Really pushed the boat out!

[Mrs Scoob]

Finally, a forecast that looked reasonable for paddling down Loch Quoich and back in a day with a couple of Corbetts in between Missed our pal Dean (we'll come back here though, just maybe not for 2 at once) and also Mike's compleation - never enough time to do everything!

24Aug19 Ben Aden pair.gpx Open full screen  NB: Walkhighlands is not responsible for the accuracy of gpx files in users posts

Faffed around finding a non-sinking spot to launch the kayaks, it was half an hour before we started paddling

We paddled down over 4.5km, to pick up the track to the dams (arms not used to this!)

The track was pretty boggy most of the time, but since the water level was so low here we reckoned we'd left the boats at the right time

Crossing the dams, we could pick out our line up Aden - aiming to follow the shoulder (far right) up rather than the gully

Steep pull up the shoulder; rocky but easy enough to pick through

Yay! Ben Aden summit; feeling pretty good at this point

Took a direct line down to cross the river; wasn't too bad, but when we stopped for a rest down there Scoob's legs were starting to get pretty sore (had heavier boots on today, trying to protect the dodgy ankle)

Heading up the other side took a bit longer than we thought - lots of stops as Scoob's legs were feeling heavier all the time

Approaching the summit cairn of Sgurr a'Cb - took us 3hrs to get up here from the river crossing although it was a pretty steep line up

We'd long since known we weren't going for the Graham next door; checking the map we figured it was around 5km in a straight line over the ridge back to the boats...

...only we hadn't considered all the ups and downs along the way - plus plenty of rest stops for Scoob who was really suffering by now :( So the sun was setting before we were back at the water

We ended up paddling back in the dark - much relief when we got back to our start point (Scoob navigating by following the breadcrumb trail on his GPS!). We left the kayaks locked up there to pick up again in the morning.

Back at the van at last! Looking forward to dinner (we'd been running on cereal and protein bars and snacks all day, having forgotten to bring breakfast and lunch!). So pleased we did it though!

[soapy27]

Looks awesome Fi hopefully I can join you guys for Hart fell

[Mrs Scoob]

Looks awesome Fi hopefully I can join you guys for Hart fell

Nice one! We'll keep you posted - still got a couple more trips to get there (and still holding out for fairly dry days, ha!)