We’d been on the boat for hours, maybe even days. The rough sea threw the tiny Sheerwater around easily: we’d rise to the crest of one wave before slamming down the rear violently, the engine cutting out. Often, we’d rock to one side, until the fabric window of the boat’s side was nearly in the water; I could see Poseidon himself looking straight at me, and I cowered. Surely we’d never make it to Rum? We hadn’t even reached Eigg…why doesn’t the mighty Calmac ferry sail on a Thursday? This small boat was surely inadequate for such a rough sea.
My companions, too, were unhappy. Ailsa and Nina both looked a little sick, but Jenny and Anisha were green. Santi was fine, eating a bacon sandwich and happily trotting around the rocking boat – I assumed he’d bribed Poseidon by sacrificing something to the sea, perhaps an old friend on a past trip. Maybe he’d do the same to one of us – to guarantee himself safe, sea-sick free passage for eternity. I tightened my grip on the barriers just in case! I wasn’t feeling too sick, but the rough sea terrified me – give me a bold trad route any day!
So…how did this terrible Sheerwater experience begin? Well, every year after exams folk in the mountaineering club go on a road trip around Scotland. This year, dinner meet was on Canna, and given a drizzily forecast, we decided to spend a few days on Rum before this. Normally, you reach Rum using a trustworthy Calamac: a mighty boat that is at ease even in the roughest seas, but alas, it does not sail to Rum on Thursday. We were doomed to a small boat sailing from Arisaig, which was surely barely sea-worthy. The journey was unpleasant, as I’ve described, and we were all heartbroken upon realising that Eigg was not our final destination. The boat continued on, initially through sheltered water, before one final half an hour stretch in violent seas. It felt endless.
At last, we arrived on Rum. The rain stopped too – and we enjoyed some sun. Tents were dried, lunch was eaten, and jalapeno jars were smashed. A fine rest after the traumatic morning sail.
We were heading for Dibidil bothy tonight, to do the Rum Cullin tomorrow. The walk to the bothy was magnificent, with views across to Eigg and up to the stunning mountains of the island.
After a swim, we reached the bothy and it was stunning (although very midgey). After seeing a large spider, I opted to pitch my tent outside, but I was glad for the shelter from the midges as I ate dinner (cooked excellently by Anisha and Jenny!). Chorizo and an ungodly amount of vegetables mixed with tomato sauce had never tasted so good!
Better than dinner was the FISSURE next to the bothy! I adopted an alternate personality, Bethyl, the elderly woman with many ex-husbands. Naturally, all ex-husbands would end up down the fissure, doomed for an eternity with Steven, the worst of all the ex-husbands. It had taken just 2 days, and I’d already lost my mind!
After a good rest, we had some quick breakfast and began the long slog up to Ainshval! It was hot, the grass was full of tics, but the views were stunning! I was overjoyed!
The connecting ridge between the subsidiary Sgurr Nan Gillean and Ashival was stunning, with occasional breaks in the cloud revealing the stunning bowl we were in! Rum was proving to be utterly majestic!
Lunch was enjoyed on top of Ashival and we continued on towards Trollaval. Initially, we went the wrong way, sticking too closely to the crest of the ridge, but a short downclimb masterfully located by Santi corrected us, and we made progress towards a stunning saddle.
A short rest was had here before tackling the climb to Trollaval. This proved to be a steep and enjoyable scramble in places, and the narrow ridge at the top was joyous!
A big climb led us up to Askival, where we enjoyed a stunning view and a few snacks!
A short but enjoyable ridge led to the final summit of the day, Hallival.
From Hallival, we descended to a saddle where I realised we’d been carrying a green-grocer’s worth of vegetables over all these hills. Anisha and Jenny produced packs of mushrooms, multiple onions, many, many peppers, TWO BLOODY CORGETTES, and OLIVE OIL! I was shocked, outraged and felt like any of my lighthearted roots had been betrayed. Is this what socialising in the mountains does? Turns you into some sort of vegetable porter?! One vegetable a week is all you need in the hills, and I have it on good authority that Chorizo is basically a tasty carrot, so that counts too 😉
After an admittedly delicious dinner, we had a quick dip before reaching Kinloch again, where we camped in the grounds of the castle and got midged horrendously.
All in all, an excellent trip that made for a great start to the Road Trip! The weather improved, and we went to Skye, then Lewis and got loads of climbing in! But Rum, at the end of the day, was the highlight for me, and it’s somewhere I really want to go back to to explore with more time and fewer vegetables…perhaps a walk around the island will need to be done sooner rather than later!
And best of all, any further sailing was done on a mighty CALMAC! The sea was smooth and we travelled in luxury.
Oscar Outdoors 