Early start for Maoile Lunndaidh...

After the exertions on Liathach earlier in the day, and waving goodbye to Michael and Eric, I settled into my overnight accommodation at Ledgowan Lodge bunkhouse. I was initially dismayed to learn that I would be sharing a room but my roommate Andy was a lovely old bloke as it turned out. There were another two blokes in the bunkhouse when I arrived, Phil and Pete, and they were good company for the evening as the four of us monopolised the dining room and stayed up well later than expected as we swapped stories of walking adventures and life stories.

After the usual restless night away from home I awoke at 05:30 and decided it was pointless attempting to sleep any longer, so just got up and showered and left for Achnashellach station a couple of miles along the road to tackle Maoile Lunndaidh.

I left the car park at 06:30 and headed across the A890 to the level crossing and carefully crossed the rail tracks (well, have you seen the advert where the girl gets splattered by the train!!) to access the track up the glen. I have been on this track once before, when I bagged the two Sgurr's last summer. I would be following the same track all the way past them but it was oh so different from last year as there is a huge amount of excavation work going on now at the Allt a Chonais gorge as part of the Green Highland project.

The view along the track is dominated by Sgurr nan Ceanaichean, a Corbett which lost it's Munro status in September 2009. The cloud was low lying, as forecast, and there was a slight chill in the air as I continued onwards. As I turned the various twists in the path, passing through a deer fence and passing lots of Hydro activity (even at this time in the morning) I could only hope that there would be a change in the weather as the day progressed. I passed the turn off on the track for Sgurr Choinnich and Sgurr a'Chaorachain and kept going on a track that was starting to feel like forever (26k for the day) without even seeing my Munro yet.

I don't recall exactly when it dawned on me that I had left my sandwiches behind in the fridge at the bunkhouse, but like a light bulb going on in my head a stark reality hit me that I had nothing but a small packet of dried fruit and some jelly babies to sustain me through the day in my ruck sack. All I could think of for the next couple of kilometres was the tightly wrapped bundle of sandwiches remaining in that fridge for weeks, slowly decomposing and the owners of the lodge tracing them back to me and banning me from returning!! I elected there and then to ensure that I stopped at the lodge on my return journey and removed them from the fridge...providing I didn't forget again!!

My first sighting of Maoile Lunndaidh came around 8k in to the route as I turned another corner in the path, I could see her eastern slopes protruding from around the side of Sron na Frianich. I carried on the path for a few hundred metres then turned off east as the path continued north-east, across a sea of bogs, crossing a slow moving stream that required careful negotiating as it was deeper than it initially looked. Around a kilometre later, veering south, I reached the Am Crom-allt, which was easily crossed on stepping stones, and then faced a choice of ascents.

I could have carried on south and then south-east to ascend the extremely steep looking wall of grass/heather leading up between Fuar-tholl Beag and Fuar-tholl Mor to come out on the minor summit of Carn nam Fiaclan...or I could save that route for my descent later in the day and continue east on a bearing across boggy ground that would lead to a path on the west side of a narrow gorge that would bring me out on less inclined slopes at 680m. I elected for the latter route and horsed on through the bogs, thankful for the lack of recent precipitation which meant that they were mainly easy to cross, to reach the gorge on the far side.

As an unexpected treat there lay a clearly defined path waiting for me, once across the stream running down from Fuar-tholl Mor, which I ascended with ease. Once up on the higher reaches of the plateau however the path disappeared and I returned to heather slopes which really slowed my progress for the next 200m or so as my legs felt like they had lead weights attached. The final 130m was through rocks and boulders and this seemed to speed me up again...of course this could all be just my imagination, perhaps it only felt like the heather slowed me down and the boulders were faster to ascend, but it's how it felt at the time.

