Day 6 - Ullapool - Knockdamph Bothy (19k, 300m ascent)
Someone recently asked me on Twitter whether it would be possible to run the Cape Wrath Trail. My answer was that you could probably run some of it if you were so inclined, and this would be a day when that was possible. The route starts out from the back of the Ullapool conurbation and continues past an ugly quarry (another reason for missing out Ullapool unless you absolutely need to re-supply there).
It is only after an hour or so of walking that you start to leave the worst of civilisation behind, but this is a day when reminders of humanity are always close at hand. View are superb as the 4x4 track that stays with you most of the day winds down and past Loch Achall, taking you past several gloriously sited houses. The little house at Cadubh, in particular is close to my idea of a perfect place to live.
There are no challenges with route finding today, and in foul whether this route would doubtless seem a bit of a miserable slog. But we were lucky with bright cold weather and as we approached Knockdamph Bothy found we had made excellent progress and were there for about 2.30pm.
It was clear we were in for another very cold night, so Bob was keen to try to forage some firewood. After our experience at Leckie bothy in Kinlochewe where we had almost kippered ourselves trying to burn damp wood, I wasn’t so keen. Bob, however, was undeterred and taking his life in his hands scaling the sides of a gully came back with a reasonable bundle which we supplemented with some heather.
In the end we managed to get a small fire going, which as the darkness fell and the temperatures plummeted lifted our spirits. We were in our sleeping bags not long after six, the only way to stay warm. As I listened to a Radio 4 podcast on my iPhone, my mind kept flicking forward to our stretch across Assynt and the blizzards we knew were coming.
