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Trying to stay away from the crowds but keen to gain some height, ‘we’ decided to head for Carn a’ Choire Bhoidheach, a neighbour of Lochnagar (Cac Carn Beag) accessed from Keiloch rather than Loch Muick, which we’d envisaged would be rather hoaching, all the more so with such a fine forecast.
Heading out the road there was a little dissent, one of us having done outstanding preparation, the other not even bothering to read the route guide (again). No prizes for guessing which role I had! Not having a map for the section through the forest, we needed to know where we were headed. In my defence, even if I had read it I’d have forgotten it by the time we arrived!
Parking at Keiloch and finding that there were still around half the parking spaces free the mood lifted. We were onto a winner! That and the toilets being open, what more can you ask for?
To begin, we retraced the route back to the main road. On finishing the day we realised that there was a wee path immediately across the road that would have avoided walking along the road itself. Thankfully it’s a slower stretch with the traffic lights ahead. Across the Invercauld Bridge, we left the traffic behind and headed along a good track into the woodland.
A couple of gates and a few junctions later, we had gradually climbed and were rewarded with the falls of Garbh Allt. A very short detour took us to a lovely viewpoint.
The good track continued and we left the trees, now onto the map. The path ran alongside the Feindallacher Burn and further up we had to cross this. It was very easy with lots of big boulders, for once spoilt for choice with crossing points. Prior to this, we met a couple that had biked in, our paths then set to cross several times despite following different routes.
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As we progressed the heat built and layers were shed. The day was perfect for being on the hills, clear skies and lovely views. Lochnagar was clearly visible and it was interesting to see such a familiar hill from an alternative angle.
To reach our destination, we passed between two familiar hills: Carn an t-Sagairt Mor and Carn an t-Sagairt Beag. As we skirted around the latter, we debated whether we’d be better heading back over it on the reverse.
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The last pull up to the summit was a long slog. Nothing challenging underfoot, no great ascent, just a slow pull. It was with relish that we reached the final path junction leading the way to the top of Carn a’ Choire Bhoidheach. Being my first time up here, I was given the privilege of leading the way to the summit cairn. Here we met a couple with Wallace, a very friendly dog, keen to try and scrounge a treat or two.
We also met more people on this section (doing a round of several munros) than we did during the rest of the walk! As we’d thought, they shared that Loch Muick was extremely busy. Despite this, lunch at the summit was peaceful and topped up the energy levels for the return leg.
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Leaving the top we headed for The Stuic, a scrambly section of rocks that some like to ascend. This rewarded us with views to Loch nan Eun.
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To avoid the long walk back, we opted to go straight across to Carn an t-Sagairt Beag. As we progressed across the grassy hillside, I spotted a large herd of deer. Sensing our presence, they took off in the direction of the masses so I’m sure there were many walkers rewarded by the sight.
Further down we crossed some small, bouldery outcrops, all the time heading directly for the return path.
As always, it’s faster (or certainly seems that way) on the descent. We made fine time, stopping at the far side of the burn to top up on snacks before the yomp down through the trees.
All in all, a great day out. Another ‘pin’ on my munro map, a successful day of largely avoiding people, and great views! What’s not to like?
(Photo credits: Thanks to abbruce for permission to share)