From a distance I could make out the large summit cairn of Maoile Lunndaidh 1007m ahead of me on the wide open plateau. The weather was staying kind for me again but not so kind as to give me unhindered views into the outlying Munro groups around me, a low cloud was lying above like a blanket smothering the surrounding peaks. There was also no view of Loch Monar to the south as yet, indeed I would have to walk across the plateau to the 2nd cairn to get that longed for view. I took a couple of pictures anyway, including the master poser himself on the cairn, and scoffed down the bag of dried blueberries and blackberries in my ruck sack, followed closely by some jelly babies, before heading across the wide open grassy summit to the next cairn. On this cairn I was afforded better views as the cloud appeared to be lifting above the summits and I could make out a number of familiar peaks. I could also see down the length of Loch Monar into Glen Strathfarrer and across to Mullardoch. 

I followed the crest of the wide ridge around to the final summit cairn and indulged myself in some pictures of the corrie beneath me to the north-east and of Sgurr a'Chaorachain to the south-west. I traversed the top of the ridge NNW through rocks until the ridge turned north-west and started down the steep grassy/heather strewn slopes that I had elected to avoid on the ascent earlier. This descent really slowed me down as I had to take care with each step so as to avoid the usual pitfalls associated with heather slopes. I arrived at the bottom of the slopes with only one slip to report, a minor one where I ended on my arse with a walking pole almost piercing my side, so no harm done.

Once back at Am Crom-allt I only had to locate the spot I had crossed at earlier, yet surprisingly found an even better one. By now the weather had cleared and blue skies were the order of the day, and increasing heat which seemed to bring flies and midges out of the bogs ready to feast on my delicate skin.

I returned across the bogs to the outward path and resumed the trek on gravel once more. There now left a 9k walk back along the same path to return to the car park, except this time it would be done in increasingly searing heat as the skies above cleared completely and the mid-morning sun beat down on me.

I passed a group of four girls heading out the way as I passed Sgurr nan Ceanaichean and another couple as I passed the deer fence, I had earlier spotted three mountain bikes at the path heading off to Sgurr Choinnich, and when I returned to the car park there were a number of cars suggesting a busy day on the surrounding peaks.

It was still only 13:00 when I arrived back at the car park so I elected to be rather cheeky and jump into a shower when I arrived at Ledgowan Lodge as well as collect my sandwich from the fridge, that way I could be fresh for the drive home, as well as not needing any tea when I got there. 

 

All in all I had a successful trip away this week, three new Munro's bagged, some good company along the way and some cracking pictures to bring home...roll on the next adventure. 

 

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Liathach (Spidean a'Choire Leith & Mullach an Rathain)...

Liathach. The very sound of it instils an air of excitement in your average hill walker and I had managed to arrange a meet up with Michael (and his friend Eric) to do it this week. Forecasts were checked for the best day's to go and it was looking likely to be the start of the week, rather than near the end, as a low front appeared to be approaching later in the week. I emailed Michael and told him to meet me on Tuesday in Achnasheen, then promptly emailed him back and informed him to make it Wednesday instead (when I had called the Ledgowan Lodge they had no rooms left on the Tuesday night) which was a lesson learned for me.

I had arranged to meet Michael at the car park in Achnasheen at ten on the Wednesday but made it for around quarter past nine as the traffic wasn't too bad on the way up from Peterhead. He introduced me to his work colleague, Eric, who announced that he knew me from the Caberfeidh Munro Baggers Facebook page and was friends with a number of the members as he had served in the QOH regiment. In particular he knew Angus, Mike, Frank, Paddy, Kenny, Angus and Paul whom I have met through Munro walking and am proud to call my friends.

I packed my stuff into Michael's car and left mine in the car park for collecting later in the day, then set off on the road to Kinlochewe and eventually Torridon. We arrived at the start of the walk and parked up at the south side of the road before crossing and making our way over to the path that would lead us up the east bank of the Allt an Doire Ghairbh stream.

The path was relentless and steep on the ascent but the compensation was in the fantastic views that were opening up with every step of height gained. The A896 snaked in tandem with the river Torridon through the length of the glen, from Kinlochewe to Shieldaig.

