finish a mountain day :D


Me too - its a fantastic feeling - one of the best I enjoyed was down Glen Tilt - the angle never gets too steep and track is good........

Thanks for reply :D

ATB

Murray
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Re: Beinn Bhreac and Beinn Dearg - A Bike ' Hike... (Part 2)

Postby Huff_n_Puff » Mon Oct 20, 2014 9:41 pm

You must have so much fun doing the videos :D :D Great sky shots and lovely sense of the remoteness of this part of Perthshire.
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Re: Beinn Bhreac and Beinn Dearg - A Bike ' Hike... (Part 2)

Postby wilkiemurray » Sun Oct 26, 2014 9:28 am

Huff_n_Puff wrote:You must have so much fun doing the videos :D :D Great sky shots and lovely sense of the remoteness of this part of Perthshire.


Thanks Huff n Puff :) looking back over the footage is enjoyable - hopefully these will last and when I am old and wrinkled I can tell the grand kids I once went up a mountain...:)

I was surprised at how remote Beinn Bhreac felt-I don't usually associate remote hills with Perthshire :o

atb

Murray
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Re: Beinn Bhreac and Beinn Dearg - A Bike ' Hike... (Part 2)

Postby Gordie12 » Sun Oct 26, 2014 11:56 am

Just love that sky shot with the dark clouds and the rays of sunshine sneaking through - brilliant :clap: :o :o

I walked in to Beinn Dearg from Calvine earlier this year using the ROW - really should have carried on and done Beinn Bhreac at the same time. I'm not keen on taking the bike out with me on the hill so it's a long old plod to head back for the Corbett (maybe next year).
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Re: Beinn Bhreac and Beinn Dearg - A Bike ' Hike... (Part 2)

Postby SecretSquirrel » Sun Oct 26, 2014 12:22 pm

Always good to watch you videos of the hills, especially on a wild weather day like today when I'm stuck indoors :lol:

It was a great day to be out on those remote hills. I hadn't considered the Corbett, but I think it would be too much for me as a day walk without a bike! Good to see a different perspective of Dearg from the North. And I agree about your sky pic's, very cool :clap:
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Re: Beinn Bhreac and Beinn Dearg - A Bike ' Hike... (Part 2)

Postby jmarkb » Sun Oct 26, 2014 12:33 pm

Nice video and photos, especially given that these are maybe the least photogenic hills in the country!

Our first attempt at Beinn Bhreac using bikes failed at the top of Beinn Dearg - it was this time of year and we didn't have enough daylight left. :roll:

Second attempt we did a circuit of Dearg, Bhreac and Mheadhonach on foot in the summer, which is quite long (10 hours), but most of it is easy walking, except for the section across the head of the Tarf. I enjoyed it a lot more that I thought I was going to!
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Re: Beinn Bhreac and Beinn Dearg - A Bike ' Hike... (Part 2)

Postby Silverhill » Mon Oct 27, 2014 7:07 pm

Some lovely shots and a nice video! I walked in this area on a much duller day, weather wise. Great to see some more colourful pictures. :D On the other hand, I didn’t cheat by taking a bike :wink: . So I’ll take that brownie point! :wink:
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