It Doesn't Always Work Out

I always enjoy finding new walking or mountain bike routes.

But just as a Princesses must kiss a lot of frogs, so those of us who search outside the guidebooks must accept, we will sometimes fail to find what we're looking for.

Yesterday was one of those days.

I've looked at this route as long as I've lived on Ardnamurchan. On the map, it looks like it should be good.

There's a long Land Rover track to the start; a steep slimb across a mountain pass on a Scottish Right of Way; then a return route on tarmac. It could even be turned into a loop. (Oh, the GPS switched off for a while near the top - hence the straight line).

Sometimes, those old routes up to mountain passes are well made, having been rebuilt by generations of stalkers as a way of getting their shooting clients into the upper corries.

The top section is usually a thrash, but it's mostly OK. Not this one.

Too steep, too narrow and too little track. It would be a great walk, but not when you're lugging a two wheeled machine on your shoulder.

The downhill was too boggy to ride until we managed to jump into the tracks of a quad or Argocat.

But this happens when prospecting for new routes. It doesn't always work out. So long as it's fun trying.