Had the usual low key start to the year but a nice snowy sunrise ascent of Mither tap stood out from the small hills up to March. Then I had a choice of retrieving stuff from the office or going for a walk and I chose the latter; what I considered at the time to be a fairly responsible short up and down walk to Leacachain.
During lockdown we got out as much as we could and that was helped a lot by an almost completely dry April and a quiet main road. We enjoyed exploring the local area and I discovered a couple of very small local hills that helped me to keep my spirits and fitness up, the main one being Logg Hill, something of a beauty spot, and the other being Hospital Wood which is where I tried to build my fitness by alternating jogging and sprinting. I was never clear one why no more than one type of exercise was permitted. Also started taking more interest in the birdlife around.
July saw me raring to go but mindful of the need to not overdo things. Breabag turned out to be a good choice to start with; excellent views, a surprise bowling green pre-summit and lots of deer posing in front of Suilven. Other highlights:
Carn Ealasaid: nice sunrise and lovely colours
Learmour Craig: a dramatic corner and the biggest heard of deer I've ever seen
Na Cnapain: more of a lowlight with possibly the worst descent ever
Geal-Charn: sunrise, inversion, fogbows
Sail Mhor: the antidote to Na Cnapain, once on its slopes, as it was like an escalator and made me feel fit
Ghrianain (Kylestrome): wonderful reflections
Airgid: superb views complemented by a sighting of a stoat at the summit
Utha: surprisingly good summit view
Druim Eadar da Choire: good views of Rum and Eigg
Creag Dhubh: a fine, misty sunrise start but very slippery rock that upended me
Carn Eilrig: a beautiful walk-in
Binnein Shuas: fine reflections in the loch
I'm pleased with what I managed to do but more pleased that I got to do a lot of local walks with my wife and that we've both managed to avoid coronavirus. I'm sorry for anyone who has been affected and let's hope we are rid of the pandemic next year.
I guess we might be in for a bit of a wait for the hills again but I won't mind that.