Monadh Mor & Beinn Bhrotain

One trip that I had particularly wanted to do during summer 2000 was to go and get a taste of the Cairngorms. I left Edinburgh by car around 8.45am, complete with a full pack and a mountain bike which I had found abandoned in the stair at Springvalley Terrace a few days earlier. Mum had arrived a bit earlier with her mobile phone and showed me how to use it. So not only was it my first trip to the Cairngorms, but also my first trip using a bike, and the first using a mobile phone. As usual, the slowest part of the drive up was between Perth and Blairgowrie. When I reached Linn of Dee it was still dull and cloudy, and to dampen my spirits further there was a notice on the gate to cyclists saying "Please proceed on foot only beyond this point". How depressing!

Well, I ignored the sign and managed to strap the small rucksack onto the bike, and wore the big one. The cycling went OK, except that the load kept slipping off the rack - once my thick jumper, which was attached on top of the rucksack, fell off without my noticing and I had to walk back a fair bit before I found it again.

Eventually the track became too rocky to continue, so I stopped at what seemed like a good, sheltered camping spot and put up the tent. At this point there was quite a breeze blowing. The spot was still 2 or 3km from the end of the track, which I realized was going to mean quite a bit of extra walking back and forward, but I was anxious to get the tent up.

I ate some sandwiches and set off before 2, following the track up Glen Dee as it deteriorated to a path then disappeared as I got round into Glen Geusachan. The cloud was still lowish and the going was fairly rough. All the way round there was a helicopter buzzing back and forth, evidently carrying load after load into the Lairig Ghru. So much for the remote setting! I struck up the slopes of Monadh Mor as soon as possible, between crags and snow patches, hoping for some easier going higher up.

The ascent was indeed not too bad, and as I reached the top the sun came out - this really was the theme for 2000! It was lovely up on the summit. After a while the sky cleared and I was left with unbroken sunshine. There was a good view north to Cairn Toul.

Ben Macdui, the Devil

I felt a bit more cheerful now, and enjoyed the walk over to Beinn Bhrotain, the stony ascent being quite easy. I had tried to phone Carrie from the tent, without success, and I now tried again at each summit, but it seemed I was still too remote. Finally halfway down the south-east side of Beinn Bhrotain, on my way back to the track again, I got through. The alarm clock I was carrying instead of a watch had stopped for 1¼ hours on the way along the glens, so I set it again.

I got down to the tent, and was soon being attacked by some of the worst midge swarms I had ever seen. I smeared on Jungle Formula, lit two moon tigers, and made the tea as fast as possible - constantly having to pick midges out of the food! Finally I threw everything into the tent, jumped in and lit another moon tiger, which rapidly killed the huge numbers which had come in with me. At ten past nine I crawled into bed, with the midges waiting for me outside... Lessons of the day were (i) biking requires pannier bags and elastic cords, (ii) mobile phones aren't much good in remote areas, and (iii) in summer, pitch your tent in the windiest place you can find!