The climbing team, consisting of Tom, Alex and Tom E bound through the barn door in great spirits on Friday night after another fantastic day in the hills. But today was actually a bit different as it started with a very short (inflatable) canoe across loch Hourn. It was 0645, the wind was blowing a gale, and the tide was coming in around the small island which was home to one of the Barrisdale Estate boat houses. Tom and Alex changed into waterproof gear, got their paddles and slipped the inflatable canoe (kindly lent by Rupert) into the water. It only took about 15 minutes for them to cross to the other side which was very lucky because the boat had a few holes in it which were only found at the last minute, and by the time they had got to shore it was looking pretty deflated on one side!
Chief navigator for the day Tom Elliott was very kindly taken across the water by Craig in his motorboat, as the little blow-up boat would never have made it with all 3 of them in it! Having made sure the team had all the correct kit for the day, Lewis and Lucy escorted all the night’s kit down the loch in Craig’s boat to Kinlochourn where the vehicles stayed overnight. Ceri also had a night of luxury at the B&B there. However Sarah was not happy as he had disobeyed strict instructions to rest and had instead renovated the inside of the van, hanging things up and tidying up!
The team had a good day and did lots more running meaning they arrived back in the evening 2 and a half hours early! Rosie, Emily and Lewis had managed to get mountain bikes up a very long track which took them 4 hrs and involved pushing them up scree and over the remnants of a land slide! But nevertheless the team were extremely grateful to be able to cycle down, thus saving them a lot of time. Today the team climbed Munros including Beinn Sgritheall dedicated to Rifleman Liam Maughan and Sgurr a’ Mhaoraich dedicated to Rifleman Daniel Holkham.
Tonight’s stop was in a small barn next to a lodge. Two lovely people named Duncan and Georgie were down from London and were staying in the lodge. They were very kind to the team, inviting them in for tea and letting them shower and wash up in their kitchen. So a very big thank you goes out to them for their kindness and hospitality! Everyone then had a quick supper (a variation on macoroni cheese made on a camp stove with a quick sip of beer donated by Georgie and Duncan) and were in bed by 2200. The photo below was taken from the team’s overnight stop.
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