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I planned to do this hike as part of the North Coast 500, knowing that by the time I got to this point I'd be ready to get out of the car and into the mountains. I approached the car park from the south (I'd been exploring) and found there there were plenty of available parking spaces, it was about midday so I guess some people had already been and gone.
It was a mild September's day with showers forecast and no sign of any midgies. It seemed quieter than I expected, a little bit muddy under food and when I started the hike it appeared as though the summit was covered in cloud. The first section was very steep and I really had to watch my footing, however the various small waterfalls made for good spots to stop and take some photos (and catch my breath, what can I say, I'm a slow starter!).
As I continued the views into the valley below were magnificent and the trail became a lot more rocky. The wind increased and at times I could feel it pushing me, sadly in the wrong direction! The trail was all good, no problems with losing my way and there were cairns to direct me in the places where the path became less defined. Several times I thought I was nearly there only to find out that there was further to go once I got there.
The best views I had were several hundred metres below the summit, below the cloud and mist, and away from the howling wind that hit me as I arrived at the top. When I arrived at the peak it was like walking through thick white smoke, I could see 5-10 metres ahead of me but not much further. Behind the trig point (marking the top) was a little stone den that shielded me from the wind, so I sat down and ate my lunch.
After a bit I got a few brief moments of cloudless sky looking out to the east, the views were breathtaking and for just a little while I could see Scotland's north coast as it disappeared off again to the east. The lakes and hills below were stunning.
I learnt one big lesson at the top, and that is how quickly you can become disorientated in the clouds. When I left I was sure I was heading off in the right direction but after a few minutes something didn't feel right. I headed back to the trig point (by following higher ground) and worked out that I had set off in the wrong direction. Easy mistake to make but potentially life threatening in those conditions. Thankfully I had videos me arriving at the summit and could play back the tape (as they say!) to see what the trig point looked like when I had arrived, this helped me to start my journey down going the right way.
I made a video of the whole hike up and what it was like at the summit. Hopefully somebody out there finds it useful.
