ROUTE: From Linn of Dee. Hutchison Hut, Creagan a' Choire Etchacan, Loch Etchacan.
MEMBERS OF PARTY: With my wife Marion.
CONDITIONS: Hot, sunny.
DURATION: 2 days. Walk-in afternoon Day 1. Back at car afternoon Day 2.
SKILLS PRACTISED: Bothy trip. Navigation with map. Plant ID session.
MOUNTAIN ENVIRONMENT: Learning about Caledonian pinewood restoration.
KEY LEARNING POINTS/CONTRIBUTION TO EXPERIENCE: "So will I build my altar in the fields" - Samuel Taylor Coleridge quote on the plaque at the hut. An inspirational Mar Lodge Estate eco adventure inspired by Andrew Painting's book "Regeneration". Walk-in from Linn of Dee in heatwave conditions. Intended to camp at Coire Etchacan but midges strongly persuaded otherwise, slept in Hutchison Memorial Hut. Good chat with Economics professor from Prague, travelling a la John Muir with a sack of porridge oats and dried milk powder, but no gas! Shared our chilli con carne and rice. Morning ascent to plateau via botanising on Coire headwall slopes. Visited Creagan a' Choire Etchacan summit (1108m). Channelled inner Nan Shepherd with icy dip in Loch Etchacan. Serendipitous meeting with Estate Ecologist Shaila Rao. Search for oldest Scots Pine on screes - using binoculars only(!). Finished off with refreshing dip in the Dee.
You don't have to summit a Munro to have an outstanding mountain experience!
Area :
The Cairngorms
The Cairngorms are ‘a little piece of the arctic in Scotland’ according to the SMC Munros Guide and the area contains many of the tallest peaks in the East Highlands. Ben Macdui (1309m), Cairn Gorm (1244m) and Braeriach (1296) are probably three of the better known and the whole area is full of steep corries and high plateaux. Access to the mountains is typically from Aviemore or Braemar.
