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We were staying in a cottage on the West coast and after my brother-in-law and I had climbed An'Teallach, I asked him if he fancied a longer walk - he didn't, so 2 days later, with a forecast of sunshine and showers, I parked the car and set off from Poolewe on my bike. The guide book I had suggested leaving the bike near Kernsary, which I did and I somehow managed to miss the jucntion I needed in the forest. I realised I'd made a mistake once I'd got out of the forest, so I headed across some very rough, boggy in places moorland until I regained the correct track. The guide book suggested that the path would peter out, but it didn't, in fact it was a very good hard gravel path that looked like it had recently been made or repaired. The path was so good that I made very quick progress over to the Fionn Loch, and apart from a deviation to cross the Strathan Bhuide, it was a fairly level and straightforward walk to the causeway between Fionn Loch and Dubh Loch, where I stopped to eat and drink. From there, across the calm waters of Dubh Loch, I could just make out the path beyond Carn More, angling up the sunny hillside to where the Allt Bruthach an Easain tumbled down towards the Dubh Loch.
Dubh Loch
The path rises from Dubh Loch to reach the skyline at the lowest point.
Carn More House was hidden by a low hill, but Carn Mor crag could be seen, lit up by the sunshine - it must have been a beautiful, but very remote place to live. At the top of the hill, there's a fairly flat area and a couple of small lochs come into view. Just before these lochs, the stalkers path towards A' Mhaighdean heads off to the right and meanders in and around glaciated rocky outcrops, before dipping slightly down to cross the lower slopes of Ruadh Stac Mor, above Fuar Loch Mor, which looked very black and deep. Beyond the loch, the path once more rises, twisting in and out of bouldery terrain to reach the col between A 'Mhaidhean and Ruadh Stac Mor. The climb up to A' Mhaighdean is a straightforward one, up a mixture of short grass and rocky slopes, with a small plateau-like area near the summit. When I arrived there, it was still sunny and I looked down on Dubh Loch, Fionn Loch, stretching away to the Northwest. I could see the coast and Loch Ewe in the distance, below the cloud which was building up.
Northwest from A' Mhaighdean
I sat for about half an hour, having a bite to eat and a drink of water, but I could see a shower forming across Fionn Loch so I made my way back down to the col and started up Ruadh Stac Mor just as the shower hit me. I found an overhanging rock not far from the red shaly path and sat the shower out, before climbing the short distance through a band of crags and some scree to the summit.
Fuar Loch Mhor and Fionn Loch from the path up Ruadh Stac mor
After a final look around, I set off back the same way to the car, arriving 10 hours after I had set off.
It's a big walk, but on a nice day it's worth it and anyone who has climbed A' Mhaighdean has had to work hard to do it, no matter which route they use.
