ThePADDLER
Kirst had repeatedly slid down the slope and repositioned himself back on his sleep mat time and again , but this wasn ’ t the issue ; the lapping waves now sounded very close – too close ! A quick look and what had previously been a good few yards of shore between us and the water was now less than a foot away from my bivvy bag !
The weather front , which had brought in the rain and snow , had also whipped the loch into a bit of a maelstrom , and the waves were certainly making their presence known ! Oh well , I could always join Kirst on his slope if my wriggly tin defence became breached !
KIRST NOW PICKS UP OUR STORY FROM DAY TWO . Overnight in our tin shed hotel had been interesting . Warm and toasty in our sleeping bags and drysuits with several layers on , we settled down by the fire with the most spectacular view of the night sky stars through the shed entrance I ’ ve ever seen . About 01:00 , I was lucky enough to see a shooting star pass over the mountains as well . I ’ m a relatively light sleeper , so my night as ever was a mixture of sleep and wide awake .
We knew that snow had been forecast , and for a while , until about 02:00 , it seemed like the forecast might be wrong . At this point , my error in positioning where I slept was to be soundly identified . The skies darkened , and the wind got up , and before long , the snow began to fall pretty heavily . Unfortunately , the wind was westerly , and you guessed it – the large opening in the tin shed was westerly facing . After five minutes of being blasted in the face by strong winds laden with the telltale signs of lots of snow , I retreated further into my sleeping bag , pulled a cover over me and decided that I was never going to beat this weather . A couple of hours later , I awoke to clear skies and a dusting of snow over myself and my bed .
Dawn broke over the mountains about 07:00 , and I rose to watch the sun come up with a boiling jetboil at the water ’ s edge . Wishing the jet boil to hurry up and boil my morning cuppa , I made some breakfast . By 07:30 , I was starting to make out the rocks in the hills with the strengthening light and by 08:00 , holding my brew , I sat on a large rock by our tin hotel ; the sun appeared over the hills . Richard had by this time joined me , and the most spectacular sunrise revealed snow-covered mountains and hills . I don ’ t think I ’ ve ever smiled more on a paddling trip before this sight . The only shame was that even in this isolated location , we found an empty crisp bag and two bottles – which we put into our rubbish bag back on our boats .
After breakfast and packing up , we set off to find South Tarbett bay and the portage to Loch Nevis . This wasn ’ t immediately obvious , and after a few minutes of looking at the map and the topography , we realised we had already reached it . A welcoming jetty and a path over the hills met us , and we walked up the path to see whether it was suitable for future expeditions . Getting up into the hills showed us another aspect of the beauty of this loch and the area .
Leaving South Tarbett Bay , we headed for the far end of the loch to see if we could reach the bothy . We were heading east ; by this time , the wind had – as predicted – shifted to an easterly , although not very strong . We got to within 3km from the far end of the loch and again