It was a cool start to the day and I had spent the previous night at Dalraddy campsite since the Glenmore one was full and in any case wouldnt take a booking for just one night. I had a great night in my new tent although getting to sleep is always challenging.

In the morning i wakened at 640 to a slightly dewey outside and a clear if a little cloudy morning. I soon made my trip down to have my shower (what luxury compared to wild camping) and headed back to make my porage. But first a cup of coffee: the water started to boil then stopped but I hadnt noticed. My gas canister had run out!

So quickly packed up and headed down to Aviemore where I joined teh bikers for breakfast - it was Thunder in teh Glens weekend. It was somehow less satisfying than a campfire breakfast would have been but the result was a later than planned start to my walk.

Still regaining confidence after my accident last year I headed off along the path, simply not seeing most of the paths to the left I had planned on using for ticking off but really there was no difficulty in getting to Lurchers Crag. The day was improving and the view up to the Corries was getting better the higher I went. Routefinding in this weather was simplicity itself - just keep following the path all the way to the top - which i did. The only problems always are the boulderfields where I spend my time carefully checking each step and so invariably veer off right but there are useful cairns to help you stay on teh straight and narrow.

It felt funny - being almost constantly above minimum munro height for the entire day when you normally spend teh smallest part of your day above 915m. Eventually the cloud lifted from around Ben Macdui and for the rest of thje day it was a walk in the sun across the plateau. Pleasant and stress free. I can only begin to imagine the same smooth and dangerous landscape in whiteout conditions. Theres more to come with pics too