Fisherfield Five using a bike

[Smason1]

I waited till my 65 year old fitness was at a peak and the right weather window before attempting the big one. I saw very few mentions of cycling in from the Corrie Hallie and now I know why. I had taken previous advice from the Steven Fallon site to do the Fannich's 9 over 2 days and vowed I would never listen to him again but sadly I was taken in for a second time. The cycle in and out was a nightmare even on an e-bike. Rough boulder strewn slops in and out with over 500 metres of climb on each side. Steven Fallon either hasn't done any of his routes or is an athlete advising pensioners. Anyway my friend Hutch and I made it and camped up near the forest. The famous Fisherfield midges actually were more brutal than I could ever have imagined so it was an early night for us. We abandoned any stove use plans in the morning due to the midges and set off at 5:20am. We followed Adventure nic's route missing out the Corbett. As the reports say the round includes everything from bog, boulder, grass, pathless, path, river crossings through to light scrambling. The countryside is immense and the views fantastic. It was long and tiring but that's what I expected. The worst bit was towards the end of the day when the midges started on us on our walk back. Midge nets, heat and exhaustion don't combine well. We made it back and slumped into our tents. Next morning the gods were on our side as a wind kept the midges at bay as we packed up. We then had the unenviable bike trip back to our car feeling a great sense of achievement. Top tips bring midge nets and gloves. Forget Deet they love it. Bring water shoes for the river crossing. Leave your bike at home.

[PathfinderPaul]

We used our bikes plus a tent , but in two trips. One trip from Poolewe with a camp below A Mhaighdean & the second from Kinlochewe in 2019 with a camp by Lochan Fada (there is report on this one). Very tough as we were in a heatwave.