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After a great week of kayaking with my new friends at Ace Adventures-UK, it was time to head towards Skye and link up with my American buddies. I had planned on two days of solo hill-walking. The first day would be in the Cairngorms, and then the next day in Ft. William, where I would rendevous with my mates after a walk. Drving up from Aviemore, the River Spey valley was cloaked in fog:
I stepped out at 7:45 promptly from the ski centre car park and set out. By 9AM I was on the summit and rewarded with great views for this, my first ever Munro:
A view many have seen before:
From Cairn Gorm it was down towards Coire Raibert, with the next objective, Beinn Mheadhoin in the background:
A peak at Loch Avon:
I really liked the reflections down here:
At times I thought I was back in Utah, USA:
On the SW shoulder of Beinn Mheadhoin, looking back at Loch Etchachan:
The sky and colors were in constant change:
A look S over to Derry Cairngorm, the next objective:
The Barns come into sight:
Close up of one of the Barns of Beinn Mheadhoin:
A wee, wee lochan on the highest Barn and summit of Beinn Mheadhoin, looking towards Ben Macdui:
Cairn Gorm gets a quick shower:
Looking up the approach to Derry Cairngorm:
Pano from Derry looking N:
Derry Ciarngorm was a quick, but punishing ascent. Luckily I brought plenty of food, water, and Vitamin I (ibuprofren):
I see this all the time along rivers, but didn't expect to see pot-holing occur way up in the Scottish Highlands. Geology is a cool thing:
The summit of Ben Macdui. The weather had cooled quite a bit, and I didn't linger here long:
A reindeer herd along the trail with distant Beinn Mheadhoin in the background:
By the time I got to the Northern Corries, the weather had turned warm and sunny again:
S views from Pt. 1141:
Looking up at Cairn Gorm one last time from Pt. 1141:
This was the view I enjoyed on the way back to the ski center and car: