A light covering of snow made for a slow drive to reach the minor road north of Boat of Garten where I parked beside the sawmill then walked back to and across the A95 Aviemore to Grantown on Spey Road. A vehicle track ran north passed a house and into the forest where signs indicated that forestry operations were in progress. Being Boxing Day I presumed that the work force would be on holiday.
At a track junction I continued north and here the firs had been thinned.
Further on I passed an unattended logging vehicle and at a large bend in the track an extensive wooden house was set back amongst the trees. I was passed by a Range Rover the occupants having just left this house.
Beyond this fine looking property I came to a junction of tracks at NH945215 with locked gates to prevention vehicular access. I decided to continue north, the other track headed off to the east, and soon came to a small quarry and another track junction.
I walked round the quarry, left the track and climbed north-east through rough ground, brash and logs. Where possible I used harvesting vehicle tracks. A short steep and rough climb through some rocks covered in snow led towards the summit of Creag Garten. Here there was a cairn but a nearby rock appeared to be the highest point of this Tump.
After a short break here during a snow flurry I made a more direct descent to the track junction at NH945215 before returning to my car via the approach route.
- Time taken – 1.75 hours.
- Distance – 5.5 kilometres.
- Height climbed 155 metres.