The Paddler Magazine Issue 61 Late Summer 2021 | Page 30

ThePADDLER 30
Above : day two – a break from the lugging

A challenging portage

We woke to a scorcher of a day , bright sun under endless blue skies . This was expected to be the most challenging day of the trip , as today we would climb to the plateau upon which Fionn Loch lies , though we didn ’ t think it likely that we would make it to the loch today . The key to our trip would be getting from our current loch up to the next smaller one . A track on the map would help , though we knew from a little research that infamous highland blue-line follower Graham Warren ( Moosehead paddles ) had declared it ‘ untrolleyable ’. We would see .
The paddle along the loch was delightful , but ahead we could see our track climbing steeply to the horizon . It looked rocky and worse , even getting to the track meant a brutally steep climb or a long zigzag across heather and bog . A lovely little inlet , with waterweed waving gently in clear water under our hulls , gave access to the hillside . Now it became hard work . The first bags went on ahead , scouting out the route . We settled on two approaches ; the canoes would go , empty , up the gentler slopes to the left , where the track was lower , then get trolleyed up a steeper section to a spot further on at a fence . The luggage would take a more direct route , straight up the hillside to the same spot .
Here the kids proved , for the first time on this trip , to be complete stars . After years of just carrying small bags and sitting on rocks playing whilst we laboured , now they seemed actively keen to join in , grabbing bags and heading off uphill at a pace that made us oldies feel exhausted to watch . Meanwhile , we got the canoes up to the track and started hauling them along the rough track . It was hot work , and we ’ d hardly really started , for ahead the track , covered in rubbly rocks , climbed out of sight . The canoes would have to remain empty , and the bags go up in shifts .
I don ’ t know why it is , but these moments help make these trips so memorable . We sweated and hauled , lugged and carried , but at every ‘ cache ’, we paused and laughed , shared out snacks and drinks , and returned for the next load . Soon , we were constantly passing each other , offering the opportunity for plenty of banter and giggle with each other at the ridiculousness of hauling canoes up a track in the middle of nowhere with no water in sight ahead . I love it .
The steepest part was indeed ‘ untrolleyable ’. Here , though , we had an advantage over Moosehead , for we had many hands to make light work and simply picked the canoes and wheels bodily up to lift over the rougher or boggier parts . In this manner , slowly but surely , we climbed towards our next bit of relief , Loch Mhic ’ ille Riabhach . This we reached in mid-afternoon , after maybe five hours of hauling , and despite a strong breeze , we all enjoyed paddling its 1km length . With our next loch another kilometre further on , and a