Maoile Lunndaidh
Four of us, Brian, Matt, John Hitchen and Nell plus dogs Monty and Trevor, set off from Scardroy to tackle Maoile Lunndaidh from the north east. The forecast wasn't particularly inspiring and we were prepared for a wet and miserable day. But the sun shines on the righteous (or the devil looks after his own) and we enjoyed a very pleasant walk along the river with neither the showers nor high winds we were expecting. We even had sunshine on occasion.
We quickly reached the point where we needed to cross the river and began scouting for a suitable place. There was no such dithering for Brian though; lifting Monty by his harness handle he saw his line and went for it, watched closely by the rest of us. Having made it safely across we all then followed suit. Trevor wasn't completely convinced by the situation and the instinct to swim kicked in even though he was suspended above the water, his legs pistoning all the way and kicking up enough water to give me a through soaking.
The going became very wet and boggy with some labyrinthine peat hags thrown in for good measure. Our hill loomed above us, still with snow banks on the eastern slopes. We stopped for lunch on the slopes of Creag Dhubh Bheag, where we were afforded some shelter from the increasing wind. From this vantage point we enjoyed an uninterrupted view of the glen below until a shower had us quickly packing up and heading on. A rainbow formed just ahead of us and I was able to fumble with the phone and take a picture just before it faded.
We squelched past the lochans and traversed round Creag Dhub Mhor before swinging south and heading up to Maoile Lunndaidh summit. And then the weather changed allegiance and threw everything it had at us. The dogs, both wearing jackets by now, were not happy, but Trevor particularly so. Brian hauled out a survival bag and covered the dogs with it and we hunkered down waiting for a vicious hail shower to pass. It did and the cloud cleared so that we could see the summit again. We put Trevor in Nell's rucksack and continued to the top - less than 100m away. The wind was still strong and bitingly cold, so we quickly did an about turn and headed back down. We could see the cairn above Creag Toll a'Choin in the distance and there was some debate about which was the true summit; the consensus being that it was that Maoile Lunndaidh. However, WalkHighlands tells me that the point above Creag Toll a'Choin has recently been shown to be the higher.
We retraced our steps back down the hill and once out of the full force of the wind, began to regain feeling in fingers and toes. We stopped for another bite to eat and watched the aerial display of two unidentified largish birds with pointed wings chase off another, larger unidentified bird. I'd love to be able to tell you what we were looking at, but all I can say for certain is that it was three big birds.
We were soon back at the river and scouting for a place to cross. Again, Brian took the bull by the horns, tucked Monty under his arm and went for it, watched closely by the rest of us. This was an even better crossing than the first one and we were all soon on the other side, Trevor abandoning the futile swimming motions this time.
The sun came out and the showers dissipated and the gods or devils allowed us back into their good graces. We stopped to shed extra layers and enjoyed a pleasant, though somewhat weary, walk back to the car. We covered over 17 miles and did it in 9 hours.
Both dogs survived the rigours of the day, and I can attest that Trevor slept very well last night.
Taking part: Brian, Matt, John Hitchen and Nell plus dogs Monty and Trevor
Words: Nell
Photos: Nell
