11th/12th May 2009
Camp in Coire Banachdich
Altitude 766m

We hurried on down Sgurr Dearg, passed the first gully into Coire na Banachdich and then dropped off the ridge into the second one. By 19:25pm we found the rocks under which our gear was stashed and were relieved to find the best camping spot was still vacant. The first thing we did was fetch some water from the stream and open the packet of apple juice. We sat on the 'patio' with a fantastic view and both drank the best part of a litre each of apple juice mixed with water to help the re-hydration process together with some salty nuts. We set up the tent and then tried without success to ring home. However, I did manage to send a text to confirm we were camped and in fine spirits. Cooked a meal of Pasta and Sauce mixed with chunks of ready cooked chicken (that we had brought with us) and Angel Delight with dried fruit flakes as dessert. Unlike our previous attempts at the ridge the evening was relatively warm perhaps partly because the aspect of the coire caught the evening sun. We had no need to don all the clothes we had with us to keep warm and I sat outside to eat my meal and to watch the sun set over the sea. Some groups of people dropped down into the coire and we presumed these were the TV crew on their way back down. We thought one group had stopped just out of sight of us but we couldn't be sure. By the time the sun had sunk beneath the horizon it was 10:30pm and we were both feeling tired and ready for sleep. David set his alarm for 6:15am.

At 5:15am an alarm went off!! I had left mine switched on from the previous morning! I silenced it, turned over and went back to sleep for another hour. It had been a quiet night with very little wind and we had both slept well. We had breakfast of cereal, orange juice, bread and coffee. As we were packing up the tent we caught a glimpse of some people beyond the rocks a few hundred yards away. We stashed everything we didn't need under the rocks and at 7:50am we took a diagonal line back up the coire towards Bealach Coire na Banachdich.

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