Glen Golly to Strath Dionard
I gave the sun time to dry my tent before tackling the steep path up Creag Dubh. The climb was hard for me, burdened with my rucksack.
Above: Loch Staionsaid. Below: Foinaven, Loch Dionard, Strath
Dionard
Views of Loch Staionsaid, Foinaven, Loch Dionard and Strath Dionard made the hard work worthwhile. A cooling breeze shortened my rest on the crest, but when I descended the wind dropped, and the rest of the day was hot.
Loch Dionard and Foinaven
A small fishing boat drifted on Loch Dionard. Deer sprang out of a peat wallow, caked black as they ran from my harmless approach. Across the head of the valley, a working party was repairing a path. At the inflow to the loch I took off my boots and socks to ford the stream, and then I stripped off and sat in the sun to gather my strength for the awkward negotiation of a steep headland and the easier ground beyond.
It’s situations like this where you’re vulnerable as a lone walker. If you slip and break a limb, what do you do? Well, I didn’t fall, and I negotiated my way to easier ground and eventually to the outflow from the loch, where the 4WD track begins its six-mile journey to the main road.
The day’s work was done. I ambled along between Foinaven and Cranstackie, looking for a camping spot. Eventually I found somewhere, but after I’d cooked my meal I decided it was too wet. I dropped the tent and walked on about three-quarters of a mile to a better location. I slept soundly.
Quartzite scree on Cranstackie, seen from Strath Dionard