Day 63 - Sgurr a' Mhaoraich

3 July

A good day, and finally a short one! Dougie and I woke up beside the Loch Quoich dam. We only got to sleep at 2am the previous night; the end of an epic weekend. It wasn't as rough morning as you might expect, but the sleep had gone down well.

We eventually hitched a lift down to Kinlochhourn and got breakfast. It was much needed, along with the cups of tea and all the hot chocolate. After Knoydart I knew I'd taken too much out my system. We spent so long walking each day, that tea-time was moved beyond midnight and there was a lot of running-on-nearly-empty. To me this is the "old style" of mountain trips. Each summer I've done a couple of go-for-broke style trips lasting several days, in which huge mileage is involved on meagre amounts to eat. Dougie and I carried as much food as we could through Knoydart, but I'm almost literally eating a mountain every day at the moment, and the stuff I can only carry on my back doesn't seem to suffice. Not to mention the fact we would be plodding in the wind and rain for upwards of 12 hours, so not much space to eat.

We headed up to Sgurr a' Mhaoraich, which took the place of Gairich since it was a much shorter day. We had an easy ascent up the south ridge through lots of little crags. It was easier than I remembered it from my first visit a few years ago, and the summit cairn arrived in good time. The reason for this mountain's accessibility is the Kinloch Hourn road wraps around the bottom of it, so you can jump straight onto the south ridge and get to the top and back in just a few miles. almost unique in an area where the rest are huge days.

Coming off the top in mist, we actually made an error of navigation and came straight down the coire leading back to the car. It did mean some rougher ground, but all was well and we were back at the road for 5pm, which would give a few hours to get to Fort William, get a meal, and get Dougie on the train. The sun came out over Loch Quoich and we drove back to Fort William with the sun beating down (at last!).

I indulged in Fort William: some shopping, a chicken tikka from Wetherspoons, a pizza from the take away. It was good to do a shorter day for once, a let-up in schedule that puts me behind more than I already am, but worthwhile in that it seems to have allowed space for recovery.

Now I'm going to Glen Shiel for the South 7. I've got three and a half days to do a lot of mountains before Skye so it's foot to the gas from here! I'm slightly concerned I'm getting behind schedule, and although the forecast isn't looking great for the immediate future, it looks as if Skye might give us some nice weather. Fingers crossed. As ever I'm feeling good, and plugging on as I can.