Thursday 8th May, Linn of Quoich - Glen Lui - Glen Luibeg - Glen Dee - Lairig Ghru - Rothiemurchus (19.7 miles)
Today was a long but rewarding day. I awoke to a beautiful sunny morning. An east facing pitch meant that the sun was soon drying the condensation from my tent. I was away by 9.00, but dawdled a bit, taking photos of the Linn of Quoich and its spectacular waterfall/water race.
I then walked down to the bridge to take the road to Derry Lodge past Mar Lodge. Just after the Lodge, it was beginning to get hot, so I swapped over to the Mayflys again. While the road had some shade from the trees, the track to Derry Lodge was more open, with little cover, despite being marked as a wood.
If I’d pushed on the previous night, I could have camped just after the bridge over Lui Water. The Land Rover track was easy and well graded. I encountered an Adder, sunning itself. As soon as it felt the clacking of my walking poles, it slithered away.
I reached Derry Lodge at 12.00. It’s a very attractive spot and I can see why many people chose to camp there. I had a bit to eat. I was worried that I might have to wade the river, but there’s a footbridge.
After crossing a somewhat marshy “meadow”, I made my way up Glen Luibeg on an excellent footpath. I managed to slip crossing one on the streams and got my feet wet. However, it wasn’t an unpleasant sensation as the day was getting very hot, with very little breeze.
At the footbridge over the Luibeg Burn, I replenished my water supplies. Leaving my Silva ADC in the sun for a few minutes, it recorded a temperature of over 30c. On the far side of the burn a marshy path gave way to the footpath proper, which was very good. About half way through the pass, a welcome breeze became apparent, which stayed with me for the rest of the day.
I met another walker who had just been to Corrour bothy and spent a couple of minutes in conversation. He told me to watch out for some deer. I stopped opposite The Devil’s Point to admire the views, which are no less inspiring second time around. The view up Glen Geusachan is desolation itself.
Just afterwards I encountered the herd of deer, who seemed unconcerned about me and ambled across the path in front of me. I was overtaken by another walker who had just been up Cairn Toul. There was still plenty of snow around and had made the descent tricky. I was glad that I had decided to stay low.
The climb up to the Lairig Ghru is surprisingly gentle, but it does go on for a long way. Until now the path had been surprisingly dry. However, numerous streams from the snow melt crossed the path or followed it.
At the Pools of Dee, I encountered the first of several patches of snow. I should have put my gaiters on as I fell through the edge on the far side. Fortunately only a small amount of snow entered my boot. I took more care on subsequent crossings.
It was now around 5.00 and I was beginning to tire. I forced myself to be extra careful, taking my time over the boulders and snow. After a couple more ingresses of snow into my boots, I was over the top and heading down. The wind picked up and became chilly enough to put on my Viento jacket.
The walk down to the Rothiemurchus forest takes a surprisingly long time and although the path is good, it is very rocky in places. I managed to trip over one of these rocks and struck another rock a glancing blow with my head. Fortunately my brow only “kissed” the rock and the nick only bled for a couple of seconds. A dab with some cotton wool from my first aid kit stanched the flow. I was lucky that it wasn’t worse. Tiredness and a lack of concentration are real enemies on rocky paths.
The walk through the forest would have been delightful had I not been so dog tired. At last the clearing before the Cairngorm Club Footbridge came into view. As I looked around for a pitch, four other backpackers that I’d passed a couple of miles back arrived. They looked disappointed that I had arrived first, so I offered them the pitch by the stand of trees and moved over to the pitch I had used last year a couple of hundreds of yards away.
It was after 7.30 and after pitching the tent and getting some water, I had a welcome meal of pasta Bolognese. Sleep came easily after that. I was very pleased that I had managed to walk almost 20 miles. Although I felt tired, I didn’t feel wasted.
If you’re going this way: route finding is very easy and the paths are obvious and for the most part good. Take time and care to go through the Lairig Ghru as it is very rocky, but not difficult. In terms of camping, Glen Derry has lots of places to camp, but from there on it is more difficult. Corrour bothy is a possibility, as are the Pools of Dee if you are adventurous. The next feasible spot is before the Cairngorm Club Footbridge. There’s plenty of space but it is popular.
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