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The weather was looking good in Torridon and Malky had managed to substitute a bit of leave. We left Inverness after lunch and made relatively good time getting to Kinlochewe (and then significantly slower progress through Torridon itself and out towards Diabaig
)
Upper Loch Torridon We managed to miss David – we couldn’t see his van in the village so assumed he’d headed up the road already, but it turns out he was at a different café
He caught us up as we stopped at the viewpoint for a photo. The cloud looked to be clearing as forecasted
Bealach na Gaoithe viewpoint 
Very happy to be in Torridon! We parked up another km on from the viewpoint. Although there were no cars around there were three tents pitched high above the road – hopefully they were cyclists and not hoping to park their cars nearby
Loch Diabaigas Airde David had faffing to do, and I knew I would be slow so we got going. There were the scratchings of a path to begin with (which sadly didn’t last!) but the ground, although wet, wasn’t as bad as some of the nonsense I’d been walking over recently
David caught us up pretty quickly – I only just had time to stop for a pee
There were plenty of lumps and bumps to walk over which made for slow going.
An Ruadh-mheallan ahead 
David rolling his eyes at Malky farting (probably) 
Looking back to Loch nan Tri-eileanan Once over the lumps and bumps we were onto the steep section. Again there were wee bits of paths or animal tracks which we picked up and then lost. David stopped to pick up water (Malky was dutifully carrying 4 litres for us
)
David taking a rest (for me, of course) We headed for the broad ridge which made for slightly easier walking (but still steep!) but the views were really opening out now as we approached the summit
Upper Loch Torridon and Ben Shieldaig 
Nearly there! And finally we had made it! There was discussion over where the actual summit was, but the consensus was that it was this boulder
Malky on the summit boulder! 
Jaxtering on the summit 
An Ruadh-mheallan summit Unfortunately the cloud rolled in, which along with the wind made it very chilly. We all dived to put on extra clothes before attempting to select the best pitches for our tents.
Looking straight down Loch Damh in the mist 
Tents up and extra clothes on – the next thing to do was dinner!
Tents pitched Somebody had forgotten to chill their beer….
Malky's beer fridge 
David with his rump steak & extra virgin olive oil With dinner finished we were able to enjoy views as the cloud moved in and out. I wasn’t concerned – the MET office said it would clear before sunset!
Misty reflections 
Sun starting to drop beyond Redpoint 
Fearnmore on the tip of the Shieldaig peninsula with Rona behind The cloud really was clearing and it was turning into a beautiful evening. We all sat out to enjoy the views (kept warm by our sleeping bag cloaks – very nice and toasty but annoying when trying to take photos
)
David and Malky settling in with beer and hot chocolate 
Baosbheinn 
Upper Loch Torridon, Beinn Damh & Beinn Shieldaig 
Sun doing its thing 
Not a bad spot to pitch a tent 
Beinn Alligin - we had summit camped up there last year, but there was no way I'd make it up there at the moment 
Lovely colours over Torridon 
Sun hitting Bainn na Chapuill above Arnisdale in the distance 
Bazinga! 
Cloud rolling in 
Amazing reflections on the water As we sat out, the wind dropped and we weren’t even that cold (or maybe that was the hip flask that Malky had dug out
)
Bit of fluff sitting on the lower hills 
Very slim moon 
The lights of Gairloch 
This could be Jupiter (and/or Saturn) over our tent I stayed out a bit longer trying to get some pictures of stars (might as well make use of the tripod I persuaded Malky to carry up for me
) but they all turned out a bit rubbish
It took me a while to get to sleep – I think Malky had picked the flatter side of the tent, and when I was cold he went on snoring rather than try to warm me up
My alarm went off at 4.30am to see if the sunrise was worth getting up for (I was on strict instructions not to wake anyone else, although Malky in the same tent got the raw end of that deal
) On poking my head out I reckoned it was looking good
Cloud on the loch the next morning However, looking the other direction, the light behind Baosbheinn was incredible and the whole sky was lit up
Oooft those colours! 
Beinn Alligin 
Enjoying the sunrise on my own! 
Amazing light on Beinn a' Chearcaill, Meall a' Ghiubhais and what Malky thinks is the western Fannaichs in the distance 
Rays 
Bouncy red light hitting the loch 
Bouncy red light on Beinn Damh and Beinn na h-Eaglaise (also Beinn Bhan above Applecross) After all that excitement it was shortly after 5 – time for a few hours more sleep before the boys would be up
Back to bed then! Again I didn’t sleep very well, and just as I had got back to sleep the alarm went off of course
Malky got the hot chocolate on and I munched my way through a packet of cereal rather than risk the burned porridge
Following the amazing sunrise, the cloud was rolling around again and it was very grey outside. We packed up the tents and made ready to go.
Back into the mist We tried to follow a similar route to our ascent but somehow managed to keep ending up on the steep sections
Fortunately my knee seemed to be behaving and going downhill my useless lungs weren’t that bothered anyway!
A settlement The tents were still there from the night before and were looking more and more abandoned – the boys had a wander over to see what the story was – surely no-one would abandon that much equipment?!
Malky and David going to inspect the tents I was very relieved to be back at the car – but it had been an awesome night. It was good to get in a summit camp as I wasn’t sure I’d be able to manage one
Colonel Mustard and David's van We were running late – Malky was supposed to be meeting a friend to take him up Alligin. There was no way I’d be able to get even halfway up sadly, so I was going for a stroll around some lochs – better than nothing!
