BothyLoch Aslaich (lochside)
|
Distance/Ascent22.7km 872m
|
Estimated time4.5h outward, 3.75h return
|
ParkingBalnain car park NH 473 287
|
28-29 December 2025
When I arrive home from overseas, it takes me time to settle back home and I feel I need to spend some time with my family, but I always like to get in a trip to the hills. An area of high pressure had been over the UK for some days. I had been a little concerned about crossing the River Coiltie, but it was easily crossed near the outflow from Loch Aslaich.
I cycled through the forest until heading left/ south up a track that was initially steeper. It is possible to bike as far as the locked shooting hut at NH4196525335. I developed a slightly sore toe, which I protected with some Compede while at the bothy. It was not until I arrived home that I realised that I had two pairs of insoles in the boot. This was enough to reduce the height of the toe box by 2-3mm resulting in rubbing.
My Pentax K70 camera developed the aperture block problem associated with some of the brand's entry level cameras, resulting in underexposed shots, so the photographs below was taken on my phone. My camera has a shutter count of over 60 thousand and I do seem to have fixed it, even if only temporarily. It did happen briefly once before.
I cycled through the forest until heading left/ south up a track that was initially steeper. It is possible to bike as far as the locked shooting hut at NH4196525335. I developed a slightly sore toe, which I protected with some Compede while at the bothy. It was not until I arrived home that I realised that I had two pairs of insoles in the boot. This was enough to reduce the height of the toe box by 2-3mm resulting in rubbing.
My Pentax K70 camera developed the aperture block problem associated with some of the brand's entry level cameras, resulting in underexposed shots, so the photographs below was taken on my phone. My camera has a shutter count of over 60 thousand and I do seem to have fixed it, even if only temporarily. It did happen briefly once before.
The loch-side bothy is structurally sound and even has a couple of double-glazed windows! There are two rooms with a fire place in the partition between the two rooms. There was plenty of firewood, plus I had carved in a fire log and a bit of wood. However, the heat goes up the chimney and I found it difficult to warm the place up
I did not want to burn any more fuel than necessary. I wanted to leave it for others, so I got into my sleeping bag very early, maybe around 8pm. I was wearing Primaloft slippers, down trousers and a down jacket inside my 40+ year old sleeping bag, so I stayed nice and warm all night. It was a very still night and I heard no scuttling about. It was an extremely quiet and peaceful night. It is a long time since I slept for so long. I got up soon after 6:00am and set off in the dark at 7:45am. It was fairly light by the time the track splits and I headed up to the locked shooting lodge at NH419652533.
I could have brought my bike up this far. It is a good track all the way back to the forest. Once back at my bike, it was mostly downhill. I certainly was able to ride the whole way as any uphill was not very steep and was short. I arrived back at 11:30am.