A weekend of Dos and Don'ts in the Cairngorms

One of a few poor decisions over the weekend

DON’T do this:
I was attempting to paddleboard the length of Loch Avon with a DIY paddle and no rear fin, in winds gusting at 60 mph. I got flipped and blown-in wearing a rucksack that contained a lot of camping kit and most of a trad climbing rack (probably a couple of kgs worth of metal). To top it off, I dislocated my shoulder on the way in. Flailing about in the middle of the loch with all this kit and one arm, not going to lie, I thought I was about to drown.

Me and the SUP featuring an improvised paddle

Post shoulder dislocation and panicked swim to shore

DO follow these steps:
Step 1 - Stop panicking and grab the giant inflatable paddleboard strapped to ankle.
Step 2 - Flail/swim to shore.
Step 3 - Relocate shoulder.
Step 4 - Be laughed at and photographed by friends as you attempt the above steps.

DO plan a weekend in the hills with your mates no matter what the weather looks like:
The weekend of 14th/15th September 2019 we’d planned to head to Fisherfield & An Teallach but a forecast of rain and 80 mph winds forced us further east to the Cairngorms instead. We were fully kitted up for two days of camping and climbing so, armed with all of our gear and a bottle of whiskey, we set off aiming for the Shelter Stone at the head of Glen Avon.

Getting kitted up at the car

On the way up and over

DON’T bother hiking anywhere with a paddleboard in 80 mph winds:
Last minute decision, we figured it might be a fun idea to hike over with an SUP in addition to all the other gear. The bag (we called it The Beast Maker) must’ve weighed the best part of 25 kg with all the extras. On the way over by the western flank of Cairn Gorm it was physically impossible to stand on two feet with any of our bags on. The wind was out to blow us off the hillside if we didn’t wedge our hands and feet in hard enough. After 2 hours of struggling interspersed with huddles behind small boulders, we made it up and over. It was almost laughable when I realised I’d forgotten the top half of the paddle & the underside fin for the SUP but the biggest blow was accidentally smashing the bottle of whiskey at the top. So far not so good.

Out of the wind and down to Loch Avon before the rain

So much gear we ended up needing none of it

DO have a chill mid-morning break to plan when the day isn’t going as expected:
Minus a bottle of whiskey and most of our enthusiasm, we took an hour to chill under the Shelter Stone and take stock. Hot brews and snacks galore, we had a relax while the wind and rain buffeted away outside. It wasn’t the weather for trad climbing or being anywhere up high, so we decided on a bit of a loop back down Glen Avon and out towards Ryvoan Bothy where we could stay the night. Since I’d brought the paddleboard, I figured there was no harm in cutting off a few km of the walk by paddling the length of the loch. I cracked out the wetsuit, Isk & Adam fashioned a full paddle using a running pole plus the half we did bring and soon enough I was flying down the centre of Loch Avon at the mercy of the wind (see above for end result).

Paddling down Loch Avon with the wind

DO make light of any tough situation and continue on anyway:

Luckily the dry bags in my submerged rucksack had fulfilled their purpose so I managed a rapid change out of the wetsuit and into some warmer clothes. By now, the shoulder was back business, the shock had worn off and I was warming up, so when Isk offered to carry The Beast Maker we were all good to go. We carried on with the trudge over into the opposite valley and out of what we thought would be the worst of the wind.

THE BEASTMAKER

Headed towards Ryvoan with me carrying the lighter load

DON’T assume a walk out the Cairngorms will only take a couple of hours:
When running in the Cairngorms, 1 km definitely feels like 1 km, but for walking, the ratio feels more like 1:5. If I hadn't been able to get my shoulder back in we would have been in a bad way as the path just wound on forever. Luckily though, my joints were functioning correctly and we instead had plenty of time to laugh at Adam whose turn it was to flop all over the place in the strong gusts with The Beast Maker. I tried to feel concerned when we had to haul him out of a few tight holes he’d fallen into but in reality, it was hilarious and I was just glad it wasn’t me. Slowly the miles ticked past and by 6 PM we’d made it to Ryvoan Bothy.

Endless windy valleys

Finally hit a real path

DO bail on plans for a soggy wild camp in favor of the pub in Aviemore:
The bothy was full, as expected, so we decided on a walk back out to Glenmore. Isk and Adam sorted out a bit of food for the evening and I ran back up to grab the car. Soggy and tired we rolled into Aviemore for a well-earned rest later that evening. We planned to drive back up towards the Cairn Gorm car park and camp in the same spot as the night before after a hot drink.

DO plan a more relaxing Sunday if the Saturday felt like a bit of an epic:
We were weirdly awoken to a group of Reindeer being brought down from the Ski Centre and as we packed up the car we were passed by a roller skiing race – not your everyday morning. Post-breakfast we headed for Loch An Eilein where Isk and I planned a short run via I den I’d built when I was 8 and Adam had a go on the paddleboard. He ferried us out to the 14th-century castle in the centre of the loch for a quick investigate before we had to head for home. As per my luck with Scotland, it was blazing sunshine on the drive south. 

A slightly more chill paddleboard on Sunday

Castle in the middle of Loch An Eilein