We had clear views across to Achnashellach forest and the collection of Munro's and Corbett's within it's wild bounds. A waterfall tumbled down the slopes of the Allt an Doire Ghairbh just before we turned east along the path to detour the great cleft above us and swing out on the ridge a little bit south-west of Stuc a'Choire Dhubh Bhig.

There were a couple of short sections of easy scrambling on the way up to the ridge, which helped to focus the mind back on the walk and not the views. That all changed when we reached the ridge and saw the stunning view of Beinn Eighe ahead of us, looking almost impregnable from this angle (Sail Mhor) with a thin ribbon path running beneath her slopes through Coire Dubh.

We took a moment to compose ourselves for the traverse of the ridge ahead, snapping away with cameras and hoping that the thin layer of cloud blowing across Spidean a'Choire Leith would be gone by the time we got there. Two minor tops lay between us and the first Munro summit of the day, along the ridge of Stob a'Choire Liath Mhor. The views from these tops was stunning as far north as you could hope to see, a sea of Corbett's lay in wait for an adventurous weekend with a tent, to the south Achnashellach forest looked equally inviting. Beinn Eighe was by far the most dominating peak on view and Eric seemed rather keen to find out the best way up and down her slopes.

The cloud may have been thinning out but it still lay across the summit of Spidean a'Choire Leith as we began the ascent of her steep stony slopes. As we were ascending the slight breeze blew some more cloud in behind and around us, blotting out all the views that we had just a few seconds earlier, swirling around us on the summit and sinking our hopes of a cloud free Munro. Strangely the cloud seemed to remain in abeyance to the north of us and we could see clearly out towards Baosbheinn, Beinn Eoin and Beinn Dearg (all Corbett's) lying in the Flowerdale forest between here and Loch Maree.

A sandwich was the least we deserved after our efforts thus far, a pint (shandy) would have to wait until we returned to Achnasheen in the afternoon. Jelly McBaby took his usual stance on the summit cairn of Spidean a'Choire Leith 1055m for pictures and Michael also obliged. We lingered on the summit cairn for far longer than I ever would on my own, it was just so worth it for the views that we did have. The other guys concurred with my assertion that this was already shaping up to be a great day out. Eventually we decided that we had to push on and get the rest of the ridge done, before we became too comfortable for our own good. Then the miracle we had been praying for happened, within a few steps of leaving the summit cairn the clouds ahead of us shifted and we were treated to an awe inspiring view of the ridge ahead.

Am Farasinen (the teeth) juts up in a jagged barrier to the average hill walker, almost barring access to the 2nd Munro summit of the day, except for a path that meanders around the pinnacles to the south which is seriously eroded and exposed.

Eric was just back from a week climbing in the Austrian Alps, so really he was the ideal walking partner to have along on this trip, and even he was impressed at Liathach. There had been an earlier discussion on the way up to Spidean a'Choire Leith about myself and Michael's lack of head for height, but nothing that led me to believe we wouldn't be tackling the pinnacles of Am Fasarinen when the time came...yet somehow that is exactly what happened.

One minute we were following the path towards the first pinnacle and then suddenly we were traversing around it instead. I foolishly thought we were still about to start heading up to tackle them, via a different route from my map, but there appeared to be no way up, and then before we knew it we were round the other side of them. I asked Eric if he had intended to avoid taking us over the pinnacles and he told me that he had just followed the path and didn't realise there was another one.

At the other side of the bealach between Am Fasarinen and Mullach an Rathain I pointed out the summit path over the pinnacles, which suddenly appeared quite obvious. He did offer to reverse our route but as we still had a summit to reach and our legs were already feeling the strain we declined on this occasion...but it means we have an excuse to come back and do Liathach again.

The ridge now follows a wider plateau up to Mullach an Rathain, although only on the south side as the north face falls away steeply for hundreds of metres less than a foot from the path. The remainder of the ascent was in complete contrast to the earlier part of the trek, wide grassy plateau as opposed to boulders and scree.

