The Lochnagar Round: Sleeping in the Sky
With the unseasonably dry and warm weather this summer, it's the perfect time for camping, and wild camping can bring a level of accessibility to hills that may seem too much of a challenge for one day. Here, Colin from our head office packs his big bag for an overnighter 1,000m up...
Sometimes, when you're looking at routes in the hills, the distance and height gain can be a little daunting. We'd been looking at the Lochnagar round of 5 Munros for a long time, but the 19+ mile distance meant it would be a big day, and while we're not averse to big, hard days, we'd prefer to enjoy being outside rather than pushing ourselves to exhaustion. On the whole, we walk in the hills for fun, and we could both imagine the last 5 of 19 miles becoming a bit of a slog. So we thought, why push hard to make it back to the car just to drive home? Why not stay in the hills and spread the route over two days?
With the current weather having been so dry and warm, camping looked like a really good option, though there are obvious downsides. Foremost among them, the massive increase in pack weight. When you need a tent, sleeping bag, mat, stove and extra food & water, your bag is going to grow substantially bigger. However, nothing ventured nothing gained, so we checked the weather, gathered the gear and went for it.
Looking down into Glen Muick from the Lochnagar path.
Cresting the saddle by Meikle Pap for our first glimpse of the Lochnagar coire.
The final metres of the 6 mile climb to the summit of Cac Carn Beag.
Arriving at the car park at Glen Muick is an interesting experience. 7 miles from Ballater, in literally the middle of nowhere on a dead-end road, the mass of cars and people is a bit strange. As Lochnagar is located on the Royal Estate of Balmoral, there are plenty of tourists exploring the area around Loch Muick, and heading up to the summit of Lochnagar as a solitary foray into the big hills. You may have guessed, it being a Royal estate, but the path up to Lochnagar is pretty clear and you'd really struggle to get lost. Queen Victoria has summitted the hill on the back of a pony (pretty sure that doesn't count!), and Queen Elizabeth II has climbed Lochnagar on foot several times, though always with a ghillie in tow!
Setting off from the visitor centre, our packs felt manageable and we set a good pace across the valley floor to the climb proper. The double track stretches about 2 miles before breaking off onto a narrower path to crest the saddle by Meikle Pap and give you a first view of the famous coire. The tall cliffs and lovely lochan do look incredible and provide a good stop for a bite to eat. It's at this point those heavy rucksacks begin to take their toll. The next stretch of the route climbs steeply up to the rim of the coire over large boulders - tough going with a big pack, and being passed by those less encumbered does make you wonder if this whole camping malarky is worth it.
In short order we began the final ramp to the summit (the peak being called Cac Carn Beag). It might sound too good to be true, but looking up we were treated to the sight of three stags on the skyline. We'd previously seen a herd of females in the distance but seeing the stags in all their glory just 30m away was pretty special. I really don't want to say majestic, given the royal location, but the word fits! Eventually we reached the summit plateau and scrambled up the large pile of rocks to the trig point and view point indicator. The views over the Cairngorms and Deeside are immense - it's no wonder so many people who aren't regular walkers make their way here.
Looking North from the summit of Cac Carn Beag.
Looking West to the curiously named Sandly Loch.
Our faithful Hilleberg, nicknamed "the bug", complete with drying socks!
At this point, we'd travelled six uphill miles. Stopping in the sunshine at the summit we stopped for a bit of lunch before the next stage. From Cac Carn Beag, the other four Munros get progressively smaller, which is a nice thought! Trooping off the summit you immediately leave most people behind, and the path gets a bit wilder. Within 2 miles of easy walking we had crested the second top, Carn a'Choire Bhoideach, a big round top, and started descending West towards Carn an t-Sagairt Mor. At this point, we were seriously thinking about water, or the lack of it. It was a hot day and we'd drank a lot. With the sustained warm weather, the ground was pretty dry too. We really hoped the streams marked on the map would still have water - not something you think about much in Scotland!
Fortunately we found a stream to top up our bottles before ascending to the next top. Previously I'd never worried about purifying or filtering stream water but it must be a 'getting older' thing - in any case I thought it best to boil the water first so we kept drinking from our supply from home. The third summit is another round top but with gorgeous views all the way to Glenshee where you can make out some of the ski lifts. You can also see pieces of aeroplane wreckage from an RAF crash in 1956. At this point, the extra weight was beginning to tell on us, but fortunately our planned camp site wasn't far away.
Bearing South-East towards Cairn Bannoch, marked by a pimple of rock on the grassy plateau, we detoured a little towards Juniper Cairn on Fafernie. This is a Munro top, almost perfectly flat and quite grassy - in other words, perfect for camping. It's also at a round 1,000m in height, which was quite satisfying. We pitched the tent and, it being 6pm, started cooking our dehydrated meal while munching on trail mix. We hadn't seen anyone else in a couple of hours and weren't likely to now - it was just us alone at the top of the world. The conditions were still good with some golden light, but the wind was picking up and temperature dropping so we needed the down vest and beanie hats we'd brought. After dinner we nipped across to Munro #4, Cairn Bannoch, and were treated to exquisite views down into Dubh Loch and across the valley to the nicely named Eagles Rock. After collecting some more water we brewed up a great cup of tea (tea always tastes better outside!) and ate some chocolate before retiring into our tent.
The view from Cairn Bannoch East towards Eagles Rock.
Alone on top of the world.
Waking up to discover the world has disappeared.
