Affric Kintail Way  – Day 4

Hello again people and pooches. Joe the Cocker here on our last day on the Affric Kintail Way. We both awoke at daybreak after a really good sleep. It had been a cold night, but we had been sheltered from the elements in the relative comfort of the bothy. My human woke us both up at one stage as he jumped off the sleeping platform and struggled to exit his sleeping bag. He had cramp in both of his inner thigh muscles. He spent a few minutes screaming and yelling with the pain. He almost woke me up 🤣. Anyway  after he had danced like a raver on ecstasy on the ice cold stone floor, he crawled back into his sleeping bag and was snoring again only seconds later. I could have done without his cabaret performance at stupid o’clock.

Breakfast was a slower affair on this morning as he could move around without the confines of the tent. Kibble and a tray of chicken flavour dog paté for me and a double portion of cinnamon porridge and a huge coffee for him. He went outside to eat it, but he soon returned as it was -8⁰C.

We were in no hurry to leave the bothy as this was to be our last day of hiking. We had around ten miles to go to return to the car. The first half of the trail would be the hardest as it is over mountain paths with a lot of descent. So, we could take our time and enjoy the best scenery of the trip.

We set off around 9 am. in a very cold but bright morning. The weather forecast was excellent, albeit a bit nippy. The temperature was -6⁰C when we left the bothy. We left the bothy as we found it. My human even did a bit of brushing up!

The big feller let me wear my nighttime fleece as it was our last day on the trail, and my other one was mucky and still damp.

The first thing that struck us was how icy the path was. Any puddles that had formed were frozen. The first obstacle we came across was a burn crossing the path. It was deceiving as the water was running freely, but the rocks under the surface had a coating of ice over them. I slipped on the first one, and even though my human checked the rocks by prodding them with his hiking poles, he still slipped a little bit. The route was going to be treacherous. We needed to be very careful.

As you can see from the photograph, my fur was icing up. There was no breeze, and we would be in the shadows of the mountains for some time. So, the temperature was going to be sub-zero all morning, and the ice would not be melting anytime soon!

As we headed west into Kintail, the scenery became more dramatic and rugged. The mountain path undulating as it weaves its way through the glen. With frozen sections of the path forcing us to take mini diversions, we crunched our way through the icy grass. The boggy sections were deceiving as the surface had frozen, but when my human stood on them, he sank to his ankles. He wanted to keep his feet dry because of his injured toe, but he failed miserably. I was ok because I didn’t sink into the boggy stuff as I am considerably lighter than the big feller. Considerably lighter!

It was slow going as my human tackled the icy path. I took advantage of the slow pace to have a sniff around. Everywhere was frosty, but I was warm in my fleece.

I discovered a cairn that people had made as they passed. It has been erected above the Allt a’ Bhuic at the side of the path. It’s positioned at a high point and would be useful if the area was snow-covered.

My human took a few photos of me at the cairn. I think that it was an excuse to have a rest for five minutes.

The air was still cold as we continued along the glen with the sun illuminating the Munroe peaks of Kintail ahead.

It was so quiet with the only sounds being the rushing of water from the river below and the burns cascading from the mountains.

The Five Sisters of Kintail dominated the skyline ahead of us with their white snowcapped peaks highlighted against the cloud-free blue of the sky. We could see the path winding and undulating through the glen before us. What an epic area!

We had to keep our eyes peeled, as we hiked, for icy sections of footpath, of which there were plenty. As you can see from the photograph, long stretches of path were frozen solid. It was treacherous and difficult to manoeuvre at times. I slipped as did my human. His hiking poles saved him on numerous occasions. I was more fortunate as I have four paw drive!

My human took this photograph as I was leading the way, but he called me back as I neared Allt an Leacach. It is marked as a ford on the Ordnance Survey map, so he expected fast flowing water. He put me on the lead as we approached it with caution. He didn’t want me to be swept downstream as the drop-off was quite steep. He went first and tested the rocks with his hiking poles. All seemed ok, so he went to cross first. He was one or two steps in, and everything turned chaotic. The rocks were ice covered even though water was flowing quickly over them. His feet shot from under him, and he was down. He landed on his side with his head pointing downstream. Freezing water was gushing over him, filling his boots and going into his trousers. He couldn’t move initially, and he struggled to remove his rucksack. Fortunately, the rucksack had saved him from serious injury as it took most of the impact.

At this point, I crossed the rocks to get to him. I slipped, and he shouted to me to get on the grass. Before I did that, I checked to see if he was ok. I licked his face, and he told me I was a good boy and he repeated that I should get on the grass. I passed him and did what he said. I waited and watched as he took his rucksack off and crawled to the safety of the footpath. He dragged his rucksack out of the water and plonked himself next to me on the side of the path. I snuggled up to him under his armpit as closely as I could. He wasn’t injured at all. Maybe a bit winded. But he was very wet. It had been a scary few minutes, but we were both ok.

He was wearing his waterproof coat and quick drying trousers so his body was warm. His hair was wet, so he dried it with his small hiking towel. His boots were full of water, so he changed his socks and dried his feet. We didn’t hang around too long before moving on because it was so cold.

It was an eye-opening event, and we realised how careful we needed to be in these conditions.

So, on we hiked as if nothing had happened but aware that the fords were going to be tricky.

