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As predicted the weather on Tuesday morning was poor and we left Linn of Dee in the rain, we cycled past Derry lodge and headed up Glen Derry. On the track through the wooded area we spotted a couple of feint tracks marked by very small cairns, but assumed these were not the main routes for Beinn Bhreac. The map showed a fence line, which we had decided to follow, but after the trees had thinned out there was no sign of the fence, so we just set off in a NW direction across heather and bog.
Once we started to climb the southern shoulder of Beinn Bhreac we picked up a feint path, but it frequently petered out. Reaching the summit in heavy rain we decided not to hang around and set off after the obligatory photo.
We followed a bearing north, but for much of the way there was a track that was helpful. On route there was a brief break in the weather and we saw our next objective. It was a few kilometres over the high plateau and we ate lunch as we walked. The climb to Beinn a'Chaorainn was straightforward, although the weather closed in again, so once again we didn't spend long at the top.
We descended SW until the final steep slope to the valley. We had been toying with a big loop taking in Beinn Mheadhoin and Derry Cairgorm, but the weather helped us with our decision, and so rather than head up towards Etchachan we set off south down Glen Derry and our bikes. Once we were back in the saddle we made good progress and got back to our accommodation early afternoon, allowing plenty of time for our kit to dry off before Wednesday's trip.
