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Sunday 28 July.
Weather - warm and muggy, in cloud from about 1000m but still mild even at the top.
I had planned to do Braeriach from this side when up Sgor Gaoith a couple of months ago and the spell of warm weather seemed a good time to tackle this remote mountain which can be so windswept for much of the year. According to the "path" function on Google Earth, it was 10km to Loch Einich from Whitewell so I brought my bike. This is a fairly brutal cycle - 200m ascent over 10km sounds like an easy gradient but it took me a good 2 hours (including about 20 minutes breaks) and much cursing. The track is pretty rough higher up as well and I fell off at one point due to not carrying enough speed over a particularly rocky part. I parked my bike just short of Loch Einich at the cairn marking the start of the stalkers path up to Coire Dhondail. The sun was peeking through and I had a lazy snack and rest before setting off on foot.
The stalkers path is well made and discreet and gains height easily up to Coire Dhondail giving great views back down Gleann Einich. You really get a sense of what a long way in it is this way.
My guidebook (
The Cairngorms by Cicerone) recommended an easy scramble up the western ridge of Coire Dhondail so I indulged myself in a slight detour to take this in - only Grade 0.5-1.0 with a little exposure as the ridge narrows - great fun!
At the top I skirted round the corrie rim to rejoin the path where it ended at the start of the climb up to the Wells of Dee.
The cloud was now hovering just above me and I knew the next 4km to the summit of Braeriach were going to test my navigation. The walk up to the Wells of Dee is a featureless climb and it was slow going as I took regular bearings. Visibilty was pretty poor and I was glad to have the extra help from my GPS. It allowed my to be a bit bolder in my walking - going for longer between bearings and reassuring me when my map and compass skills were needed. Only once did I go a bit off line and the GPS allowed me to quickly rectify this. The impressively named Wells of Dee were a welcome sight as I knew I was going the right way.
I followed the stream almost to the Falls of Dee before heading ENE over gentle slopes to the summit of Braeriach, still enshrouded in cloud. Here I met another couple (the first human contact since getting off the bike) and I was glad to have a bit of a chat. It had taken me 2 hours to cover the 4km in the murk (I consider that not bad).
- What is this alpine plant up on the plateau?
The return was easier as I now knew the way and, after relocating the Dee burn, I made relatively easy progress. After the Wells of Dee I headed for the rim of Coire na Clach which made for much easier route finding than the outward journey (if I had been thinking a bit smarter, I would have ascended this way following the stream up from Coire Dhondail. I did consider it but stuck to the guidebook route - which goes to show that even so-called experienced walking writers could pick better routes). I returned to the bike about 5.5 hours after leaving it. The return cycle was much more fun and a lot easier - 55 mins non stop downhill
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