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Door slamming is a wonderful revenge on a campsite!
Don’t worry the only other camper at the Braemar camp ground was already awake. The two tents who had appeared once I was asleep, had camped right behind me and had woken me at 4:30 am
with loud party noises (whats wrong with people?). The camp site ducks must have been equally annoyed, as they started a loud quaking noises right outside their tent.
Revenge is sweet!
I drove off towards the Linn of Dee car park which was already busy and swarming with midges.
Not losing time I was ready in a flash and on my way minutes later. The midges were HORRIBLE! Swarms hovered everywhere and not even my brisk walk could keep them at bay. I breathed them in, my clothes were covered and there was nothing I could do.
The intensity of the swarms changed depending on the surroundings, but stopping was no option. When I reached the area around Bob Scott Memorial Hut, I could not believe when I saw the masses of midges which swarmed around the set up tents- millions.
The whole area was a breeding place. I so wanted to take a video, but there was no way I could stop, so I picked up speed, crossed the bridge and walked towards Glen Luibeg.
The glen is lovely and many people on bikes cycled past me. It was a busy area and 90 min into my walk Carn a’ Mhaim came into view. The path continued around the mountain until I spotted Corror bothy in the distance. I have heard so much about it and it was great to finally see it. It took me 2.40 hours to step into the door and I collapsed on a chair. I could finally rest. On the window ledge a layer of midges lay dying, wriggling in pain. With an evil grin
I watched them in satisfaction. Looking out of the window, dark clouds of midges were swarming outside the window and I was glad I had found shelter! I stayed for a good 30min having my lunch and chatting with a man and his son, before I shouldered my gear and entered midge hell again.
The Devils point and bothy (the small white dot in the distance)
Closer up if you haven't spotted it
Its amazing how much you don’t mind carrying all your gear up a hill, when the alternative is hell.
The path up towards the Devils Point was pretty easy, even with my 15 kilo backpack and once I reached the bealach I dumped my bag and walked up to the top. The Devils Point reminded me about the Buachaille Etive Mor. The views down to the valley are equally stunning and I made a mental note that I had to come back at some point. I stayed for quite some time, taking in the views while chatting to a group of people who arrived shortly after.
The walk up Devils point with the bothy below
Views from the Devils point
The River Dee
Views down towards the Lairig Ghru
The Lairig Ghru higher up
Me at the summit cairn
Across towards Carn a'Mhaim
The walk ahead towards Stob Coire an t-Saighdeir
Its incredible how non flat the Cairngorms looked from that point. Not surprising, as the journey climbs 3 of the 5 highest mountains in the UK. I set off to gather my backpack and made my way up towards Stob Coire an t-Saighdeir a 1.5 km boulder climb from the bealach. Once I reached the top, the Devils point was was dwarfed by its much larger neighbor. Not staying long I continued towards the second Munro of the day, Cairn Toul. On the way I met Black Panther and her husband. (Hello if you read this, it was great finally to have met you
) We chatted for quite some time, before I made my way up towards Angel’s Peak. The 3 peaks are very similar. Scattered with boulders which make the walk down difficult and required a lot of attention. The highlight are clearly the views down towards the Lairig Ghru.
Views towards Ben Macdui
Cairn Toul
Cairn Toul and Angel's Peak
Carn a'Mhaim on the left and the Devil's Point dwarfed from higher above
Angel's Peak and Braeriach in the distance
On Angels Peak I met a lovely group of people who had hired a guide to do a 4 day trek over the Cairngorms. Saying my good byes I made my way towards Braeriach, which was pretty easy and rewarded with great views down the gullies.
Braeriach
Braeriach and the waterfall (which forms at the Wells of Dee, the start of the river Dee)
The wee lochan
Snow patches in the distance
Its a long way down
The full length of Braeriach
Down one of the gullies
The view back
Looking back
It wasn’t even 5pm when I arrived at the wells of Dee and unbelievable there were no midges.
The ground was also amazing, really soft and even and setting up my tent was a pleasure.
Once everything was up, I went for a short walk to the Wells of Dee the official start of the River Dee. The water was crystal clear and freezing cold and tasted lovely (at least before I parked my feet in it)
The clouds thickened and when I returned to cook my pasta, some midges had appeared together with some rather annoying small black flies. The amount of midges were bearable, the flies however were a different matter, kamikaze like they dived into my boiling pasta. Disgusted I looked into my pasta, which had a good helping of dead flies and some midges swimming in it.
There are times when hunger wins over and picking off the most obvious ones, I ate the remaining pasta alla midges/fly with grim determination ...die midges die
It was still early when I climbed into my tent to read my book, just in the nick of time, as by the time evening approached the wind died down completely and the midges were out in full force. I had planned to watch the sunset, but peeking out of my tent door and seeing the swarms outside at dusk, I decided that it could wait for another trip.
Home for the night
I don’t know what it is about tents, but shortly after 9pm when it was too dark to read I drifted off to sleep and did not woke until 7:15 am during the next morning.
Rain drizzled on my tent and not willing to move, I read my book for a while while having my self made muesli bars for breakfast.
A good 45 min later I packed my gear up and made my way towards the summit of Braeriach, which was an easy walk away. It was still drizzling when I reached the summit and looking down towards Lairig Ghru clouds were rising slowly from the valley below and hugged part of the mountains. It was lovely.
Misty mountains from the top of Braeriach
From the top I followed a clear path north until I reached the area above Coire Ruadh. A small cairn marks a zigzag path down the steep hillside and I followed it until I reached the path on the Lairig Ghru – hello Midges!
The cairn which marks the down climb from Coire Ruadh
The Lairig Ghru
The Midges were out with force and the path was really busy. I continued alongside Ben Macdui until I reached the burn called Clach nan Taillear. From there a horrendous hike up knee deep heather began. I have nothing against knee deep heather, but it was the place was a breeding ground for midges. Each time I wiped my face I wiped off 30 dead midges. Regardless how many times I sprayed Smidge, the buggers kept on biting me, crawled into my clothes and drove me insane. Oh how nice was it when suddenly, after a good 30 min of hell the wind picked up. Relieved I stood still, held my face into the wind and had a breather. About the same time a path started (which isn’t on the map) and made the climb a lot easier. I continued until I reached Ceann Crionn Carn a'Mhaim, the closest what resembles a ridge walk in the Cairngorms.
The Ceann Crionn Carn a'Mhaim ahead
Misty mountains across the valley
Looking back the path with Ben Macdui on the right
Panorama of the 'ridge walk'
On my way up I met the group with the guide again and stopping we shared stories from the previous evening. Saying my good byes the climb up Carn a'Mhaim was easy, but had quite a few blind summits. The walk was also special for me, as it would be my last Munro of the Cairngorms. Once I stood on top and looked back, I congratulated myself, but also knew that I knew that I would have return.
Towards the Devils Point and the Lairig Ghru
Towards Braeriach looking back
The Lairig Ghru panorama
Myself on the summit. The Cairngorms are completed
Carn a'Mhaim summit cairn
The 4 Munros on the right
The walk back down
Glen Luibeg in the distance
Glen Luibeg a bit closer
Lui Water
Lui Water
The walk back followed the same way I came the previous day and was rewarded with a slight breeze which kept the midges away and allowed me to take some photos. Rain started just after I passed Bob Scott Memorial Hut and with the rain, the midges returned in horrendous masses.
Walking as fast as I could, I returned to my car and shut the door…horrible little buggers.
Looking back I had to admit that I just had one of the best days in the Cairngorms. What an amazing area
