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| 22nd September 2006 - Strawberry Cottage, Glen Affric We all met up in the Slaters Arms in Cannich, and coordinated people & gear for the drive in. Once the torture of the track was over, we successfully arrived at the hut. We were treated to a very clear night, stars everywhere, you could even see the milky way. Colin reckoned he saw some shooting stars, could be the drink though. Hillwalking seems to be the order of the day just now, and so it was for this meet. Lots of Gaelic named hill were climbed, so apologies in advance for any mis-spellings. Rab & Mike headed south to A'Chralaig and Mullach Fraoch-coire. They saw a pair of Golden Eagles circling up then blasting off into the distance. Colin went west, to Sgurr nan Chrysanthemum, then Mullach nan Dheirgan. The rest went north, to Mam Sodhail, although by different routes for some reason. Lorna and Jacqui went up to the east of the hill, Monica, Claus and Ken to the west. They all met successfully at the top however. Of note, was that this was both Jacqui's & Claus' second Munro. Jacqui said "It's a bit bigger than Schiehallion". Quite ! Monica, Claus, Lorna & Ken continued to Carn Eighe. Everyone had brilliant views, stretching from Ben Nevis to Torridon, a great day to be out in the hills. Back at the hut, the chocolate cake & champagne just keeps on coming with the BFMC ! This meet coincided with Lorna's 40th birthday, which provided the excuse this time (if one was needed). She also enjoyed her present ... We had to look after Ben, a rather old collie who had randomly turned up at the hut. He had a good enough appetite, eating everything we could find, apart from Mike's rice. Better lay off the "secret ingredient" eh ? Ben's owners had in fact left a note for us, asking to phone them if he turned up. They'd become separated on the hill & hadn't been able to find him. He didn't seem to mind us all that much. Sunday was a miserable day. Even power-lounging couldn't keep us occupied, so we gave the hut a good clean and set off mid afternoon for the drive out the track, past the poor folks camping by the river. Mike was reunited with his front number plate, which had fallen off (un-noticed) on the drive in. More gear / people shuffling at the car park & it was off down the road. Ben was returned to his rightful owner at BP Connect, Perth (after scoffing down a sausage supper en route!) According to the owner, this isn’t the first time Ben has gone walkies, he has a history of disappearing in the hills. The best one being when he disappeared in Glen Nevis, only turning up 10 days later, after crossing the Mamores to Kinlochleven ! Perhaps someone should write a book about this dog and its obviously colourful life. How about an Honorary Braes o’ Fife Membership at least !
Monica, Lorna, Claus & Jacqui on Mam Sodhail
Champagne, chocolate cake & a toy helicopter - who could ask for more !
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