Wednesday

Thom here on Wednesday….First let me apologize from all of us for the sporadic postings. There is no Internet access here in our lodging (as glorious as it is) and finding Internet access in small towns around rural Scotland can be daunting. As a consequence postings may be days apart and ‘lumped’ together. Additionally Steve is the only insured driver so we can’t simply stop at the end of a tiring day to find the ‘magical connection’ to the world. Nonetheless, we hope to get pictures up with this posting… but we will see.

Today we drove west of Fort William to the Sound of Airsaig to paddle Loch Nan Uamh. As always we were scouting out venues for Jen and Steve. Often finding a great location is not only about great paddling but includes nailing down a good launch point and getting there at the right time to take advantage of the tides and currents. Thanks to Steve and Jen we made that happen once again.

While we had to carry our kayaks a few hundred yards this morning we had an easy launch onto mirror smooth waters. There was no appreciable wind and only low clouds that were hugging the mountain tops as we paddled down the loch. While the ambient temperature was cool, the sun and our paddling kept us plenty warm. We hopped from island to island, playing in the rocks, taking advantage of the noticeable but manageable swell coming in from the sea. We found one particular spot that provided exciting rides for each of us and lingered there before moving on to yet another island.

I think all of us were tired this evening as we headed home. A quick pizza and the evening opened up to further theoretical preparation for the upcoming (geez it’s only two days away now) assessment and how to take best advantage of these two remaining days. Should we go to Cuan to check out the tidal race in neaps or spend our time at more locally? All agreed that Friday needs to be local (researching launching spots, locations sheltered from the expected storm, etc.) and get back to the house with plenty of time for Jen and Steve to get their ‘kit’ together for an early start on Saturday while Brian and Thom rest up.

Well I’m pooped and off to bed. As I mentioned earlier we hope to get this posted with pictures for you ASAP.

Regards - Thom