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Day 2 of the Martin and Pauline adventure in the north west, we hoping for much, much better things and we were not to be disappointed
As we were staying overnight in Ullapool we knew we would be in Dundonnell fairly early, especially as we had agreed to have breakfast at 7.30. The hotel was in need of a bit of TLC, but as it was only costing about £30 it was worth it just for the breakfast, especially as I sampled just about everything that was on offer - it sure beats carrying eating things up the hill
Left sunny Ullapool before 8am in a mini convoy to the parking area at Dundonnell and just as we arrived the heavens opened
After a five minute wait in the nice dry cars it was time to get kitted up and head uphill.
As we were familiar with roughly where we were heading there was no need to get out phones etc
We had already decided to head up to the bealach by staying on the path that kind of follows the burn uphill
One thing you do notice whilst you are heading uphill is how many small cairns there are, the route up to the bealach must have upwards of 50. Next time someone heads up that way it would be nice to know the exact number
Nice and green
Early low level view
Looking east
Water feature
Another water feature with moss
The plan was if we could avoid ascending Bidein a' Ghlas Thuill we would do, as it probably hadn't changed much since our visit last month
The walk up to the bealach was pretty rapid, we did make the mistake of having full waterproofs on when we left the cars - it wasn't long before they were confined to the rucksacks for an hour or so. The sun even made an appearance for about half an hour and I was beginning to think that leaving the sun cream in the car wasn't a very clever move
From our last visit we knew once we reached the bealach, there wouldn't be very much ascending left
First view of Sgurr Fiona, the pointy thing
First of the views out to sea, north and north west
Same shot zoomed
Little Loch Broom
Once on the bealach the views start to open up, especially to the north and north west, unfortunately it is a wee bit hazy, as usual
From the bealach we followed the path up Bidein a' Ghlas Thuill, all the time I was keeping an eye on the terrain and probably about 50m or so from the summit we veered off to the right and traversed round aiming for the bealach before Sgurr Fiona. We were now on uncharted terroritory and no matter what direction you looked in there was something to photograph, whether it be the pointiness of Fiona, the strange rock formations, lochans etc, etc
There is a very well trodden obvious path across the bealach and then we followed one of the many paths heading up and round Sgurr Fiona. We initially headed west then south and it seemed more like a helter skelter. There was certainly nothing difficult or remotely scary in the ascent and as you only have about 160m of ascent it didn't take too long. One thing we were hoping was that we wouldn't get caught in another shower on or near the summit and as you can see from the photo's we seemed to time it just right - could have done with a little less wind, but the views just take your breath away
Looking back towards the bealach
Fiona and the pinnacles
Similar shot as above
Loch Toll an Lochain
Looking across to way ahead
Looking across to the Pinnacles & Fisherfield
Fisherfield & Loch na Sealga
Zoomed shot across to Fisherfield
Arty shot
The Fisherfield obstacle if you visit from the NE
Atmospheric shot
Summit cairn, not much room for a bigger one
Pauline taking care in the brisk cold wind
Doesn't look cold - much
Cairn cuddle
Cairngorm like rocks
It's a long way down
We tried to pick a sheltered spot near the summit to sit and have a drink and warm up, but as the wind was howling in from the west it was difficult. We did find a spot that gave us superb views across to Fisherfield and what an amazing sight that is
We weren't too impressed with the river, it does look rather wide and doesn't exactly travel in a straight line
Next was the descent, again not difficult, the only difficulty is selecting the right path
We met a couple of guys just before we reached the bealach and I managed to get photo's of them on the summit, they were planning the circular/round route but not going over the pinnacles, probably wise considering the gusty windy
Loch Toll an Lochain again - on the way down
Pauline looking back in admiration
What a view, look carefully there are 2 guys on the summit
Zoomed, no obvious way up
One last photo, what a sight
Once we reached the bealach between Sgurr Fiona and Bidein a' Ghlas Thuill we had decided to try and traverse round Bidein to the next bealach and I think we managed it rather successfully
Once at the next bealach it was just a matter of kind of retracing our uphill steps.
When you visit these hills you do realise why they are so special, they do literally have everything
Another big thanks to Pauline for her company, we can almost see the finishing line
Next on the horizon is Fisherfield, a nice 2 day midweek weather window would be nice, surely that's not too much to ask