Despite our best efforts, we didn't get a a great sleep as the wind increased substantially through the night. The tent dealt with it fine, but the nature of a tunnel tent is to bend with the breeze, which creates some noise. A geodesic design is more static, but doesn't provide as much space for the given weight - horses for courses. By morning, it sounded terrible outside and a quick look showed all the views had been lost in the cloud. We didn't fancy trying to cook porridge in the gale so we packed quickly around 6:30 and headed South-East towards our final Munro, Broad Cairn.
It seemed our luck was in as we'd barely been walking 5 minutes when the cloud lifted and showed us the route down to Loch Muick and along the cliffs. The wind was still fierce though, and the scramble from Broad Cairn was a challenge with big packs. However, as far as Munros go, I've never had an easier ascent - infact, it's the only time I've descended from where I've slept to reach a summit! Soon we'd dropped a couple of hundred metres to an old cattle shed where we cooked breakfast out of the wind, joining a well made track. The walk back to the car park is a real cracker - big views from the top of the cliffs and a gentle descent (apart from one point) that is easy on your knees. Looking back to where we'd camped was a very satisfying feeling, more so when we passed others going the other way to start their round of 5. The final 3 miles were flat and we were tiring, but on the whole, this second day had been every bit as enjoyable as the first and we were able to take our time and enjoy ourselves.
Arriving back at the car we were pretty chuffed. Sure we could have done it in a day, but the extra fun of camping meant we really loved every part of the route. The heavy pack could do with becoming a bit lighter with some different kit, but on the whole, everything worked well. Now we're looking for other routes that lend themselves to a summit camp - sleeping with your head in the clouds is just too good to pass up!
The clouds clearing as we look East from the summit of Broad Cairn.
Looking back up the glen towards the stony summit of Broad Cairn.
Loch Muich and its steep sides - an imposing body of water.
Slightly sunburned but happy after a night spent up in the high places.
THE DETAILS
For anyone looking to walk this route, whether camping or not, check out our route map here at Plot-A-Route. You can download a map or GPX file, or just peruse at your leisure. We camped on Fafernie which you can see in the route with a little triangle sticking out away from the path!
Distance // 19 Miles Total
Elevation Gain // 1,215m (3,982 ft)
Munros // 5 (Cac Carn Beag - 1,155m, Carn a'Choire Bhoidheach - 1,118m, Carn an t-Saigart Mor - 1,047m, Cairn Bannoch - 1,012m, Broad Cairn - 998m)
Best View // A few candidates but East from Broad Cairn is lovely
Parking // Glen Muick car park has toilets & costs £4/day - we had no bother parking overnight - get there early!
Wildlife // Spotted deer, stags, dragonflies & unknown (to us) birds!
Cafe // None nearby but Ballater & Braemar have several within 30 minutes drive
What Worked // Having a large and strong tent is priceless when the weather isn't great. Worth the weight to carry
What Didn't Work // Forgot sunscreen, sleeping bags too big/warm, all-in-one stove & pot would have saved weight and bulk
A NOTE ON KIT
The following kit list is not exhaustive but covers the essentials. In future, we'd like to lose a bit of weight from this list (sleeping bags were too warm for the ferocious Scottish summer!) but on the whole it was a good balance between comfort and weight. Chocolate, nuts, dried fruit and fresh soup take up a fair bit of space, but good food is worth it after a tough day walking.
Tent // Hilleberg Nallo 2 GT
Sleeping Bag // Rab Ascent 700
Sleeping Mat // Therm-a-rest Neoair
Stove // Primus Express Spider
Cookwear // Primus Prime Tech
Pack // Aircontact 45 + 10
Poles // Leki Micro Stick
Boots // Salewa Mountain Trainer
Socks // Smartwool PHD Lightweigt
Baselayer // Mountain Equipment Ground Up
Midlayer // Rab Nucleus Pull On
Jacket // Norrona Falketind
Gilet // Rab Microlight Gilet
Trousers // Rab Compass Pant
Food // Summit To Eat Dehydrated Meal
Food // Fresh soup, trail mix, Babybel, chocolate, Stoats porridge bars, actual porridge mix
Bottles // Hydroflask 21oz
Everyone has different kit, and depending on your priorities, the following recommendations may not apply, but here are my standout pieces of kit:
Hilleberg Nallo 2 GT
To address the elephant in the room, this tent is expensive - very expensive! However, it's also vast inside, incredibly tough, packs down reasonably small, is very practical and, given we've spent about 180 nights in it since purchasing over 10 years ago, heartily recommended. Ours has been all over the UK, New Zealand and the Alps in all weathers and it just handles everything. It's a big investment, but a sound investment.
Therm-a-Rest Neoair
The best thing about this sleepmat is the size. Packing down to not much bigger than a can of juice, and weighing about the same, it is perfect for wild camping. Having used one for several years now, I can also say it's pretty tough. It doesn't offer much insulation, which is something to bear in mind if you're out in winter, but as a lightweight mat for 3-season use, it's hard to argue with for performance and value.
Deuter Aircontact Lite
This is another bit of kit I've had for ages, and it just works. A good harness system (adjustable), useful features, no annoying add-ons. I'm a big fan of Deuter; their products are well made and stand the test of time. The current version gains stretchy side and front pockets for maps and bottles, which look a lot neater than the fabric version on my own 8 year old bag. For a 40-50L pack, this one is top of my list.
Walking Poles
With a heavy bag, walking poles really do make a big difference to comfort. Taking up to a 1/3 of your weight off your legs and onto your arms helps spread the load and meant that after two big days, our legs didn't feel too sore, just a bit tired. I've had great experience with Leki poles, and Black Diamond also make some quality poles. At the end of the day, it's something I wouldn't be without when hauling a heavy pack.
