Yes. I became aware all of a sudden that time is marching on and maybe I should get on with doing some stuff rather than waxing lyrical about it. And it was soggy, very.
I’d been putting off bike activations for reasons of transport. I used to have a pickup and so I could get the bike in the load space. But having bought a shiny estate car (shooting brake!) I was going to either get a tow ball mounted carrier or roof carrier. The cost of a tow ball that integrates with the car electronics put me off that and why buy a high performance vehicle if you have to pussy foot about so the bike doesn’t fall off the roof! Anyway with Old Father Time marching on I thought just whizz the front wheel off like others do. Which is what I did. Instead of spending hundreds on load space liner I have a large sheet of cardboard that came from some garden furniture. It’s ideal to keep oil, mud, dirt etc. off the very nice carpet in the load space and was free. That’s my kind of price.
I did a dry run and memorised the steps of loading/unloading the car so that all the junk I take and the bike would fit in and not rattle or slide about. Now I was waiting for a suitable WX window and when I was free as I had FN rally, VHF FD to get past. After that finding a WX window was an issue, earlier this week there were high winds predicted, this Sunday looked dry if not sunny but it did rain a lot on Saturday. I expected the ground to be soft and it didn’t fail to meet my expectations.
My bike is a Diamondback Heist 2, 1x11, hydraulic disc brakes, front shock, 27.5 x 2.25 tyres and weighs 14kg. So not super light but not that heavy. I have a rear carrier and two panniers which I fill with walking boots, stuff out of my rucksack and some bike tools: 2x spare tubes, tyre levers, pump, allen keys, pliers, puncture kit. The idea is to get weight off my back. I cannot ride in boots or my walking trousers after riding in shorts. So I carry the boots and put them on later. With determination I can unload the car, load the bike panniers, swap in to cycling shorts and be ready to ride in 20mins.
It’s a fair drive to the start for this one at Inverey. Up at 6am, magic diabetic tablet then wait at least 30mins before anything to drink or eat. I was out the door at 6.55am. Then I went the wrong way as if I was heading up towards Crianlarich. A detour near the M9 added about 5mins to the time when I should have got to the new Forth bridge. After that M90 to Perth, A94 to Blairgowrie then A93 (and hooning enabled) to Braemar. There was little traffic so a decent speed was maintained. Apart from coming to the climb to Glenshee as there were sheep on the road. One walked out and a French motorhome decided hitting the sheep was bad so he’d swerve into my lane. Headon collision was avoided by the sheep running away and everyone braking hard. 2hr5 later I was at Inverey unloading.
The route is simplicity. Ride not quite 9km from Inverey to Altanour Lodge ruins. Dump the bike and walk another 5km or so up the ATV track to the summit. Simples! The first thing was the inability to make progress. At first I thought it was the head wind as I had checked and the route looked fairly flat with 110m of ascent in 3.3km or 30m/1000m or 1 in 33. Except it’s a lot steeper at the start so I got off and pushed … no one saw me so no embarrassment here. Once a slope that felt as steep as K2 passed I got on and rode. The surface was small stones and pebbles and it was surprisingly bumpy. And hard work still, must be the headwind. Near Auchellie there is a distinct change, it looks like you are riding over an old lake bed from when the glacier melted and before the river (Ey Burn) wore away the lake wall and the water escaped. Still maintaining 9km/h was hard work. A lot of cycling in gears 1-4. That wind must be strong. Actually it was the slope and surface, 9km and 230m ascent, it’s just there doesn’t appear to be a visible slope at all. Just lots of fabulous hills etc.
It took about 1hr5 to get to Altanour when I unloaded, swapped into boots etc. re-packed the bag and hid the bike in the heather. I expected lots of people as there were many cars in the car park. I saw 2 guys walking in doing Carn Bhac and Beinn Iutharn Mor and there were 2 bikes at Altanour. I’d given Mrs. FMF detailed route info as I could do Beinn Iutharn Mor or Carn Bhac so she said text me when you know. And I said well it may have to wait till I get to a summit. Anyway, blow me down, at Altanour Lodge I’d had a perfectly decent EE signal and texted her “Carn Bhac”. Look on the map to see where Altanour Lodge is, amazing there’s a viable signal but there is.
From here you walk.following an OK ATV track. It was a little soft in places but OK. I expected worse after the rain. It got worse! You have to cross the Alltan Odhar after about 30mins walking which was deeper after the rain.
Alltan Odhar looking very lovely.
Not a massive challenge to cross about 15cm deep, not trivial and at the transition from easy to moderate. Careful footwork on the rocks gets you across without mishap 
And the ATV track gets much worse now. I never sunk in far, never got wet socks but it was just soft enough to make every step hard work. Boots would sink a few cm and so you expend a lot more energy to make progress. In some places it was boggy, proper boggy and a few paces detour was needed. But I have seen much much worse. If you combine the slowing effect of soft ground with the fact that in The Cairngorms there’s no sense of scale, then it seems to take a long time to get nowhere. Alan MM0VPM said the same of his time on this one.
