BEN HOPE
The northern ramparts of Ben Hope. Photo Margaret Dearman
4.0 miles 917 metres
Start Wednesday 23.15
Ben Hope Thursday 00.06
Finish 00.42
Squares: blue - start & finish. Circles summits: green - this leg. Map Colin Matheson
Time: Estimated 1.45 Actual 1.27
Dave continues:
As we drove on from Klibreck, I put torches and night gear in my sac, looking back to Klibreck I could see cloud forming on the top. Bad weather appeared to be moving in on a strong wind. I didn't feel keen.
I climbed out of the car and headed up the west side of the stream, only a faint path to follow, but the fading light didn't slow progress too much. Further up I hit on a good path, must be a very popular hill, higher still cairns appeared. Looking around there was no sign of Klibreck, I hurried on reaching the top just after midnight. The view was good, street lights in Tongue formed a V shape, and lighthouses picked out the coastline. Hundreds of lochans reflected what light was left in the sky, a faint red glow, just a patch remained of the sunset.
24 hours ago I was in the Letterewe wilderness and Shenevall, now on top of the most northerly Munro at midnight. Time to go down, following the path all the way eased the descent, however it took nearly as long as the ascent. A brief rest/ sort out at the car then a long long drive to Loch Lochy.
Peaks done 106 time taken 4 days 22 hours peaks to go 171
At around midnight, the expected call from Ian came – Dave was on the last hill. We got up for breakfast, and as I went to collect the washing off the doorstep, I met Molly returning with a sock she had found. Our departure was a strange sensation. There we were in the early hours of the morning, still quite light as we were accustomed to, but balmy and still, and yet not a midge to be felt.
Molly's being there saved us a phone-call. We were to leave a message on my answering machine with our departure time in case the mothership should ring in. Molly would now do it for us. In the event, all she got was an engaged tone. Another trip to my house showed the phone off the hook. We would have had some dilemma getting an engaged tone had we rung up twenty miles down the road.
Our arrival at the mothership warned Rob to get ready. There is so little traffic down Loch Ness at this time in the morning that every vehicle was assumed to be them, particularly one that stopped at the house over the road! With barely a glimmer of dawn yet, the midges were still merciless in the still, damp trees.
Ian writes:
Meanwhile I was doing a spot of rally driving on the steep curves of the Great Glen road enjoying the empty freedom of the open road which by day would normally be clogged with convoys of lorries, buses and caravans.
At last the real car arrived, and Rob and Alwyn bundled in whilst Ian and Dave staggered out for a rest. I drove John round to Rob's finish – a long drive as the canal bridge at Gairlochy was closed. Alwyn and Tony followed in the car.
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