We pulled up onto the summit 1023m of Mullach an Rathain to be met with even more splendid views than anything thus far. We could literally see for miles in every direction, to the south-east into Applecross, to the north-west Beinn Alligin, to the north the Flowerdale peaks, to the north-east Beinn Eighe and to the south and south-east Achnashellach forest. The only thing we couldn't see from here was an obvious path off back to the road!

 

There were the obligatory pictures at the summit and then we started heading west looking for the descent path, and there it was a couple of hundred metres from the summit cutting south and heading down the steepest scree path EVER into Toll Ban. We set off down the slope like downhill skiers, slaloming from side to side to slow our descent to a manageable speed. After a couple of hundred metres we bottomed out in the corrie and from there followed the path alongside the Allt an Tuill Bhain until it wound away from the stream as it made it's way through the steep sided sandstone terraces.

Eventually we strode across the last obstacle before the road, a deer fence, and then walked the last two kilometres back to where the car was waiting for us at Glen cottage.

 

We drove back to Achnasheen, stopping to give a lift to two hitchhikers on the way, and enjoyed that refreshing pint back at Ledgowan Lodge before Michael and Eric headed back to Inverness and left me to settle into the bunkhouse for the night as I planned another Munro raid on Thursday, though nothing that could possibly match today's... 

 

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Gulvain on the summer solstice...

What better way to celebrate the summer solstice than to climb a Munro? What, I hear you ask, is the relevance of climbing a hill on the summer solstice? Well back in the day the ancient druids and pagan's would climb to the top of the nearest high ground to light bonfires to add to the sun's energy. If that is not reason enough to climb a hill today then I don't know what is...

Gulvain was the target for today, initially in my sights a few weeks ago when I was up in Glenfinnan but cancelled due to an early return home instead, and yet another early start was the order of the day.

Home was departed at 06:00, bleary eyed after a week of early starts for work, with an arrival time on the turn off to the A861 of 09:30.

We set off from the car after a quick change around fifteen minutes later and crossed the A830 to start the walk proper. Once across the main road we turned right onto a path heading beyond a row of houses and crossing a stone bridge over the Fionn Lighe before finally turning left up the Strathan path on the east side of Fionn Lighe.

We were prepared for a day of low cloud and no views, according to the MWIS forecast, but were pleasantly surprised to find that the morning air was clear and fresh and the clouds were high in the sky above us. We ambled along the excellent access path and were passed by a lone cyclist heading up to tackle Gulvain also, one of only three people we would see all day. The long walk in was along the Birchwood lined Fionn Lighe, initially on the east side but crossing to the west after two kilometres on a newly refurbished wooden bridge.

Once across the wooden bridge the path passes a deserted building at Wauchan and becomes a lot rougher through the forest for the next two kilometres, passing gates at the start and end of the trees. Beyond the trees the path continues for another couple of kilometres through the open Gleann Fionnlighe until reaching the Allt a choire Reidh, which we crossed on a rickety wooden bridge. The sun remained high in the sky throughout the walk in, breaking through the clouds that were gathering menacingly above us on occasion, much as the forecast had warned.

Almost another kilometre took us to the foot of the steep slopes leading up Gulvain. Fiona checked her watch and declared that we had made quite good time and were at the foot of the slopes in an hour and a quarter. We headed up the slopes just as the sun made a welcome return and I could feel the sweat on top of my head dry and start to bake...at least it gives me that weather beaten veneer that saves my head resembling a tomato when exposed to the suns ray's!! The slope rises sharply for just over 700m but thankfully there is a path carved into the grass which meanders in sharp twists and saves that dreaded slog through grass and heather that often accompanies these ascents. Fiona was not only keeping good pace but setting good pace when in front...even though she continues to doubt her ability to do so. There is absolutely no point in denying how tough an ascent this was for either of us, if my thighs could talk they would be screaming expletives to such an extent that they would be tested for Tourette's!!

