A hike up Sgòr Gaoith and a swim in Pattack Falls

We stayed at beautiful Loch an Eilein again where we awoke to another lovely still morning. From here it was a short hop along narrow lanes to the Invereshie and Inshriach Nature Reserve where we parked up and had breakfast before starting our hike.

It was to be a long day over 6 peaks, including a Munro and Munro top. The path began easily through the forest before heading steadily uphill into open countryside.

The views soon opened up as we followed a babbling burn up through Glen Feshie, surrounded by heather and grasses. The cotton grass glowed with the sunshine behind it.

The path was easy to follow; we could see it disappearing into the distance behind us as we climbed higher and higher. The mountainside was quite steep now and, hot and breathless, I counted off every 50 metres of ascent until we reached a col. From here, it wasn’t far to the summit of Sgòr Gaoith, a lofty 1118 metres high.

The mountain hadn’t looked very exciting as we climbed but, as we neared the top, that changed. The far side of the grassy plateau we were walking on dropped precipitously down to a blue lake, Loch Einich. The mountain on the other side of the loch was equally dramatic and the views were stunning. 🤩

We posed for a few photos then headed to a nearby peak, Sgòran Dubh Mòr which, although 1111 metres high, doesn’t qualify to be a Munro, because the descent and separation from Sgòr Gaoith is insufficient to meet the classification.

Having eaten our lunch while enjoying the scenery, we now retraced our steps a little before heading gradually downhill along the Meall Buidhe – Gael Chàrn ridge.

There was now only a very indistinct path, which kept vanishing completely. We picked our way through the moss and rocks and I felt our (my!) progress was slow. By now we’d hiked about 10 kilometres, but still had 8 kilometres and 4 more peaks to go on this rough terrain. I wondered if I was going to struggle but in the end, apart from a knee grinding steep descent straight back down to the valley from the final peak, it wasn’t too difficult.

We soon ticked off summits at 978 metres, 976 metres, 904 metres and 920 metres, all marked with stone cairns. I didn’t like the steep pathless descent through scratchy heather and was pleased when we finally reached our outward path by the Glen Feshie burn again. I gratefully dipped my feet in the cold refreshing water, and emptied bits of gravel and heather out of my boots before we followed the wooded track back to Molly Moho. What a thoroughly enjoyable hike! 😃

Before we went to the aire in Kingussie where we’d booked to stay the night, I persuaded John to take me to Pattack Falls where I’d read I could take a dip.

A short, cold swim took me from a shingle beach to a tranquil dark pool in a rocky gorge, where I swam by the falls for a while before floating back down to the beach. There, a mini bus of noisy American tourists had just arrived, so I walked back to Molly Moho to change! At least I had a wonderful 15 minutes of refreshing peace while I had the water to myself!

Today, we’ve driven to Pitlochry, a pretty Victorian town. Unfortunately renovations were underway at the dam and fish pass, but we had a wander along the River Tummel before finding a pub for lunch where John could sample the real ale. There, we spent some time chatting to an interesting guy from America but now living in England, who’s cycling from Lands End to John o’Groats (https://ljrlj.wordpress.com/) an amazing challenge John fancies doing.

Now we’re parked up in a woodland car park for the night. The waterfalls on the stream will hopefully lull us to sleep, ready for a hike up Ben Vrackie tomorrow… our last big hike of the trip.