Cairngorms

[Dunk]

I'm going up to Aberdeen with mum and dad to see my dads family on easter weekend and taken the rest of the week off to go walking in Cairngorms.

i'll be starting in Aberdeen and will have 4 full days and and 2 half days each end.
I could get dropped off somewhere to start.
Could you give me an idea of where to start and where to end up.

I'll be returning on the train.

Many thanks in advance ;]

 

[IJ55]

Get the train or coach to Avimore - the train station is slap bang right in the village centre amongst the shops. Or get dropped off in Aviemore itself if some one can get you a lift there in a car.

Step out of the train station and look right you will see a wooden shelter type building. This is the bus stop that goes all the way to cairngorm carpark and the funicular railway that goes up to the Ptarmigan centre.

Thats if you want to go up that is!

OR

Catch the bus to the Reindeer centre and walk up the Glenmore Lodge track, up past the loch and to the Bothy for some truely beautiful scenery.

Or

Get a bus to the Osprey centre which is the other way but again the bus is often enough.

For your information, the bus is every 15 past the hour i.e. 10:15, 11:15 etc to the cairngorm car park.

You will need OS Map 403 (explorer) 1/25.000 as some of the trails are tricky.

A final note - I totaly absolutely recommend the Loch Morlich and Cregan Gorm trail. Its stunning.

For a longer yomp, Ben Macdui is to be aimed for. It may involve an overnight under a tarp or in a bivvie, but again, the scenery is almost beyond compare and the view is panoramic. These are not trainer walks, these are proper, out in the wilderness gear trails.

 

[Limaed]

Hi Dunk

You could get dropped off in Braemar then walk through the Lairig Ghru all the way to Aviemore, then get the train back to perth to meet your family. Its a fine walk and you could wild camp in a tent or stay in some of the Bothies on the way (unlocked montain shelters). This route would probably take a few days depending on where you get dropped off and if you take the bus into Aviemore.

An alternative route might be the Lairig Ghru and then Strath Nethy back to Braemar, once again 3-4 days depending on how quick you want to go!

Not teaching you to suck eggs but I would reccomend a tent for these routes, along with proper mountain gear, the weather is very fickle at this time of year last week it was snowing and today I was in a t-shirt!
Dont consider the high tops unless your fully equiped and experienced.

Check out www.mwis.org.uk before you head off for an up todate weather forecast.

Have a nice time Ed

 

[Dunk]

thanks for the info guys!!!

i'll be taking everything with me and sleeping under tarp with bivi bag etc...

i did the west highland way last year with the same gear in about 6 days going slow.

 

[Dunk]

http://www.flickr.com/photos/miim/sets/72157617721704444/show/with/3461713061/

some pics here from my trip enjoy ;]

 

[w00dsmoke]

Awesome! Well done. Tell us more...

 

[Dunk]

Started at Lin of Dee [monday] and walked through the Lairig Gru [tuesday].
i wild camped for two nights [mon/tues] then stoped in a couple of campsites near Loch Morlich [wednesday/thursday].
I just wondered about with nothing much to do which was lush.
Great weather and a very relaxing time.
I stoped at Aviemore youth hostel on friday night which was nice to have a shower.
Going alone was nothing unusual for me and very much needed.

 

[w00dsmoke]

Fantastic. Interested in your kit for the trip etc, bivi/tent set up. That's a walk I've not managed yet, the logistics being a bit difficult to sort out, so well done, loooks great. It's an area I know well on the Morlich side quite well.

 

[Dunk]

I bought a Karrimor Sabre 75 on my way up to scotland as a treat.

DD Hammocks Tarp
Goretex Bivi Bag
Tracpac 4 season sleeping bag

Gelert single cookset
Spork
Campingaz Bleuet Micro Plus Stove
2 x 58 Pattern Waterbottle
Pre-Mac MWP water filter

Lots and lots of socks!!!
spare pair of boxer shorts
spare shirt
long johns
Thinsulate gloves
Angora Wool Hat [this was another treat i bought in Braemar]
Travel Towel

FAK
Wash Kit

Knife


Food:

Cous Cous
Pasta and Sauce
Pitta Breads
Squeezy Cheese
Chorizo Sausage
Instant Oats
Chocolate
Instant Mocha's


I'm sure i've missed some stuff off as that's all off the top of my head.

 

[IJ55]

Been beautiful up there mate in the last few days. Most (but not all) the snow has melted - so you'll still get patches here and there but 99% of all peaks uncovered.

Decided where you are going to head off to?

 

[Dunk]

Decided where you are going to head off to?

i've been and come back ha ha

see other posts

 

[Shewie]

Nice pics Dunk, looks like you had a great time just bimbling about

I like the kit list, very minimal and just up my street.
Was there anything on there which you didn't use over the course of the trip ?

 

[Dunk]

Nice pics Dunk, looks like you had a great time just bimbling about

I like the kit list, very minimal and just up my street.
Was there anything on there which you didn't use over the course of the trip ?

yup wash kit, spare shirt and boxers



missed my cup off the list

 

[Shewie]

yup wash kit, spare shirt and boxers

Went solo then I take it

 

[Shewie]

Did you take a couple of walking poles to use with the tarp aswell ? There's not many trees up there from what I can remember.

 

[Dunk]

yup went solo aliright!!!

no poles, i planned it so i was camping in trees every night.
no trees thru the Larig Gru but there is before and after it........12 miles apart ish

 

[w00dsmoke]

Fantastic bud, you did very well as that's a very serious trip.
Grsat part of the country and hardly any midgies at this time too. How did you find the walk in from the Braemar end? Was it less steep than the other side of the Larigru?

I quite fancy the walk but not sure which end to do it from.

Very inspirational photo's there bud.

WS

 

[Dunk]

Fantastic bud, you did very well as that's a very serious trip.
Grsat part of the country and hardly any midgies at this time too. How did you find the walk in from the Braemar end? Was it less steep than the other side of the Larigru?

I quite fancy the walk but not sure which end to do it from.

Very inspirational photo's there bud.

WS

Lin of Dee end was a nice starter as it was killer coming down the other side towards Loch Morich. I wouldn't like to do it that way.
I did about 20 miles on the tuesday thru the Larig Gru just for the fact there is no trees for shelter.
there is a bothy in the Larig Gru but i'm not so into them as there usually full with high vis tech clothing and energy bars ;]


Dunk

 

[jimford]

There's fors and againsts regarding the direction you go through the Lairig Ghru:

North to South:
For: You get the tough bit over the summit and boulder fields at the foot of Macdui while you're still fresh - then it's downhill the rest of the way.
Against: The sun is in your face all the way.

South to North:
For: The sun's always on your back.
Against: By the time you get to the summit, you're knackered and you've still got the dreary treck though Rothiemurchus forest. (For my part, I feel that once you've seen one pine tree with heather and juniper bushes at the base, you've seen them all!)

Diversion to the Corrour isn't worth the trouble, except in an emergency - it involves several hundred yards of deep boggy peat, just to get to the bridge.

In dry weather it's worth entering Glen Geusachan for an overnight stop. There's a good camping spot about a mile in. Don't bother if it's been raining - water pours off the boiler plates and soaks the glen. In damp humid weather the Glen is also the 'Midge Capital of The World'!

Jim

 

[w00dsmoke]

. (For my part, I feel that once you've seen one pine tree with heather and juniper bushes at the base, you've seen them all!)


Jim

unbelievable and seen on a bushcraft website too.