We managed a few short stops for pictures to break up the climb on the slopes, although nothing prolonged until we pulled onto the shoulder at 855m and stopped to admire the view of the ridge ahead. A tiny cairn sits atop a rocky plateau and gives a great vantage point of the twin summits of Gulvain. The south top (961m) rises sharply just beyond a bealach with two tiny lochans, where some sheep were taking in some liquid refreshment, and over a kilometre beyond lay the north summit (987m). 

The clouds were gathering in the surrounding hills and I advised Fiona to get some pictures now in case the summits were shrouded before we got there. A white/grey blanket was descending on all the high tops around us and it was really just a matter of time before we were also enveloped by it, which made the next stage a bit of a race against the clock to get to the summit before it disappeared. We powered on at full steam and made short work of the first ascent, pulling onto a still clear south summit and took advantage of the view to take even more pictures.

The Glenfinnan Munro's were by now almost gone from view and we couldn't even begin to pick out the Glen Dessarry Munro's in the gloomy shroud. As we departed the south summit I could make out the lonely figure of the earlier cyclist descending the north summit towards us. We met him in the bealach and passed pleasantries as the clouds rolled in above us and started to swallow up the north summit. I raced ahead in a vain attempt to reach the summit and get a view whilst one still remained...but to no avail. Jelly McBaby stood atop the summit cairn (987m) and I could only imagine what the view down into the upper reaches of Loch Arkaig looked like. I looked behind me to see the last of the southern summit disappear in the clouds, just as Fiona pulled onto the summit alongside me.

With the cloud came the cold and wet, including a few spots of rain, and so jackets were quickly thrown on to avoid getting a chill whilst we sat and ate our sandwiches. We had noticed that there were two more walkers coming up behind us when we had started the climb on the initial slopes, and had noticed them pulling onto the south summit as we approached the north one, but they had elected to remain on the south summit in the hope that the clouds would clear, eventually leaving to head for the north summit when it became apparent that nothing was clearing anytime soon. We passed them as we started to make our way back up the slopes to the south summit once again, our final uphill of the day, on our way back to the car. Once across the south summit there lay only downhill (not counting the small incline to the minor bump at 855m) and a long walk back along the glen to reach the car.

Apart from a few slips on the grass coming down slope (a result of Fiona wearing trainers instead of boots today) there was nothing remarkable about the return journey to the car. For my own part I was regretting my own choice of footwear on this trip and will not be wearing them again on the hills (the mid boots I wore on Stob Ban recently which gave me blisters) as my feet were giving me some degree of discomfort on the long walk back. As we made our way back along the glen there were a few spits of rain following us before the sun made a welcome return. The car was exactly where we left it six hours previously and all that remained was a quick change into less sweaty attire before driving to Fort William for a well deserved McDonalds and Mojito Solero to keep us going until we got home.

 

Unfortunately things didn't quite go to plan on the way home as we burst a tyre just outside of Fort William. Fiona didn't have a normal wheel in her boot, but rather a space saver, which meant that once I had changed the wheel I could only drive at 50mph, especially when the rain caught up with us!! Arrival time home changed dramatically as a result and it was almost 21:25 when I eventually pulled into the driveway, a full hour later than expected.

 

As I write this I am awaiting a positive response from young Michael about meeting me in Torridon one day this week to attempt Liathach and possibly one other Munro before I head back to work on the 30th.

 

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13 miles, 10 hours, 4 Munro's, just a wee jaunt around Mullardoch...

I rose at quarter past five this morning with the sound of Chris snoring in my ear, though I had been awake since the first rays of daylight had brightened the room at around four o'clock. I was instantly regretting staying awake so late last night and yapping until almost midnight with Chris and Fiona. We were faced with an almost two hour drive from Kintail to Mullardoch and the start point of today's walk at the Dam. Chris had promised us a bacon and egg roll for breakfast, and we crept around the lodge making as little noise as possible whilst cooking/showering/packing so as not to waken the other guests. I went around to the reception desk to pay the bill, only to find that they didn't open until seven o'clock. I left a note on the room key explaining our early departure, and a contact number, with a promise to call them later and pay by credit card, what else could I do?

