I decided to start at Ruthven Barracks and end at Blair Castle, 2 historical Scottish buildings. The original pass ran from Ruthven Barracks to Old Blair but I extended to Blair Castle to reach marathon distance. The weather was sunny and hot and I got slight sunburn. I found this a tough route and a little intimidating, my GPS went off 3 times and didn't have the OS map for that section of the route so navigation was from memory for a short time until GPS kicked in and the route came up on my watch. Wet feet are inevitable! At times I felt rather isolated, all I could see in every direction were mountains and heather. This was remote.
From Ruthven Barracks I had to run through a field with a warning for an aggressive cow. A wide berth was needed! The path then runs up Beinn Bhuidhe and drops in to Glen Tromie. I lost the path and got wet feet - first of many. Over the bridge next to the Lodge House and the route follows the estate road along the glen floor. As I approached the head of The Gaick (another pass through the Cairngorms) my GPS went off and I inadvertently followed the Gaick Pass for 100 metres or so before the GPS kicked in and I turned back to pick up a nice path going uphill. This dropped down to a dam in the Allt Bhran River then the path stopped just as my GPS went off again. I remembered one walker's report stating he stuck to the river so I waded through about 3 or 4 times (only ankle deep thankfully) Until I found another path, however, this runs to Glen Feshie, so I kept following the river and a few more crossings with a lot of wet bog until I arrived at the foot of Leathad an Tobhain where the path reappeared and is marked by periodic mini cairns made of quartz. This is a stiff climb to the highest point of the route but only on the shoulder of the hill. This path drops down and there is a lovely runnable section that takes you over more remote, stunning scenery to the head of Glen Bruar. The path falls steeply down into the glen and a relatively flat section of estate track runs for several miles until I reached Bruar Lodge. Don't cross the bridge and follow the road. Signs suggest it is an alternative route but the proper pass goes straight over boggy land next to Bruar Water (keep the river on your right). There is another climb here but not too bad until I found the bothy at Allt Scheicheachan. From here the pass joins land rover track over a runnable section across grouse moor and eventually drops down into Glen Banvie, where the top edge of Whim Plantation can be seen. Through the gate and onto the forest track which finishes at Old Blair. I turned right and followed tarmac which took me onto a tree lined drive on the approach to Blair Castle.
A quite magnificent route in fantastic weather. To top it off I walked over to the Atholl Arms Hotel and managed to quench my thirst with a couple of pints of fine locally brewed ale before being collected and driven home.
This for me is a Summer adventure and I would not attempt this in Winter.