We moved off the summit to find shelter from a very cold breeze.
We were tired, hungry and thirsty and almost certainly dehydrated. Even
drinking the little water we had kept back for this moment didn’t seem
to help and liquorice allsorts stayed dry in our mouths. An orange, that
David still had (and had offered to sell me for £100!!) was nirvana.
After a 10 minute break we started the walk down. To our delight we found
a path slightly to the left of the ridge line which was easy going compared
to what we were now accustomed. We made good progress and as the light faded
we could see the lights of the distillery at Carbost and thoughts of Tallisker
whisky came to mind. A car was coming along the road and we used the radio
to confirm that it was in fact our ‘support team’ on the way. Within a half
an hour we were sliding down the first scree slope towards the path that
crosses from Sligachan to the Glen Brittle road. Once we reached it we stopped
by the stream to drink and fill a bottle each from which we continued to
sip as we moved quickly along the final miles towards the road where the
car was waiting. By now it was completely dark, our feet were feeling very
sore and it was with great relief that at 11:03pm the adventure was finally
over!