Rainbows, trees, & clouds: a walk over Geal-charn Mor

Rainbow over Loch Alvie

I wasn’t expecting rainbows to dominate a walk over Geal-charn Mor in the Monadh Liath hills. I thought it would be Brew Dog’s disastrous ‘Lost Forest’ tree-planting exercise that has resulted in long deer fences across the hills and masses of the new trees dying (see this Parkswatch Scotland post) that occupied my thoughts. However the weather took control with a series of stunning rainbows, dark rain squalls racing across the sky and a fierce chilling wind. This was not flaming June!

Cairn Gorm & Cairn Lochan

The day began with a walk up the bulldozed track called the Burma Road. The lower forest was lush and green with the birches newly in leaf. As I left the trees I looked back over the woods to rain squalls streaking across the Cairngorms.

Old pines

Across the glen a few old pines graced the skyline on Creag Ghleannain. Below them I could just see many newly planted little trees. Brew Dog is in the process of replacing those that have died, completely unnecessarily as those old pines are a seed source. Reduce the deer numbers and the forest will return naturally. Further up the glen lines of vehicle tracks marked the slopes high up. I couldn’t see if the new trees here were dead or alive.

By the time I reached the top of the track the wind was strong enough and the showers prolonged enough for my waterproof jacket. I took the well-worn footpath up Geal-charn Mor. Despite recent rain the usually muddy sections were dry.

Geal-charn Mor

A low curving wall of stones around the summit trig point gave some protection from the wind. Sitting inside this for a snack and a drink I noticed a small patch of light quite a way below me. At first I thought it was a spot of sunlight though there was a strange hazy luminescent quality to it that didn’t seem right. Watching as it slowly grew I began to see colours appearing and I realised I was looking down on the gently curved top of a rainbow. I can’t remember seeing anything like this before.

Looking down on a raibow

I returned down the path that descends to follow the Caochan Ruadh burn. This is much pleasanter than the Burma Road, a real hill path not a wide bulldozed vehicle road. I passed through a gate in a long deer fence and soon saw masses of little trees poking through the heather, each in a cleared area of mineral soil. I wonder how many will survive.

Cotton grass with rainbow

A few springs were sluggishly spreading water over the ground in places but it was still mostly dry and there was no danger of wet feet. Damper areas were covered with cotton grass, the fluffy white flowers bobbing in the wind. Rain squalls blasted past in a rush of wind, rainbows came and went. I watched the clouds streaming over Braeriach as I headed down towards Loch Alvie.

Loch Alvie

The final rainbow was a double one, the inner ring startlingly bright. I walked towards it for what seemed like hours, entranced. Then it faded into rain as I finished the what had been a more glorious walk than expected in wet fields and woods.

It rained