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A good day to be out on the hills, the rain held off and we
had a good turnout, seven explorers: Alasdair C., Edward,
Joshua, Loren, Matthew, Robbie C. and Selena, with twelve
helpers, Cathie-Sarah, Howard, Jamshaid, John Dove, Johnny,
Michael, Philippa, Rebecca, Rocio, Selina and Stephen with
Ellie as the official expedition dog and Stan joining us as
guest dog.
We started from the Arivegaig Bridge and walked along the
track towards Gorten. We had only one dog when we started
but Stan, an experienced explorer, joined the group before
we had got very far. When we reached the Power Station we
did a short detour to look at the little pond in case there
were tadpoles. Unfortunately all we saw was a bit of poor
looking frogspawn and a dead toad.
Not at all discouraged, we went back to the Power Station
and set off up the steep track towards the dam. John Dove
had offered a prize for the first to spot the railway and
the explorers maintained a good pace in front of us in the
hopes of being the first to find it. I can't remember who
got the prize, but we all saw the remaining railway track.
When we got to the dam we had a short breather for everyone
to recover from the climb and then set off across the rough
ground towards the waterfall.
As we got nearer to the hill we could clearly see evidence
of the fire which devastated the area three years ago. Robbie
was on good form and spotted a red-throated diver on the lochan
and a golden eagle gliding over the hills.
Everyone was pretty bushed by the time we reached the waterfall
and most of the adults settled down for a rest. However, Howard
and some active explorers pushed on through the mossy boulders
to reach the base of the waterfall, coming back only when
the Tunnock's wafers were being handed round.
We spent a good time relaxing by the fall and then set off
back along the stalkers' path led by John Dove, who knew this
area well. We detoured to look for glacial scratches on a
flat rock but there weren't any and we had to hurry to catch
up. After climbing up a valley to the top of the hill we paused
for pictures and then climbed back down to the track and our
well-deserved snack at the Pantry, pausing only to photograph
a Drinker Moth caterpillar found by Robbie – he was
on very good form that day.
There was some good drawings after this expedition, I have
picked out just a section of Selina's, which covered a whole
page with details. This part shows us all climbing a hill,
the adults large and me with a hat and the explorers smaller
and uncharacteristically lower on the hill. You can also see
the two dogs and a big round boulder with moss on it.
John
Dye
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