This is at the cairn marked on the OS map at NO062814, the ground at its best here. Looking back up Glen Ey to Altanour Lodge.
Zooming on to the lodge site in the trees. The items near there are a Polaris ATV with tracks and a diesel bowser for the diggers working on the slopes further into the glen. My bike is in the heather by the Polaris.
Beinn Iutharn Mor GM/CS-014 looking rather shapely and grand from the same place.
Looking up the Allt Cac Dubh (is that River Black Sh*t ?) On the left is An Socach GM/CS-038 and Messrs. Beinn Iutharn Beag and Bein Iutharn Mor GM/CS-014 on the right.
Finally our target Carn Bhac GM/CS-036. Doesn’t look far but it took forever to get there.
The computer said 1hr40 but in the end with the soft ground and I guess the energy spent riding in, it took 2hr5min making around 3hr15 from leaving the car to touching the cairn. And I got a text which I answered. So EE works at Altanour Lodge and on the summit! Now I mentioned the head wind when riding in. By the time I got to the top it was howling. It was meant to be breezy but hurricane strength, no. I had a good drink and a Toffee Crisp for some instant sugar. Then setup the 41ft “random” wire antenna.
First band was 20m and first QSO was Christian F6FTB who asked for the ref as I had a wildcard alert in place and having worked me placed a spot with the reference, many thanks. In 10mins I worked 8 Europeans. It was hard work in the buffeting from the wind. I did think of operating from the cairn but this is a Munro and I knew there’d be other walkers and there were. I met 2 walkers at the top and 3 more coming up on my descent. Then on to 15m… this has been a good band for more DX-y contacts since 10m stopped playing easy-DX. And just like last week W4GO and W2WC appeared along with 4 Europeans and finally N1ZF. Would 10m play? I had been using just 15W from the KX2 so I wound it up to 10W and started calling. No RBN Spot so I spotted myself and worked a very weak PY1CJ. He was all warbly and smeared in sound so I think there was some multipath or scattering. Despite calling and calling there were no more takers. I noticed Simon GM4JXP was spotted on 10m SSB and I listened for him but heard nothing… there was a chance of a ground wave QSO. I did hear PY6 and PY7 stations calling CQ Test. Finally 30m and just 4 worked. By now I’d been on air for 1hr and was exhausted with the walk and cycle in and the wind. So I packed up and got the hell out of Dodge after a few photos.
Morrone GM/CS-060. I’m not sure if that was my 4G source. If it was it was only 1bar strong and down at Altanour it was 2bars. Is that Lochnagar GM/ES-008 behind it?
Beinn Iutharn Mor GM/CS-014 looking fine and the much more remote Carn An Righ GM/CS-020. I reckon it’s a 1hr30 ride up Glen Taitneach and a 2hr+ walk to this summit… the easy route!
Summit of Carn Bhac with Carn Nan Gabhar GM/CS-003 the left of centre, hill with the spiky peak in the distance being Carn a Chlamain GM/CS-031
Summit Carn Bhac GM/CS-036
Our intrepid actiavtor trying to stand up and keep hold of his hat in the winds.
Larhrig Ghru, the 20+km gap up the Cairngorms. The first two ridges are unlisted lumps but the third one in Sgor Mor GM/ES-026 (didn’t we have fun there!). Behind Sgor Mor to the left and lost in the mist is The Devils Point and behind that is Cairn Toul GM/ES-003(1291m). To the right is Carn a’Mhaim GM/ES-013 and behind that is Ben MacDui GM/ES-001 (1309m).
Ben Avon and his Tors
Beinn Iutharn Beag. A wonderful looking hill that’s not on anybody’s list so nobody climbs 
The ruins of Altanour Lodge. (allegedly haunted, campers take note!)
Looking up Ey Burn from a bridge with Beinn Iutharn Mor saying “Andy come and climb me”.
So it was back the way I’d come and it was easy but never ending. It seemed to take as long to get to the bike as it did to climb. I swapped pants and boots and after chilling out for 20mins, set off back to the car. At first I thought the wind was blowing me along. But no there was enough of a slope (imperceptible to the eye) that I was off like someone demented. It was hard work maintain 8-9km/h up but now 13-15km/h was simple. And it was curvy and bumpy and so I did my best Kevin Schwantz impressions swooping around corners. But no wheelies. I was back at the car in 30mins somewhat exhilarated and scared as I did have both wheels off the ground quite a few times!
My trusty stead in the grass.
A special treat, a picture of me in a different hat back at the car!
I was surprised how tired and un-tired I was. 30mins chilling at the car and repacking it. Two cans of Red Bull and I set off sedately for home. Well sedately at times.
I do smile at how SOTA has become such that it’s turned me from a 110+kg slob into an 87kg slightly fitter dude. I don’t know how fit I am and whether yesterdays fun and games is something an averagely fit person can do without much comment. But it’s something I couldn’t have done when the late Brian G4ZRP started me doing SOTA in 2006.
Now for the next challenge. Oh and that was unique #506.