We packed the car and headed off on the drive back along the A87 to Drumnadrochit before heading off on the A831 towards Cannich. Unfortunately I had made a slight miscalculation on my directions and accidently turned off on the A833 towards Beauly which threw our destination time at the Dam a little off schedule. I soon realised that I should have driven all the way to Cannich and then turned off for Mullardoch, so turned around and corrected the route. Unfortunately when we arrived at Cannich I then made my second navigation error of the day and turned up the wrong road again and followed the River Glass instead of the River Cannich! 

I tried calling Angus the boatman to inform him that we were now going to be rather late in arriving at the Dam, at least half an hour at this rate. I was panicking as he was not answering his phone and I had visions of him just leaving us and then being faced with too long a day to manage (the ferry up the loch cuts out at least 5 miles of walking on a treacherous path on the north shore at the end of a long day). Thankfully just as we turned up towards the Dam Angus came out in his jeep to meet us and explained that he was always going to give us half an hour as we were by no means the first booking to get lost since he started doing this. 

We ditched the car by the Dam and got our gear ready for a long slog ahead, just as the first spits of rain started landing around us.

Angus had the boat in the water and all that remained was for him to pipe us aboard and set sail...we were offered life jackets but after our experiences on the Saddle yesterday we laughed in the face of danger.

The boat sped off and we skimmed across the calm waters of the loch to our destination. The usual drop off point for the northern four Munro's is at the outlet for Allt Coire a'Mhaim into the loch, but Angus insisted on dropping us a little further along as it would help us avoid the worst of the peat hags further up the slopes, meaning we would take a more direct route (steeper) onto the Meall a' Chaisg ridge.

Angus duly dropped us off and sailed off into the sunset (poetic licence there) or at least back to the Dam and a pint in Cannich, whilst we set our sights on reaching the ridge above us that would lead to our first target of the day, An Socach. The rain that had started when we set off from the Dam had by now stopped, although the threat of more remained in the gloomy skies above us.

 

Beinn Fhionnlaidh rose above us to the south and across the glistening waters of the loch (Chris had already discussed coming back to Angus as he still has this remote top to bag) and would be in our sights for most of the day, acting as a focal point for our navigation back to the loch later in the day (much later).

As we started to plod up through the thicket of grass beneath our feet towards the ridge the rain started again, more in a drizzle than anything substantial, enough to make me don my hardshell for the next wee while. The ridge evens out at 500m then starts to rise steeply above the myriad of peat hags strewn across the plateau, most of which we had been able to avoid though we had still to pick our way through enough to make the going slower than hoped for. There was a general slowness about our pace today, understandable after our exertions yesterday in Kintail, but we still seemed to be making good enough time up the slopes in comparison to some of the reviews I read during the planning stage.

The slope seemed to go on forever, rising to grassy plateaux that revealed how far along the ridge the summit was without ever seeming to get any closer. We had been walking for almost two and a half hours when we reached the highest point on the ridge and then traversed along to the trig point that signified the summit of An Socach 1069m.

I think it was at this point that Chris realised what a long day we had ahead of us...whereas Fiona and myself had read all the reviews of the walk and knew this was no walk in the park. There was also no going back once the boat had dropped you off in the loch, you could only go forward and get it done. This was no walk for the faint hearted or the unmotivated! An Riabhachan was our next target and we could see it clearly on the ridge in front of us, a steep drop down and rise back up to an even higher summit than this that lay over two kilometres away as the crow flies.

There lay a lot of hard walking between here and there so we decided to plod on with things. We followed the ridge till it dropped off the steep east face of An Socach and crossed the Bealach a'Bholla before starting a very steep and rocky ascent east across a couple of steeper sections of rocks and some higher grassy sections as the ridge narrows to eventually arrive on the summit plateau of An Riabhachan 1120m.

