A sunny day on Gairich

[Wimpie]

After the disappointment i had on the other side of Loch Quoich (cancelled 2 out of 3 due to one of the participants) i had my hopes up for a long day. The weather was great and we had planned to go all the way to Sgùrr na Ciche, then come back and camp at An Eag. So we packed our stuff and were ready to start at the Dam at 05h00. I tried not to go to fast so everybody could keep up with me without any difficulties. But already after 1,5 km i noticed that Elke, just like the day before, was slowing down again at a ridiculously slow pace. Nevertheless, i decided not to slow down, because that might slow her down even more. There's a path that zig zags its way up, with some long flattish sections before it gets a bit steeper with some great short and easy scrambles. I arrived at the summit at 07h55 and JF touched the cairn 20 minutes later. The summit plateau is pretty big and has some nice views all around. After waiting for 30 more minutes i decided to trace back to see where Elke was.
And for sure, she sat down just below a scrambling section again, saying that she didn't feel like going on any further. This f..... up my entire plan and with much resentment we descended the hill towards the Glenn Kingie forest. The idea was to go back to the car but in the end we had to put up camp near the ruin just 40 meters below the path. Guess who's idea that was
On top of that we got eaten alive by the midges. We put up the tents, had lunch and had a lazy afternoon. Definitely not what i had in mind. The next morning we broke up camp, went back to the car et the dam and took off towards Shiel Bridge. Hoping for better things to come.

Morning over Loch Quoich

Sunrise

JF, my walking buddy

Elke

Gleouraich (left) and Spidean Mialaich (right)

From left to right: Sgùrr a' Mhaoraich, Gleouraich and Spidean Mialach

JF and me

Gairich and Sgùrr Mhurlagain in the centre

JF and me with Sgùrr Mhurlagain in the background

JF and me with Gairich waiting for us in the back

JF, Elke and me

The horseshoe of Sgùrr Mhurlagain seen from the slopes of Gairich

Loch Arkaig on the left, Sgùrr Mhurlagain on the right

Me :-)

The final slope of Gairich

Gleouraich (left) and Spidean Mialaich (right)

Summit cairn of Gairich

View to the north from Gairich

View to the south from Gairich

JF and me at the summit cairn of Gairich

Campsite at the ruin

Lots of sunbleached trees on the way back

A prince in disguise