Leaders: Steve Glew, Annelise Bjornseth Members: Duke of Edinburgh Gold Award & John Muir Award – Robert Hull; Michael Hickson; Alex Mockridge; James Murray; Hannah Ashman; Chang Yiing (Joey) Bey; Amelia Robinson and Lucy Brims. John Muir Award – Richard Eves and Lizzie Precious.Dates: 13 – 25 August
The Aim of the Expedition There was initially just one aim for this expedition and that was the John Muir Award, which was perfect for the Cairngorms as it is one of the last ‘true wildernesses’ in the UK. The Gold Duke of Edinburgh Award was an additional aim put into the Expedition in May time.
Background to the ExpeditionSteve joined the original Leader team in March, and then Annelise joined in May when the other original Leader was unable to carry on. At the same point the Expedition was made into a joint John Muir & Duke of Edinburgh Award trip.
The Packing weekend was held 29 June – 1 July, where we met some of our Members but unfortunately not all could attend. This was a learning experience for some, and gave us the opportunity to reiterate the fact that it will be wet in Scotland – some new rucksacks and waterproofs were found to be needed in order to cope!
The ExpeditionEveryone met up in Aviemore, where Steve & Annelise spent the afternoon ferrying the Members from the Train out to Badaguish Outdoor Centre where we would be camping for the first couple of nights. The facilities were excellent; we had a good campsite right in front of the games room which we’d hired in order to have catering facilities and also a dry, warm room in case it was raining! On the Tuesday we’d arranged with Heather, one of the Rangers at Cairngorm, to meet up with her as part of the John Muir Award. We then went out on to Lochan Lurcher’s Ridge (along the path from the Ski area up to Ben Macdui) and spread some grass seed along the path edges to help stop the corrosion, after she took us on a short tour up to Coire an Lochain and then back down explaining the Cairngorms and its flora and fauna.
Wednesday 15th was the start of the Practice Expedition which went from Badaguish through to Braemar via the Rothiemurchus Estate and Lairig Ghru, stopping North of the Pools of Dee and then Derry Lodge before arriving in Braemar on Friday 17th. These turned out to be longer and harder days than most people expected, for various reasons.
The weekend was spent at Braemar Lodge Hotel Bunkhouse, perfect as it catered for 12, so it meant we had all facilities to ourselves and it had a washing machine and drying room! On the Sunday several of the Members helped out at Braemar Castle which has been bought by the community, who are now in the process of renovating it so it can be re-opened to the public.
Monday 20th we started the Qualifying Expedition, making our way back to Aviemore. However this time the route took us along the old Drover’s Path that goes up to Tomintoul then along Glen Avon at the Linn of Avon, down the Lairig an Laoigh before finally heading up towards Loch Etchanchan, Ben Macdui (1309, 2nd Highest), Cairn Lochan (1215) and finally Cairn Gorm (1245, 5th Highest) before going back down to Aviemore through the Glenmore Forest Park. Our Campsites were at Lochbuilg Lodge Ruins; Fords of Avon Refuge and Lochan Buidhe – all memorable in their own way as it was very windy on the first night, very midgey on the second (swarms of them), and then just perfect for our last night.
Friday 24th for the Members was spent cleaning Trangias, drying out the tents and preparing for the presentation that night; for the Leaders it was to pick up Annelise’s work van (kindly loaned so we could store food & kit in it at Braemar) from Braemar, take it back home and then return in time for the presentations.
The Members presentation went very well, all being recorded, and we realised that despite everything they all seemed to have had a really good time and actually joined together as a Group. We then went out for the ‘Expedition Meal’ which was in a great Aussie-style restaurant that was able to cater for everyone’s taste!
Everyone left on the Saturday – the Boys were left stranded at the Bus stop in Aviemore by a very unhelpful bus driver, so they ended up getting a taxi to Inverness Airport to catch their flight – and we only had one phone call asking if we were OK following the news stating “Gold Duke of Edinburgh Group lost on the Cairngorms”! Needless to say it wasn’t us, and the lost Group were soon found – nowhere near the Cairngorms really but it’s the nearest landmark.
Memorable Moments• Spreading grass seed & fertilizer along with Millie the Dog• The last minute dash in Aviemore so Members could pick up water bottles; sleeping mats; mugs and bowls.• Taking 10.5 hours to complete 14 km• Everyone eating Haggis, enjoying it, and then some buying some to take home at the end!!• Midges – to the point where they were crawling up your nose, in your ears and eyes. It was soon learnt that cooking outside in a pair of flip-flops with midges around is not a good idea!! • Meeting the Old Man of Macdui …. On the way to getting to the top of Ben Macdui• The campsite in the sunshine at Lochan Buidhe with views of Ben Macdui, Cairn Lochan, Cairn Gorm, Beinn Mheadhoin, Braeriach and Cairn Toul amongst a few!• Meeting the reindeer on our way up Cairn Lochan• Getting to the top of Cairn Gorm• Group’s Presentation