I had breakfast with the divers at about 8am, and then they headed off for the day. I was ready soon after, and walked into Inverie to begin my adventure. I began by buying supplies of crisps and chocolate to go with my sandwiches and camelbak water.
I then went to the ranger's office to check my thinking on attempting to walk to Mam Li today, and whether I'd get through a river crossing tomorrow on the Airor Circuit. She thought it would be OK.
I set off on my way at about 10.30, but saw that the RHIB hadn't yet left the wharf. So I walked out and offered my help to load, and zipped May into her drysuit. I took some amusing photos as they left, and some dramatic ones as they disappeared again a backdrop of mountain.
I turned my steps away from the loch, and headed up the hill to the left of Inverie. A couple cycling overtook me, but then the hill got too much for the woman, and she got off to walk. We had a quick chat about the bleeding heart flowers.
They kept on, and I kept on. The terrain flattened out, and the walking was very pleasant. Before long, I turned right at the Folach Gate, and the path went downhill and started to get a big wet. Before long, I was following a creek, and before much longer, I was at the bridge.
The ranger had warned me that there were trackers out for the stags, and I asked them if I was going to be in their way. They said no, and helped to point me on my way. I got to the far side of the bridge, and walked past a couple putting gaiters on. It was only when they spoke to me that I realised they were the same couple who'd been cycling.
They were heading up Meall Coire, or perhaps Beinn na Caillich (I didn't catch the name they were calling it), and we were heading in the same direction for a short time. The ground on the other side of the bridge was hopelessly boggy, and I began to wish I had brought gaiters with me after all.
They pointed me in the direction of the falls, and headed up the hill. I followed the creek upwards. The falls were nice, but not spectactular. I stopped to have some food here.
I continued up the hill, finding it necessary to start looking at the OS map to ensure I was still on the path. There was a stepping stones crossing of the river that I struggled with a little, but I got across. The path got less and less well defined.
I was determined to get to Mam Li proper and be able to see over the edge into Loch Hourn. So I kept walking up the hill, making sure periodically that I was on the right side of the river.
After a while, I lost the path altogether as the ground started to climb, and started losing my feet in boggy holes. Still that view over the top eluded me. I kept doggedly on, and it got really quite steep. Then I came upon a small loch. That wasn't part of the plan. I sat for a rest, and got the OS map out again, and had my sandwich.
It became apparent at this point that I'd been wading on beyond the path, and that the ranger's brochure lied - you can't see over the edge to Loch Hourn. It was disappointing, but it was getting late, and I didn't want to get lost in the dark - especially as I hadn't let the divers know exactly where I was going.
So I headed downhill again. Knowing that there was no path, and being able to see where I needed to get to, made the descent much easier. I followed the river again for a time, crossed the stepping stones, went past the falls, and over the boggy path to the bridge. At the bridge I sat and had another short break.
From there, the walk back to Inverie was easy. It felt long, but much of it was downhill. I got back to the Lodge at about 5.30. The divers were not yet back. My fitbit told me that I had done over 38,000 steps or 26 miles. It certainly felt like it. My feet and legs were pretty sore and tired.
The divers came back, sporting a bag of freshly gathered scallops. Neil spent ages cleaning and preparing them. He and May made a delicious starter with the scallops, and Christian and others made a main meal of smoked salmon and pasta. The whole thing was lovely.
Afterwards, I washed up and we relaxed. The others went to the pub, but Christian and I gave it a miss. Before bed, we did as much packing as we could. It wasn't a late night.
I then went to the ranger's office to check my thinking on attempting to walk to Mam Li today, and whether I'd get through a river crossing tomorrow on the Airor Circuit. She thought it would be OK.
I turned my steps away from the loch, and headed up the hill to the left of Inverie. A couple cycling overtook me, but then the hill got too much for the woman, and she got off to walk. We had a quick chat about the bleeding heart flowers.
They kept on, and I kept on. The terrain flattened out, and the walking was very pleasant. Before long, I turned right at the Folach Gate, and the path went downhill and started to get a big wet. Before long, I was following a creek, and before much longer, I was at the bridge.
The ranger had warned me that there were trackers out for the stags, and I asked them if I was going to be in their way. They said no, and helped to point me on my way. I got to the far side of the bridge, and walked past a couple putting gaiters on. It was only when they spoke to me that I realised they were the same couple who'd been cycling.
They pointed me in the direction of the falls, and headed up the hill. I followed the creek upwards. The falls were nice, but not spectactular. I stopped to have some food here.
I continued up the hill, finding it necessary to start looking at the OS map to ensure I was still on the path. There was a stepping stones crossing of the river that I struggled with a little, but I got across. The path got less and less well defined.
I was determined to get to Mam Li proper and be able to see over the edge into Loch Hourn. So I kept walking up the hill, making sure periodically that I was on the right side of the river.
After a while, I lost the path altogether as the ground started to climb, and started losing my feet in boggy holes. Still that view over the top eluded me. I kept doggedly on, and it got really quite steep. Then I came upon a small loch. That wasn't part of the plan. I sat for a rest, and got the OS map out again, and had my sandwich.
So I headed downhill again. Knowing that there was no path, and being able to see where I needed to get to, made the descent much easier. I followed the river again for a time, crossed the stepping stones, went past the falls, and over the boggy path to the bridge. At the bridge I sat and had another short break.
From there, the walk back to Inverie was easy. It felt long, but much of it was downhill. I got back to the Lodge at about 5.30. The divers were not yet back. My fitbit told me that I had done over 38,000 steps or 26 miles. It certainly felt like it. My feet and legs were pretty sore and tired.
The divers came back, sporting a bag of freshly gathered scallops. Neil spent ages cleaning and preparing them. He and May made a delicious starter with the scallops, and Christian and others made a main meal of smoked salmon and pasta. The whole thing was lovely.
Afterwards, I washed up and we relaxed. The others went to the pub, but Christian and I gave it a miss. Before bed, we did as much packing as we could. It wasn't a late night.
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