This stage, although short in distance in comparison to other parts of the walk, was hard going and time consuming. It had taken us almost two hours between the two summits and the grumblings of discontent were growing stead now that I had planned too heavy a schedule. Just over four hours in and we were half way there, you always have to look on the positives. The path continues now on the wide grassy plateau and passes two large cairns before twisting downwards and narrowing again as the path continues on it's rocky traverse across some downward sections before reaching the Bealach Toll an Lochain at 820m. 

The rise back up the grassy slopes to Sgurr na Lapaich is considerable from this lowly vantage point (330m) and it was rather disconcerting to see a fell runner coming down the slopes towards us and exclaim how far away the summit was at this point...Bastard! I could also see that the weather we had been fretting about since early morning was now almost reaching us from the west. I continued quickly up the steep slopes, leaving the others behind, and located the summit cairn just as the mist swirled in around me and obscured all from view. The summit cairn of Sgurr na Lapaich 1150m is contained within a wind shelter and had three quartz rocks on top of a trig point.

I was able to relax for a while at the top and finish off my day old sandwich and enjoy the peace and quiet and stillness of knowing that you are so far from civilisation, especially that you may be the only people on those hills all day. When Chris and Fiona turned up I had almost all but forgotten they were with me, a symptom of forever being out on my own, but was glad to see that they were still with me and had not abandoned me and tried to walk off via the dreaded north shore path as they had threatened earlier.

We dropped off the summit immediately we started to descend the path to the east, through a boulder field and then through some rocky patches, as we headed towards the lowly Bealach na Cloiche Duibhe (pass of the black rock) and then our final (we wished) ascent of the day to Carn nan Gobhar 992m up a grassy then slightly rocky slope. I arrived at the small cairned summit and took the usual pictures before moving across to the larger cairned summit on the far side of the plateau so that I could see a better view of the Dam below.

By my reckoning we were only an hour and a half away from the car now, which would take us back to the Dam within ten hours. I waited for the other two to arrive at my location then set off down the slopes once more with them in my wake...I honestly don't even realise that I'm walking so fast when I'm in company, indeed I had to work really hard to slow down my pace in case they thought I was being anti-social. I stopped half way across the wide and undulating plateau for a pee break and noticed that I had what appeared to be a hole in the top of my walking boot. Upon further examination that is exactly what it was! It must have happened on the ascent of the Saddle yesterday when we were scrambling across some jagged rocks, it had penetrated the outer layer of fabric without going right through the boot but has probably rendered the boot useless in terms of waterproofing for future use. The really annoying thing is I have been looking at new boots for a while, but a lightweight pair for the summer months rather than a substantial pair to see me through to the end of my Munro odyssey. Even worse was to follow when I got home and started looking at new boots online, as all the ones I would have considered were no longer on special offers so I would have to pay almost full price for a new pair that I wanted, and I would need them before my next excursion in three weeks time! On a plus side, they would only be my third pair of walking boots purchased to see me through to the end and my other two pairs had now managed 236 Munro's between them.

The ascent continued down grassy steep slippery slopes to the path below winding round from the north shore back to the Dam. It was not a pleasant experience and was made worse by knowing that Chris was struggling and not in the best of humours. Once back on the even path at the bottom it was still not plain sailing back to the Dam and the north shore path is every bit as bad as I had been led to believe.

We eventually made it back to the car just before seven o'clock and elected to get changed quickly and just head straight for home, no stop for food or drink on the way, so that we had an outside chance of making it home before it got properly dark. I arrived home, tired but elated, just after ten thirty and went straight to bed after a quick shower as I had an early start back at work in the morning...no rest for the wicked!

 

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By the way I did eventually call the Kintail lodge back and pay the outstanding bill on the way home, only to be told that they would have done it automatically within the next two days anyway and were not concerned because I have stayed there before and knew I wouldn't run out on them.