Odysseus Abroad: Cairngorms, Scotland

Balmoral - Luibeg Burn - River Tilt - Ben Nevis - Braeriach - Inverness

Cairngorm's in rain, wind, snow and sun

Back to Scotland mid September 2022, coincidentally on a three year cycle since visits to hike in 2016 & 2019, and my hope for a repeat of the excellent sun and blue skies experienced on that last visit being dashed with a forecast much more typical - cool or warm wind rain and sun, sometimes all together. With tent and rain clothes packed for five days our of Inverness, last minute I booked the first two nights at the Youth Hostel in Braemar as a break against the heavy rains predicted those evenings. After stocking up on supplies on the outskirts of Inverness, I stopped by Culloden before taking the "Old Military Road", a more rural road for scenery via Ferness, Dava, crossing the whiskey fames Spey Valley, on to Tomintoul, Ballater and Balmoral Castle, where there was a huge outpouring of grief by the public on display in the form of flowers, cards and letters for Queen Elizabeth II who had died there the week prior at the age of 96. She loved being at Balmoral which the family acquired in 1852 and set under the Cairngorms in the Dees River valley near the village of Braemar where I would stay.

Personally in favorer of egalitarian and republican governance without the need for a monarchy, I also recognize how well liked the Queen was in the UK and if it helps keep Britain stable, especially when compared with the delusional political practiced in US, or the Orwellian echo chamber of lies leading Russia currently. The history is a bit nuanced though - there is plenty of ambivalence or challenge to the monarchy from former colonies, but also enough intrigue to fill many volumes of books. Today lineage is accepted determinant on transfer of monarchic power, but it wasn't always the case, especially for the Scottish who used a pragmatic "council of elders" to transfer power to the right person, similar to Irish tradition - i.e. if the oldest son was a bit of a dope and the third son a genius, grant powers on a merit bases. The advantage should be better leaders, but the outcome was constant conflict and confusion about who should lead, MacAlpines, Balliols, The Bruce or the Stuarts and for a good spell power was delegated to regents to rule the land. After the Tudor line ended with death of Elizabeth I in 1603, James VI of Scotland became James I of England, the first unified king. Their line would end with King James II & VII being deposed in 1688, after lengthy tensions between his Catholicism and the Anglican majority in the country and accusations of excesses in authority. King William of Orange was invited to intervene and James relented without a battle, fleeing to France. William and Mary, James' daughter, became King and Queen of England and Scotland. James landed in Ireland whose parliament retained him as King, but William attacked and won over James at the Battle of the Boyne in June 1690. Over two hundred years later, tensions still flare up each June as the Orange Order of Unionists in Northern march through Catholic areas celebrating the fall of James II. James had a son, James Steward was was born the year of his disposition from the throne and was recognized as James successor by the King of France. He was brought up in France and seeking to reclaim the crown he aligned with Scottish resistance to William and Mary who organized a rebellion which failed. Later his son Charles Stuart organized a more successful rebellion in Scotland built upon Jacobite resistance of the highland clans and desire to return the Stuarts to the monarch, but again failed with the slaughter of the Jacobite army at the Battle of Culloden in 1645. Fluidity ad flexibility in the shifts of power in England and Scotland seem to have been key to long history of seeming stability, besides the odd rebellion. Today's monarch has no formal power, not even allowed to weigh in on major policy issues like Brexit, nor with freedom or movement unauthorized by the elected government, as evident when the Prime Minister advised King Charles not to attend the climate summit talks, COP27, in Egypt, by which he abided. With such limits on power, one has to question where the value of a monarch remains, besides tourism, patriotic paraphernalia and fodder for tacky newspapers. Letters sat dripping in the damp weather over a large swath of flowers at the gates of Balmoral outlining the love and respect her subjects held for Queen Elizabeth II who sat with fifteen Prime Ministers in her reign, most recently Liz Truss who traveled to her beloved Balmoral as she was unable to return to London before her death.

Continuing west along The Old Military Road along the River Dee flanked by castles of Abergeldie and eventually Braemar, which marks the town where I would stay I found the Youth Hostel housed in an solid stone mansion on a hill. With a large and well catered kitchen and dining rooms, plus large common areas the hostel provides great and affordable accommodation for hikers and a sense of community as while I cooked dinner each night.

