Friday – Coulin and Coulags

Weather: sunny, rainy, sunny, windy

Miles:  36.12

The weather forecast for the day was looking a bit iffy, but all seemed sunny enough at breakfast time. Paul didn’t want to ride his bike without the shock held on so he ordered a new bit (£1.50) from Barrow and got it sent to Skye to pick up later in his holiday, this meant Paul and Fi would be having a day walking up a mountain. Dawn decided to have a low level walking day (and brought us back lots of cake she’d bought off little old ladies). The rest of us set off riding from the hostel down the single track A road towards Torridon, with nice distracting views of Ben Eighe and Liathach.

A road

At Loch Clair we turned off onto estate roads then a lakeshore path, heading towards the Coulin Pass, further down the valley we picked up the track climbing alongside the Easan Dorcha towards Drochaid Coire Lair.

Coulin Lodge

Climbing

We stopped for some pictures at a picturesque waterfall and well appointed bothy shack, surprising the lady who came out to brush her teeth. From the falls the path turned into well constructed singletrack with the odd drainage ditch and steep pitch to interrupt the flow (and it was important to keep flowing as there was no wind to blow away the wee beasties). Without much difficulty we reached the Drochaid, amidst some impressively rocky mountains, some light weather had come in so it was on with the waterproofs for the descent.

Climbing by Easan Dorcha

Skin so soft midge attractant

When the path started to drop down we didn’t get very far before Andrea and I fell victim to the water bars, cue trying to fix punctures whilst dancing round to avoid the midges. Punctures fixed in record time it was time to hit the descent proper, and what a descent it was! The path wiggled down the hillside and was very well built, with bike friendly pitched sections interspersed with damp but grippy bedrock slabs. From what I remember there was probably just one step we had to lift the bikes down. The trail dived down into the forest and eventually hit a fireroad at a curious round hobbit gate.

Hobbitgate

The rain was getting harder so we were glad to see the “teas” sign as we approached Achnashellach Station. Unfortunately it was shut, I almost cried. We continued along a few km of road to Coulags, hoping the rain would stop for lunch, no such luck but it did damp down the midges.

After lunch we started the climb up the valley besides Fionn Abhainn, this was rough singletrack, a bit more taxing than the morning’s climb. When we crossed the stream the track levelled but the drainage channels increased in sharpness and frequency, claiming Andy’s back wheel within sight of the 5* bothy. We popped into the bothy for a nosy and found Graham F’s entry in the visitor book (there was another entry from a group of bikers who got 3 punctures on the last section so I think we got away lightly).

Fionnaraich

Back on the trail it didn’t take long for Julia’s luck/skill to run out and we had another puncture stop without midge shelter. The solid surface ran out as we approached Loch Coire Fionnaraich and we were forced to push, trundle and carry past the loch and up the steepening path to Bealach na Lice. Thankfully there were some fab views and the sun was back out. By the time we reached the Bealach there was a strong crosswind so we didn’t hang around too long.

After the difficulties of the last km it was nice to get back on the bike and head downhill on some winding singletrack with the occasional rocky and peaty bit.

We rode round the shore Loch an Eion stopping to admire the mini tornados of spray whipped up by the wind.

Loch an Eion

Past the loch the descent proper started with the wind pushing us along and the impressive backdrop of Liathach distracting us from the joys of the trail. The stony singletrack wound between easy angled bedrock sections, taking us onto a terrace that gradually descended into Torridon, definitely a new favourite to add to the list!

Down at Annat it was time to stock up on jelly babies for the 11 mile road ride back down the valley to Kinlochewe, powered by a mega tailwind. We only had one stop when Andy’s tyre blew out and were back at the bunkhouse in no time at all.

After a bit more searching the car park for Paul’s bit we did some more serious eating courtesy of Julia (bread and butter pudding, yum) and retired to the pub to sample the rest of the beer. Andy had brought some picture quizzes which kept us entertained although the ladies need to geek up on their pubs and tarns of Cumbria.

Our peaceful night’s sleep was spoilt by a hairy biker who snored like a hog (my earplugs were next to useless). Not surprisingly there were a few grumpy people in the morning.