Date: Friday 18th September 2020
Company: Myself (accompanied by Kate from Dalwhinnie to Loch Pattack and back)
Distance: 40.5km, Ascent: 1010m
Time: 10Hrs 50Mins
On Thursday evening, we drove to Dalwhinnie parking-up at the start of the walk to allow for an early start in the morning. The night sky above Dalwhinnie was spectacular
. Jupiter, Saturn
and Mars were prominent as was the Milky Way. Prior to going to sleep, I
spent some time outside taking photographs of the Milky Way.The Milky Way from Dalwhinnie:
On Friday morning, we set off walking two hours before sunrise. No photographs were taken during the first 90 minutes walking.
Click here to see a map of the route undertaken
Walking by headtorch light was very enjoyable. Mars and Venus were now prominent and a number of bats were flying overhead.
After six kilometres of walking, the morning light was sufficiently bright to switch off our headtorches.
Looking back along Loch Ericht just before sunrise:
The track running alongside Loch Ericht has several nice granite buildings each fit for a Disney Princess.
Ben Alder Lodge Gate House:
Beyond Ben Alder Lodge we followed the track leading to Loch Pattack.
Looking back:
It was fantastic to get our first views of the Ben Alder range mountains. The sky was cloudless and the air clarity was outstanding.
Beinn Bheoil, Ben Alder, Sgor Iutharn and Carn Dearg:
Looking across Loch Pattack towards the 827m top of Carn Dearg:
On reaching the suspension bridge at Loch Pattack, we parted company. My objective was to ascend Carn Dearg and Diollaid a' Chairn, and Kate's objective was to look for and photograph flora and fauna.
Prior to undertaking the walk I was aware that the suspension bridge had been damaged earlier this year. I mistakingly thought however that it had been repaired. The bridge is still in a state of disrepair with signs advising not to cross.
Having previously crossed some really dodgy bridges, while this one was damaged, crossing it still looked feasible
.Damaged suspension bridge at Loch Pattack:
Myself carefully crossing the damaged bridge (photo by Kate):
It was a relief to get across safely without getting wet.
Looking back at bridge just crossed:
Beyond the suspension bridge I continued to follow the excellent track round Loch Pattack and then took another excellent track to reach the base of the NE-ridge of Carn Dearg.
The ascent of Carn Dearg was pathless via heather and bog. Even more unpleasant than the terrain was the fact literally dozens of deer ked were landing on me. These disgusting flies are difficult to remove. After removing one from my lip, and one from my tongue
, I stopped to
quickly put on my midge net to keep them off my head and face.Looking back to Loch Pattack during ascent of Carn Dearg:
The ascent of Carn Dearg took longer than anticipated due to increasing temperature, poor terrain and regular beastie removal.
Ascending Carn Dearg:
Carn Dearg from col beyond 827m top:
On approaching the summit, I stopped to take some photos of the wonderful views.
View from just below the summit of Carn Dearg:
On reaching the summit I was conscious that I was already behind schedule so after a quick drink I was on my way.
At the summit of Carn Dearg:
Ben Alder looked fantastic from Carn Dearg. I hope to revisit Ben Alder in the not too distant future.
Ben Alder from Carn Dearg:
From the summit of Carn Dearg, I made my way across to Diollaid a' Chairn, a Munro Top of Carn Dearg.
View towards Diollaid a' Chairn with Geal Charn beyond:
Ascending Diollaid a' Chairn:
Looking back to Carn Dearg from Diollaid a' Chairn:
I reached the summit of Diollaid a' Chairn approximately thirty minutes after leaving the summit of Carn Dearg.
At the summit of Diollaid a' Chairn:
On looking across to Geal Charn, I was surprised to see a couple of small snow patches from last winter which have not as yet melted.
Geal Charn from Diollaid a' Chairn:
Before leaving the summit, I had a quick look at the map and changed my plan to descend directly into the glen instead of returning over the top of Carn Dearg. This would allow me to pick up a good path for much of the return to Loch Pattack instead of again going trackless.
The descent was straight-forward and it was a relief to reach the path.
View of Ben Alder during descent:
Onto the path between Bealach Dubh and Culra bothy:
There are no photos for the section of walk passing Culra bothy as my iPhone disabled itself for fifteen minutes, I guess due to repeated incorrect passcodes being entered unintentionally while walking along the track.
It was good to get back to Loch Pattack and re-join Kate for the 12.5km walk back out to Dalwhinnie.
Horses at Loch Pattack:
The walk back out to Dalwhinnie was tough on the knees and feet. I had estimated the overall walk distance to be 35km, it was however a little over 40km (25 miles).
Loch Ericht reflections:
We reached the van after nearly 11 hours of walking. A long walk in outstanding weather
.