Muir is a region just west of Braemar along the River Dee. Ninety years after USA established it's first National Park at Yosemite inspired by John Muir, his birth country established its first National Park of Cairngorm in 2003 covering 4500 KM2. Muir was an inspiring and self taught naturalist who discovered that Yosemite Valley was a glacial valley, unlike the incorrect assumption by the professors of geology who mistook the valley as a rift valley. Starting from the Linn of Dee at Muir in mixed weather I was hoping the afternoon would clear up to allow me reach the heights of Ben MacDui in good conditions. Soon out of the thick pine forests an expansive view opened up of the boggy grasslands of the Lui River valley interrupted by a few enormous Caledonian Pine trees which are clawing their way back after having been cleared during the wood harvests of the industrial revolution, having originally populated the area after the last ice age. Thick boring stands of non-native Sika Pine were planted in the 1970's before there was recognition for a more natural diverse approach - they are being thinned today and mixed with Scots' Pines and other native species. Bob Scotty's bothy stands along the Lui River near the Derry Burn branch point. Bothy's are basic shelters or huts set remotely in the lower highlands where hikers can stay overnight for free, which I have yet to try, but look forward to mapping out a multiday hike route via bothy's in future. One elevated bothy on MacDui massif was removed after the a group of teenagers perished in 1971 on the premise that its presence could lead hikers to take more risk reaching elevation rather than returning to lower ground for safety in inclement weather. A few derelict stone buildings mark the fork in the river branching to Derry Burn, but I would continue to pursue the Lui westward to the Luibeg Valley where I would turn north on a single path trail. Water from the scrub saturated my shoes and wet by feet, but I continued on as a series of weather fronts descended on the valley. My rain gear held out the heavy bursts which descended from over the massif pushed hard by wind channeled between the valley walls. Suddenly a clearing, sun, blue skies and rainbows would open up rising my spirits and with view all the way up to Sron Riach ridge under Ben MacDui. The rains returned upon reaching the river crossing of Luibeg Burn which was swollen after days of deluge on the massif. After attempting a crossing at various locations up and down the way, and assessing my sodden feet and by now leaky jacked and wind chill from the cold heights, I decided to call it a day and return which would still make it a full 20 kilometers and a worthy first day out. An additional layer of fleece helped steady my body temperature as I navigated the rocks and boglands cut with water streams. Rainbows brightened the gray valley and at times full sun which brought warmth and I could see from clearing skied snow on the peaks.

A break in the weather westward lured me over to Ft William to hike Ben Nevis, UK's highest peak. Taking a day to get there while exploring the highland countryside and hiking a few hours in the forest near Blair Atholl along the River Tilt, I admired mostly the mature trees spread from the old estates on the area. Stopping at Dalwhinnie Distillery, I found (as in general in Scotland) the whiskey is more expensive than in my local store in Leiden, but I remember affectionately the Dalwhinnie as one of the whiskey's I used to buy for a work hospitality suit in Oklahoma many years ago. The drive south from Braemar to Glenshee is one of the most beautiful haunting countryside in the highlands. A stone circle revealed Celtic roots at the Spittal of Glenshee. Redundant red telephone booths dot the countryside, harking back to the early days before cell phones, one being converted into a voluntary library. Checking into an AirBNB I took a room in a house in the suburbs of town, got fish and chips and sat on a bench up in the hills overlooking town and country watching the evening light navigate the water and clouds. Weather was good for Ben Nevis and I left around 10am while they setup for an ultra-marathon which was being run over the peak, which I would meet along the way. Well into my stride I would make it up and down in 3hr 37 minutes, my fastest time if I recall. A sharp shift to the cold occurs always on Ben Nevis above 1100 meters, but all was OK as I layered up. Wrapped in a hat, gloves and rain gear against the cold wet I met the first two ultra runners, then a third of whom I shot a picture. Number 1266, that would be Jack Oates of Fareham UK who would go on to win the race that day, as I found later when entering his race number. There was a deep chill on the peak, which made me marvel at those in shorts and exposed arms to the elements. A few shelters and ruins scatter the peak around which people rested - I ate a sandwich and got back on the trail down soonest.

Finally I got to set my tent that evening, after driving back to Aviemore and the wonderful Loch an Eilein, around which there is a beautiful hike which I took that evening after a dinner. Great night sleep, a little rain, and I was off early to the Whitewell trailhead for Braeriach. Pine forests, bogs, streams and ponds mark early train, then a gentle rise in elevation along the Altt Druidh River, which eventually one crosses at a point where it magically emerged from a giant rock pile surely gathered from a glacier along the Lairig Ghru. Then the real climbing begins to Coire Gorm (meaning blue) and Sron Na Lairige at above 1100 meters where the clouds closed in and the trail flattens for a while and turns right, descending slightly to cross a saddleback. Navigation is easy from here as the trail ends at a ridge, where one turns right again and tracks the dramatic features up to the peak. After a quick sandwich and chat to two other hikers there I was back returning across Sron Na Lairige in the clouds - there a deceptive false trail leading off the side of the mountain which confused me in the past, but I was able to catch on this hike to my relief. Great fourth day out hiking and the last. I drove back to Inverness Youth Hostel and was glad to find a room to myself for less than forty pounds and great facilities, kitchen and hangout areas. I left my remaining unused provisions including a bottle of wine on the free food shelf there, another great initiative.

On the way over I had visited Leakeys Books in Inverness, a must visit when in the area, one of the most extensive used book shops one will find. I had been looking for an ancient book available only in UK: "The O'donoghue: A Tale of Ireland Fifty Years Ago", by Charles Level first published in 1850. My mother's family are O'Donoghue of Glenflesk, Kerry, where the book is set. Encouraged to find a set of books by Level, but not The O'Donoghue unfortunately, I bought another book "Charles O'Malley, The Irish Dragoon" as well as a book on "The Irish Registered Magistrate", made famous by a television series in the 1980's illustrating how the local Irish out maneuvered the English magistrate.