Cairngorms - Loch Builg to Alyth

Except for the inspiring sounds of migrating Pink Footed Geese and the very active and vocal Red Grouse, Loch Builg was quiet and still, the wind tame. These moors are such open and vast land and it's not hard to imagine great glaciers shaping it all. There was a lone row boat at the edge of a smaller loch near Builg, very nice rarely used gravel roads, the ruins of an old lodge, a newer small sized modest and tastefully built hunting lodge with a living roof, many clusters of new tree plantings with fences to protect from the deer, and one scientific station of many rows of where they appear to be studying heather in well divided plots, and tracking weather & rain. This lake is being stewarded carefully & well. We're trying to understand what might be happening to the heather with such large dead swaths upon the mountain sides. While in the wilds we only came upon 1 kind solo woman bikepacker (Therise from Austria), a few Golden Eagles, 4 deer, dozens more Red Grouse & more numerous flocks of Pink Footed Geese with up to around 100 per flock. The way out was steep but gorgeous, with more seeing views of the majestic mountains. Cairns could be seen on the mountain top and as we descended into Braemar the forest delivered a show of beauty. The old old pines!! Finally coming out via The Queens Drive. an old road now trail with interpretive signs and the option for single track was a delight. Braemar was a sweet mountain town with a yummy cafe and more. The rest from there was a variety of roads & "ways" with a longass climb over the pass, complete with drizzle and clouds at the top. Getting to Alyth in the dark brought some mystery! Luckily the co-op was still open. So we grabbed some food to cook up and set out to find our accommodations. It was like a sweet treasure hunt in the village & suddenly there was Markus' place! After such a long and hard day of riding we felt right at home all cozy. A delightful bath tub awaited these sore legs.