Keïteï Ventures

We’ve slept in – or by hiker standards we’ve overslept :p 

Hiking from 7:30am we follow the track arrive at Rubha Hunish which is the northern point of the headland and houses a bothy. We arrive to an international crowd with folk from New Zealand, Netherlands, Germany, Czech, UK and the US. Some were rolling up tents, slurping on hot drinks or just enjoying the company. I quickly pop in, squeeze my way to the bothy’s book and sign our names there. We march on and find somewhere dry-ish and sheltered to have breakfast. 

A blue sky was slowly appearing and made for a pleasant breakfast. Following the cliff edge, I can see the sea down below which looks inviting – clear waters as the sun shines over us. Lovely blue lagoons linger welcoming-ly down below, lapping over the stony beach. Sadly lots of rubbish lingers too. A few hikers pass us and we chat with the Australian hiker who had spent the night in the bothy.

    “Seen any basking sharks?” she asks her eyes scanning out to sea. “I’m hoping to see one”.

We follow the ups and downs of the cliff edge and pause for lunch. I have cous-cous and cake before we march on. Leaving the coast we head inland passing the Skye hostel. Over the road we head up into the hills, into a section which is inundated with day trippers, a wedding and city dwellers. Passing Loch Langaig and Loch Hasco, up and up we go, gazing at the lochs below, the wind catching on the water and marring the surface. We hike on and pass beneath the Quiraing which has a mini fleet of day walkers marching to and fro. Then the wind picks up, blitzing though and threatening to whip our caps from our heads. 

We hiked through the crevasses and into the mountains cracks, hopping off the trail when ever we met someone coming the opposite way or wanting to over take. Once out the other end we take a break and watch a wedding take place. A bride and groom with a photographer and two companions aiding the photoshoot.

Snacks demolished, we headed up towards Bioda Buidhe hoping to find somewhere acceptable to camp – out the wind and not on a boggy spot… Up and over the ridge, we followed the well trodden path which has created deep marsh areas with spongy, bouncy steps. Descending down we could see the impressive Trotternish Ridge looming and what we’d be climbing tomorrow. Another camper was strategic-ly camped behind an old stone wall but pitched in the firing path of the wind, the valley funnelling the gale down the centre. 

We bimble on and search for a patch free of water, large rocks and somewhat flat – not asking much :p We settle on such a spot and enjoy a warm meal courtesy of Max’s cooker. A hot chocolate ends the day as we snuggle down into our sleeping bags. The northern lights have been forecasted to night and we keep a vigilant eye out, poking our heads through the door every so often but the clear night’s sky yields only stars.