UKC

Hey folks,

To cut a loooong story short, over the week up to the Easter weekend we were travelling through Assynt and Inverpolly in/pulling/carrying a group of 7 canoes with a bunch of kids, zig zagging from loch to loch (Cam Loch-Veyatie-Sionasgaig, Lurgainn, Bad a Ghaill, Osgaig, roughly). This meant some fairly hefty portages of a mile or more, across the hills. On the biggest of these, we bumped into our first other humans for 7 days, a lady with 2 kids, as we slid the boats down hill below Cul Beag. She happened to say that we were "quite the topic of conversation" on the summit, as we inched our way slowly over hills with boats. 

This got me thinking. I'll be writing up my blog and maybe a paddling mag article, so I wondered if any hill folk had happened to spot us over that time, and had a photo or two of us from above that I could borrow? It would have been a strange sight!  Any use would of course be credited, and this is not in the remotest bit commercial, it might just look pretty cool!

So if you were on Suilven around 14th/15th, Cul Mor anytime between then and the 19th, or Stac Pollaidh/Cul Beg around the 18th/19th, and happened to have a picture of some nutters dragging canoes and bags over mountains, do get in touch!

For those interested who use OS Maps, our route: https://osmaps.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/route/3273757/Cam-Loch-to-Garvie-Bay

Cheers guys and gals, 
Mal

Thought it was a long shot! Ta for looking.

I had a look at the map, and was puzzled by your route through Cam Loch.

I’m not sure if you were going West East or East West, but you appear to have abandoned the chance to paddle further up the Loch, for an additional section of unnecessary portage.

I can only assume (if travelling East West) that this was some early portage training for your young crew; and, if travelling West East, that you had become so addicted to portaging by that stage of the trip, that you forsook the water for one last hurrah...

Whichever, it looks like a belting trip, the weather for which I can readily imagine, having been based in Kinlochbervie for the last 2 weeks.

Neil

Hah! We were wind bound 3/4 of the way down Cam Loch, heading westwards, and it was that or wait a few days in a poor camp spot. Even then, we took a less short route to find a sheltered camp.

Anyway, the normal portage is far too short and easy!

Weather was mostly excellent, but that wind decided much of the route. Thanks for the interest.