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Grahams: Ben Stack.
Sub 2k Marilyns: Ben Dreavie.
Date: 20/01/2025.
Distance: 18.5km.
Ascent: 1115m.
Time taken: 8 hours, 15 minutes.
Weather: Calm and spring-like.
Not actual Spring Break (whatever that is) but a definite break in the winter to bring us a few days of spring. I'm always grateful for these when they come along - much as I enjoyed the snow and will no doubt enjoy some more snow, sometimes you just need one of those sunny, calm days in the hills where it is warm enough to lounge around on the summits. Last week's piles of snow had melted in super quick time due to no consolidation whatsoever, and up here in the more coastal, lower hills there was little evidence of it remaining. Having driven up yesterday and been out for a fairly short afternoon, we were ready to go this morning not long after 7am. Ben Stack had been high on the menu but I didn't think I would manage to convince Jackie to combine it with Ben Dreavie. However the overall stats didn't look too large and only a short section of it would be pathless, so she actually saw it as a good idea.
We walked down from the Lone carpark through Achfary in the dark, locating the new track through the forestry shortly after the village. This was shorter for us than going along to Lochmore Lodge but also steeper, but the track was good. As we climbed the light from the east began to appear, ensuring that by the time we reached the original right of way we could see quite well. It was shaping up to be a fantastic morning.
First glimpse of light over Loch More 
First clear sign of Ben Stack 
Arkle 
Looking back to Loch More It was odd that we hadn't somehow got around to going up Ben Dreavie sooner. Although it has no shape to speak of, it is right on the western edge of Sutherland with stunning views in all directions, and has a well made stalker's path (which is lovely to walk on but not intrusive) pretty much to the top. I had certainly featured in my list of things to get around to for quite some time, but somehow we never had. At a ruined building we turned right onto the fork that led to the summit. These days, this is shared with the most standard version of the Cape Wrath Trail.
Moon reflection Glancing at the map hadn't marked this walk out as one that we would do any swimming on, but the lochans near the summit were inviting, especially as the sun was just about to come over the horizon. Even I was persuaded to have a quick dip.
Nice place for a pre-sunrise swim 
Jackie swimming on Ben Dreavie 
Me swimming on Ben Dreavie 
Ben Stack from our swimming lochan 
Sun coming up 
Moon still up It comes as no surprise that the views from Ben Dreavie are pretty good, but what surprised me more was the summit area itself, Having wandered through a landscape of gneiss, we were surprised to find the summit formed of flat sandstone conglomerate slabs, with perched boulders. I thought perhaps a seam of this ran through the area (it is quite common on the nearby Cape Wrath peninsula), but according to the BGS map, it is an isolated island covering little more than the top of Ben Dreavie itself.
Quinaig from Ben Dreavie 
Morning light on Meall Horn 
Ben Stack 
Ben Dreavie summit looking towards Point of Stoer 
Ben Stack from Ben Dreavie Time to carry on now, and onto the pathless section. I had hoped there may be a few bootprints to help us since the Cape Wrath Trail followed a similar route to the one we were about to take. There were a few lines of faint path here and there but not much. Dropping to the west, we intended to pick up the string of lochans leading to Feur Lochan, which would put us back on the top of the path coming up Strath Stack. The top part was on good ground, predictably getting boggier and more heathery as we dropped down to the lochans. There was a bit of traversing and dodging to do before we eventually ended up on the Strath Stack path.
Reflection of Ben Stack The initial path was really just some boggy quad tracks but it soon joined onto the good Duartmore to Lochstack Lodge path. We ended up dropping a long way down for this, but not any more than taking a shorter line to Ben Stack would have involved. As we rounded various lumps and bumps, Foinaven came into view.
First view of Foinaven We left the path on a very steep but dry quad track, which led us to a boggier trodden way following a fence line. I have no recollection of a path up this ridge when I was last here in about 2007, however I wasn't expecting one and may well have been walking parallel to it without even noticing. It is a pretty steep pull onto Ben Stack from this side, and we appeared to be getting caught up by a guy and his dog (the only other person we saw on the hill).
Foinaven and Arkle 
Looking up the NW ridge of Ben Stack 
An Grianan and Foinaven 
Loch na Seilge and Laxford River 
Foinaven and Arkle After reaching a bit of a notch, the ascent gets even steeper, weaving around through outcrops. While hands are occasionally useful, it never quite becomes a scramble. The guy seemed to stop gaining on us on this bit.
Getting there... 
Loch Stack, Arkle and Meall Horn 
Out west Finally after a last outcrop to dodge, we were standing at the end of the level arete that leads to the summit. What a spot!
Jackie on the summit arete 
Arkle and Loch Stack 
Summit arete 
Along Loch Laxford 
Towards Scourie There is a small weather station just past the summit cairn and we used this to shelter us from the very slight breeze we could feel. Great views out to sea, up and down the coast and to the north and east. We ended up sitting here for almost an hour in the sun before it began to get a little chilly. Not often you get to do that in mid-January!
Summit including weather station 
Foinaven and Arkle Having sworn blind that there was no trig point up here, I had to admit that the thing just on the other side of the strange double arete was indeed a trig. We passed this before getting back on the more northerly arete, which is the main part of the mountain. It is a steep grassy descent from here, but much easier ground than on the way up. The view across Loch Stack and down Loch More also opened up fully at this point - almost as impressive as the western view.
On the trig point 
SE from the summit along Loch More 
Jackie in the weird landslip bit 
Loch Stack and Loch More from the SE ridge 
Looking back to Ben Stack After a slight rise, we were on a much more ill-defined ridge which was quite boggy. The path splintered and disappeared for a while, and we tried to stick to the most prominent rocky rib. This eventually brought us back on a path for the final bit of descent, but it was so wet and muddy that I didn't see much advantage to it. We passed by a phone mast then onto a good track for the last few minutes back to the van.
Quinaig 
Loch More 
Meallan Liath Coire Mhic DhughaillThere was still some lovely afternoon light around but it had greyed over significantly and was cooling down again. While I had been talking about driving home via Laxford Bridge and Ullapool, in the end I decided that it wasn't worth the extra 40 minutes that this would take - it would be dark before long anyway. However 15 minutes after pulling away from the parking area, we plunged into low-lying mist which would stick with us for the majority of the journey home. Wrong decision!