I assumed my job as the scout for the day and led the way along the mountain path. We walked for a few minutes until his trousers were almost dry, and then we found a suitable place for a short break.

We didn’t linger long as we were still in the shadows of the mountains, and the temperature was still sub-zero. He checked himself over for any injuries that the adrenaline rush of the fall would have masked. His left knee, his bad one, was a bit sore, but otherwise, he was fine. So after a drink and sharing a few biscuits with me, we plodded on.

We finally found some sunshine! The difference it made was immeasurable. Instant warmth. The path in this section was the most precarious as it hugged the steep slopes of Bienn Fhada. We had more fords through waterfalls to manoeuvre our way across.

We crossed the obstacles very slowly and carefully, fully aware of the dangers. A fall in this area could be catastrophic if not fatal. He had his InReach attached to the strap of the rucksack in case of a disaster. He could press the SOS button, and Garmin would alert the emergency services with our location and carry out a rescue if needed. The drop-off was sheer and steep and probably not the place for another tumble.

The path dropped considerably after the fords and became more technical with both hands and feet used in places. I had no problem, though, and I dropped down the path and stopped every few yards, watching my human take his time. He used his hiking poles to help him. The rocky path was very icy in sections and took him an age to hike down.

This is where things went wrong again. His hiking pole slipped on ice, and down he went again. This time, it was on a steep section, but there was no flowing water. He fell sideways and onto one of his poles. He was ok as he had landed on his backside. He has plenty of padding there! His hiking pole was far from ok as he had landed on it. It was banana shape and completely useless. He quickly got up and composed himself. He sat down at the side of the path we me glued to his side. I was staring at him and gave his hands a lick. He thanked me for looking after him again. He knew from the map that this steep section was nearly over, so we moved on again. No injuries again. He is a lucky human!

We continued downhill to be greeted by the sound of rushing water. To our left was the stunning waterfall at Allt Grannda cascading down the mountainside. Photographs do not do this beast of a waterfall any justice. The roar of the water over the rocks dominates the area.

We looked back at the waterfall as we gingerly descended the path. We were about to leave the rugged mountain section of our trip.

The footpath wasn’t as steep as we followed the Allt Grannda as it rushed down the glen. There were still plenty of tricky rocky sections to master. So, we were extra careful as we hiked.

We could see the flat valley floor ahead where the River Croe flows to Loch Duich. We also caught glimpses of Glenlicht House where the glen flattens.

The last of the waterfalls to cross wasn’t going to catch us out. It was icy but not as bad as some of the ones previously. We took our time and carefully crossed to the safety of the opposite footpath.

Shortly after our nail biting descent, we arrived at a footbridge over the Croe. It was lunchtime. We sat, bathed in welcome sunshine for a while as we grabbed some food. My human made a huge coffee while I had water and treats. The journey from this point was relatively flat with no tricky obstacles, so we rested for a while. Gleann Lichd would take us to the end of the trail. We sat opposite the Five Sisters of Kintail with Beinn Fhada on our right.

It was just as we were ready to leave this spot that a realisation hit my dopey human. He had been carrying his microspikes in the rucksack all this time. Maybe wearing them would have prevented his tumbles on the ice. We will never know. He comes prepared and then doesn’t use his safety equipment. He’s not the sharpest knife in the drawer!

Moving on, we passed Glenlicht House, a privately owned Mountaineering Club hut. We were back in the shadows again, and the temperature drop was instantly noticeable.

We were back on a 4 x 4 track as we left the mountain hut. My human was complaining that he was getting really tired. It was probably due to his falling on the hills. We stopped at every convenient boulder that I found for him. I didn’t mind because I could grab a rest at the same time.

As we rested, we looked back a few times to admire the epic scenery that we had hiked through. This truly is the most incredibly beautiful place.

Opposite us on the northeastern side of the River Croe, the sun shone on the hills above while we continued in the shadows of the Five Sisters. We were jealous.

The track ran alongside the river at times as we headed towards Morvich, our destination.

We entered grazing land for sheep as we slowly hiked. We hadn’t seen any animals for three days. We had neither seen nor heard many birds in that time, too. We hadn’t seen another human being for over three days. This truly is a remote and desolate place but arguably the most beautiful part of Scotland.

The moon appeared above the hills for a moment as if to say goodbye to us. After one last look at the sun-drenched hills, we re-entered civilisation at Morvich. We passed the NTS Kintail Ranger Station which is the end of the trail. We still had just over a mile of road walking to do to get back to the car at Allt a’ Chruinn. That last mile was tough for my human. He was spent.

We loved our wilderness experience, but the sight of habitation was a welcome one. We were back at Morvich.

We were soon back at the car, and we were both exhausted. I slept as my human drove us to Fort William, where we stayed in the Travelodge for a bit of comfort before our long drive home the next day.

My dad cleaned me up and had lots of showers himself before he had a Chinese meal delivered. When I say a Chinese meal, I mean Sweet and Sour Chicken, Singapore Chow Mein, and a portion of Special Fried Rice. Oink oink!

We relaxed for the evening while we tried to compute the last few days. It had been tough, but everything, if not more, than my human had hoped for. Stunning scenery. Remote. Peaceful. Challenging. Fun. Tough………….

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Till next time!