Instalment 10 of my 2015 visits to Rothiemurchus and the Lairig Ghru - and again good dry weather on both of the walking days I had in the Cairngorms National Park.
The heather that was so vibrant in September has now rolled over into muted browns of October, but my biggest surprise was how dry everything was. In September the heather was bright and the streams and pools were over flowing with fresh water. By October the heather was dry, and water levels in the pools were amazingly low - the fords near the top of the Lairig Ghru were easily passed and the pools were empty.
The still weather (and dry walking) made it fairly easy to complete the walk from Loch an Eilein up to the top of the Lairig Ghru. The biggest challenge was that the still weather was almost ideal midge conditions - they weren't noticeable when walking, but they were more than plentiful enough to make sitting still very unpleasant.
I suspect that October might have been my last chance to get to top of the Lairig Ghru this year, by next month I suspect that my weather luck might have run out - and there probably isn't going to be enough light to do the full walk anyway.
But hopefully November will also bring a little bit of snow - at least at high levels - and a few hard frosts might have seen off the midges for another season
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| Autumn Colours in the Rothiemurchus Forest |
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| Top of the Lairig Ghru - looking through to Deeside |
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| Way Marking along the Lairig Ghru |
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| Changing Colours on the Tree Line |
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| Top Tree - looking up into the Lairig Ghru |
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| Still Weather at Loch an Eilein |
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| Autumn Colours - Loch an Eilein |
