Saturday 1 September 2012

Cairngorms were Derry Cold

I drove up to a campsite near Perth on Monday, the weather was atrocious on the motorway.  Got the tent up about  7 pm and ate the sandwiches I'd brought.  The Nammatj survived the night and I drove to Glen Shee on a breezy day and nipped up The Cairnwell.  I then dossed about the Caravan Club site at Braemar as the next day was again atrocious.
Finally on Thursday I ditched the car at the Linn of Dee car park  and headed up Glen Lui towards Derry Lodge.




This was about 3 miles and I wished I'd had a mountain bike for this bit.  I then followed the Luibeg Burn heading for the Sron Rioch ridge on Ben Macdui.


That's the ridge in the middle of the photo.  I've done about 5 miles and I'm still not near the bottom of the fell.  These hills are bigger than the Lakeland fells then.


Eventually I'm on the ridge as a snow shower whips across.  Yes it is August.


The long distances are worth it as I am now in granite heaven.



I think that's Ben a Ghlo on the horizon.  I dont linger on the summit as it's very cold and I'm nacked. I head down past Loch Etchachan.




Its late as I head down past the Hutchison memorial hut.  I'm looking for somewhere to camp but its all bog, midges and heather.  May be those sheep in the Lakes have a use after all creating nice short grass for camping.  After 3 more weary miles I start approaching the trees in Glen Derry.


The first flat dry place is a little patch of grass besides the beck and a bridge. I sleep but am awake and frozen about 3am.  I put on all my clothes in the sleeping bag but am still freezing.  In the morning theres frost and ice but no midges.  Can't believe it's August.



Just a tip, dont drive at speed back to Braemar in the hope of getting breakfast cos all the cafes will be shut.  Strange place.

10 comments:

Jamie Bassnett said...

I've been reading peoples tweets mentioning snow on Twitter and seen MWIS forecasting it on Thursday and Friday night but seen no evidence until your post! Can't wait to get my ice axe and crampons out. Nice photos btw! :-)

Greg said...

Thanks TT. The snow was only evident for a short while but I was surprised at how cold it was. My sleeping bag is supposedly rated for -5 so must need upgrading.

TrevorW�� said...

Some nice images there Greg...The shot of your tent looks like a winters morning rather than August...

-Trevor

Greg said...

Trevor.Yes it was a bit of a shock. I had to slide my shoes under the groundsheet and lie on them to defrost.

markswalkingblog said...

Greg,nice photos. Seems like summer has been and gone by the look of the frost!

Greg said...

Looks like I took the wrong week off. As today when i'm back at work looks lovely.

selfpowered said...

great shots! Does look cold there. Was out in Perthshire yesterday and its warmed up again, but its definitely the end of summer up here.

Greg said...

Thanks David, unfortunately I'm back at work now. Enjoy Perthshire.

Martin Rye said...

Cold in August. Never mind the snow storms last a day in summer. Great photos and report.

Because They're There said...

And it looks so lovely and warm on the pictures – except for the frost on the tent. I could have done with a couple of cool days in Spain, not that I'm complaining.
Enjoyed that, Greg. nice pictures. Bloody long walk, though.
Cheers, Alen