Lochan na h-Earba

"Vexed": irritated, distressed, or annoyed

Over the last few days we seem to have been hell bent on trying to lose something on our walks; keys generally.

On seting off for our wee Achaderry walk last night a quick tentative hunt for the wee camera tripod at the back door was unsuccessful. Anyway it was just a quick stretch. On return and through the evening it wasn't to materialise and then I started to mentally reverse my tracks. I last used it at Leanachan minutes before returning to the car. While Caley jumps back in to the car Bruce always puts his front paws on the shelf and expects you to lift the rest of him in. To explain this isn't because he is stiff or unfit. He can move easily on steep mountainside and he takes big sure footed steps in places humans would use two hands for extra support. But no, when it comes to the car he always expects you to help him in. At the rough parking at Leanachan I must have dropped the tripod on the verge to accommodate Bruce's traditional assisted entry. I returned to the spot today and it was gone. I have the camera mount part of it in my pocket so it is of absolutely no use to the new owner.

It wasn't expensive. I bought it in the ever changing oddment section in our Local Lidl but it worked very well with my wee Sigma when set to low ISO (where it works best). Its lost and I am "Vexed".

This morning Mhairi and I had a great walk up to Lochan na h-Earba. On my previous blips I have always boasted of the absolute solitude of this wonderful hill loch. Perhaps I should stop because today in a little over two hours we met 12 other walkers. Its time to worry when you run out of fingers. I should add that at the loch itself when we were walking over the sandy SW end beach we did have the place to ourselves. We (Mhairi, Bruce Caley and I) love this spot.

The difficulty with such a walk is to choose just one image and I have posted some more here on my FB page.

Lochan na h-Earba

Oh aye, I have just read an article in yesterday's Herald. Beinn a Chlaidheimh (Say Ben a Clave) "Hill of the Sword" has been removed from the official Munro listing. I am at about 200 Ms (have been static there for about ten years) so now I am at about 199 now. It is a particularly remote mountain. To climb it, and its even more remote neighbours, there is a long walk in, a big river to wade across and at least one night out wild camping or a stay in a remote bothy. All that effort and planning and not a Munro anymore; Vexed again.