Hi Folks
Having just signed up this is my first forum post so apologies if it's in the wrong place!
Last week over 3 days we walked the Lairig Ghru from the Cairngorm Railway to Derry Lodge and then the Lairig an Laoigh with the intention of returning by the Fords of Avon and Glenmore Lodge.
However the stepping stones of the Fords of Avon were well submerged with fast flowing water and we didn't fancy it. In fact we had taken our boots and socks off to cross a smaller stream just before the Fords! We started walking upstream but decided to head back towards the Hutchinson Hut and return via Loch Etchachan and Ben Macdui the next day. We camped below the hut. As it happened the next day was wall to wall sunshine and the views were stunning, so it all worked out very well!
I wanted to ask about crossing the Fords, as searching on this site (after the event....) seems to suggest it is not often possible. We had tried to ask the rangers at the Mountain Railway, but on the Saturday were told there were none on duty, and on the Sunday morning the ranger station was closed when we departed at about 9:30.
So....
Are the stepping stones usually dry or submerged?
Do others normally manage to get across the Fords?
Are there better places upstream/downstream to cross?
After heavy rain how quickly does the water level drop again?
And some general advice on crossing streams could be useful!

As an aside we had 2 other diversions. The first , and very minor, was that the path from the Lower Cas car park was closed so we walked along the road to the Sugarbowl car park and then down to cross the footbridge at NH984071. The other was that at Derry lodge I happened to pick up a laminated piece of paper that was face down near the path which announced that the Derry Dam bridge (NO039957) was out of action. So we went up the east side of the Derry burn, which probably has better views as it is higher. There was some back and yellow tape on the bridge, which looked OK although the east bank support looked like it was undercut.