A somewhat more relaxed start today, although it did begin
with a rather bracing swim from our beach at the insistence of my leader, something I shall not be indulging in again. To say it was freezing would be putting a
positive spin on it!! A hot shower and
breakfast soon warmed us up and in the fullness of time we set off once more
along The Wee Mad Road but this time, instead of turning right at the end for
Achiltibuie, it was left alongside Loch Lurgainn to the Stac Pollaidh car
park. The mountain reared up from the
road and the walk, although short, was tough: either steeply up or steeply
down!! It played havoc with my dodgy
knees! As we climbed higher and crested
the shoulder of the mountain we enjoyed superb views of Cul More and Cul Beag
and in the distance Suilven. Cloud
topped these larger hills and, sadly, the excellent views were tempered
somewhat by haze. The final climb to the
summit ridge was extremely steep, but the position was
spectacular with a vertiginous drop straight to the car and the complex mass of
Ben Mor Coigach beyond. I scrambled up to
the east summit while Heather waited at the col but I left the rather technical
west summit to those with a better head for exposure, contenting myself with
the thought that the views would be the same.
At one time this whole area was covered with a thick layer of soft red
Torridonian sandstone but over millennia it has been scoured by ice and water
and the shark-like fins of the mountains is all that remains, leaving them
standing isolated in the flow country. To return to the car we took the westward
trending path until it joined the main one circling the mountain. Although, supposedly, less steep this path
was no kinder to my creaking knees. Once
back at the car we wasted no time taking off boots as the infamous clegs
descended en masse, the first time we had been bothered by them. Stopping only for some shopping in Lochinver,
which was buzzing with talk of the day’s referendum on independence, we were
back for an early meal for a change.
Another excellent day.
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