A Walk & Camp Above Loch Avon

Loch Avon

Back in March I camped by the Feith Buidhe (yellow bog-stream) on the Cairngorm Plateau and went up Ben Macdui (see this post). I had planned on walking to where the Feith Buidhe crashes over the cliffs at the head of the Loch Avon Basin, one of my favourite places in the Cairngorms. However I didn’t have snowshoes or skis and the snow was deep enough to make walking slow and arduous so I took the easier option of retracing my boot holes in the snow back to the track up Ben Macdui where the snow was already beaten down by others.

I missed not looking down on Loch Avon and the great cliffs and planned on returning in the not too distant future. I did so in early May. The contrast couldn’t have been greater. Instead of deep snow I was crunching over crispy dried-out ground. There was no difficulty now.

Sunshine briefly lights up a distant hill

The afternoon I climbed up onto the Plateau the sky was clouding over. I watched as Ben Macdui then Braeriach, then Cairn Gorm lost their heads in the encroaching cloud. Just occasionally the sun lit up a hillside, brief flarings that soon faded.

Hell's Lum

I wandered across the top of Hell’s Lum Crag and gazed down the deep chasm that gives the cliff its name (‘lum’ means chimney). A dramatic spot, cold and dark.

Camp in the morning

I found a good grassy site not far from the Feith Buidhe and made camp as the mist drifted not far above. I was soon in the tent. I woke once in the dark and looked out to see just grey dampness. I was in the mist.

The Feith Buidhe begins its descent

Thankfully, dawn came with a clearance, the rising sun scattering the mists and bringing colour to the land. I followed the Feith Buidhe the short distance to the start of its speeding, tumbling fall down smooth granite slabs to the Loch Avon basin far below.

Cairn Gorm 

Broken rocky ground led round to the flat top of the Shelter Stone Crag. I weaved a way through the boulders where the grassy gentle plateau crumbles and disintegrates into a chaos of rock. It’s a splendid place though not one in which to hurry. I rock-hopped across the Garbh Uisge Beag and Garbh Uisge Beag (big and little rough water), happy to keep my boots dry. Whilst still noisy and rushing the streams were low.

Carn Etchachan from the Shelter Stone Crag

The northern prow of the great cliff of Carn Etchachan  - the rocky hill of ( probably) the juniper (from the Gaelic aiteann) - rose starkly above the Shelter Stone Crag. More stony terrain led up to the surprisingly broad and long flat summit. The best view from the top is little east of the cairn as the gently rounded foreground cuts off views from the latter. Just by walking a short distance I could look down to Loch Etchachan and across to the pyramid of Derry Cairngorm. In the distance Lochnagar stood out clearly.

High altitude pine

I returned to camp by a slightly easier though still rocky more direct route. I was surprised to find a small Scots pine protruding from granite slabs up here at over 1000 metres.

Coffee in camp

Back at camp I had a late lunch. The morning had been glorious, the scenery spectacular. I was happy to relax. I felt content. The trip wasn’t over though and soon I packed up and headed back across the Plateau. As I neared the edge of the Northern Corries I saw distant figures and realised I’d seen no-one all day. I’d all that glory and wonder to myself.