Maol Bhuidhe to Coulin
After a lovely night in the bothy, I was the last to set off. Ella, Gordon and Stevie were all early risers. With Gordon and Stevie hoping to push onto Kinlochlewe (22 miles along the trail).
I followed the path down to the shore of Loch Cruoshie, before climbing around Beinn Dronaig to Loch Calavie. This path was definitely the boggiest that I’ve crossed so far. It was pretty indistinct, and had quite a few peat hags to jump between. I would climb over a couple of peat hags, to find myself confronted by deep and wet bog and having to go left or right to find another way. Despite this, it was great fun and I enjoyed the challenge.
I eventually made it to Loch Calavie and joined the track along the edge. Along the track, I bumped into the German couple once more (I never got their names, which feels like a shame now). The Cape Wrath Trail has lots of variants, connecting different places with the trail. They were continuing to Strathcarron, whilst I was going towards Kinlochlewe. We wished each other well along the rest of our respective journeys.
At the end of the track, there were a couple of footbridges towards Bendronaig Lodge (another bothy). I decided not to make the detour, but I did admire the original footbridge. It was definitely another that felt like it belonged in Shrek!
I stopped on the corner and had a quick snack, when Gordon and Stevie passed me. They had made the detour to the bothy. It turned out, there were three rooms and plenty of dry wood, but I’d had a lovely night in Maol Bhuidhe Bothy nonetheless.
The track continued towards Loch an Laorgh before petering out and a path skirted around the edge of Beinn Tharsuinn. I missed the path at first, but retraced my steps and found Stevie and Gordon along the way, who had made the same mistake!
The path took me up to the bealach, which was shrouded in fog. It was really atmospheric. Early on in my walking career, I accepted that I would hardly ever see a view. I go up hills expecting to be in fog and see nothing. Then anything else is a bonus! I also find a strange kind of beauty in being surrounded by fog. It makes the hill feel so intimate and quiet. I have to rely on my navigation skills to know where I am, and I enjoy the feeling of self-reliance.
I dropped down to cross Allt a’ Chonais. To cross the river, a couple of wire bridges are installed. (I forgot to take a picture of the actual one, so this is the one that is slightly further down the river.) I didn’t quite trust my balance, so I decided to make the river crossing instead! I figured wet feet were better than a potential dunking!
A track along Allt a’ Chonais took me all the way to Craig. Towards the end of the track, I passed Gordon and Stevie for the final time. We’d been passing each other all day, as we stopped at different times. I’d assumed that we would see each other again, so we didn’t really say a final farewell, but I hope that they are enjoying the rest of the trail!
After crossing the road, I took the old pony track, up to the Coulin Pass. The path was through a beautiful native woodland, though it was a little bit overgrown and I was glad that my hood provided some eye protection!
The path joined the woodland track, which gave some relief from the tree bashing! It felt amazing when the sun came out for five minutes! It was the first bit of blue sky that I’d seen since leaving Ardnamurchan. I felt the need to take a picture, just to prove that it happened!
The Coulin Pass is an old drove road. It took me over the bealach and down to the River Coulin. It was a lovely gentle climb up and descent.
Near the river, I found a camp spot for the night. I pitched behind a slight hill, giving me some shelter from the rain and prevailing wind overnight!
The rain had started again, so it was a quick pitch and retreat to my tent. I was snuggled up in bed by 7pm and fell almost straight asleep. I woke up feeling like I’d slept really well to look at my watch and see it was 7.30. It turned out that it was 7.30pm and I’d just had a really good power nap. I was quickly back to sleep again, and had a great night sleep!
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