From the blurb under the youtube vid…
This was the second journey we have made to swim and gaze into the crystalline azure of this loch, the adventure inspired by Nan Shepard's book, 'The Living Mountain'. The music, 'The Senses' by Jenny Sturgeon It was July, after a week of solid sunshine making the water warmer than our previous visit two years ago in September, which involved wetsuits and multiplied 'the slog' on the ascent. In a Shepardian way, this was our second visit to the near summit of Braeriach without actually having summited yet! Its an 7-8 hour trip on this route depending on how much nature contemplation your in to, biking up to Glen Eanaich, walk up from the other side of the Beanaidh Bheag ford, sort of follow the curved saddle to avoid thick boulder field that is more dense under the right side of the coire when walking up. Then as much time as you can at the loch before the return. If its not been sunny for a solid week the cold shock of the loch is quite significant, on our previous visit with wetsuits it was really chilly despite it being a sunny cloudless day. There are no fish, not much algae, water boatmen seem to be the only things swimming about.
Apart from the obvious clarity, colour and beauty of the place, it is the following words from 'The Living Mountain' that provoked lasting curiosity...
'We were standing on the edge of a shelf that ran some yards into the loch before plunging down to the pit that is the true bottom. And through that inordinate clearness we saw to the depth of the pit. So limpid was it that every stone was clear. I motioned to my companion, who was a step behind, and she came, and glanced as I had down the submerged precipice. Then we looked into each other's eyes , and again into the pit. I waded slowly back into the shallower water. There was nothing that seemed worth saying. My spirit was as naked as my body. It was one of the most defenceless moments of my life.'
On our first visit the water was glassy with the lack of wind, making it easier to see into the depths from the edge, it was so still the reflections of the coire interrupted the view. On this visit the surface was rippling and distorting with the wind. I wanted to try and work out where Nan had her experience so walked around to the left this time to inspect some sandy golden fan like deposits of the far side. I couldn't see a likely place as the shelf of boulders around 3-5 meters deep seems to go out for around 10 meters at least before the significant drop off happens. So not sure where she had that existential moment. That's what the experience of wild nature is all about? On this snorkel the water temp was starting to creep in (one handed crawl) by the time I got to the drop off so I returned for fear of the freeze after a few moments hanging in the sky like abyss, but even a brief gaze down there is incredible, the sense of distance and colour is the thing to behold. The slightly wrong upward facing camera angle on the way out did not convey this in its true enormity!
The music, 'The Senses' by Jenny Sturgeon, is from her great album 'The Living Mountain' which explores structure and perspectives shared in Shepard's book. It also reflects Jenny's own experiences of the cairngorms and her melodies and song writing have become a soundtrack for the past year, since its release.