Loch Shiel

[Grooveski]

Just back from a long weekend up at Loch Shiel feeding the midgies.

I stayed the first night on the wee island at Glenfinnan...

...and met with Shewie and Gailainne on the saturday morning. Rich and I shuttled a car to Loch Moidart while Stephen put the finishing touches on his latest creation.

And off we go.

At first camp Rich slept off the all-night drive and Stephen took his first steps into the world of sailing.

Meant to thank 1972 for the canvas bags we traded. They've transformed the ease of storage on the wee canoe.

Next day we carried on through some lovely scenery.

Camp that night was paradise. A perfect anti midgie breeze while we ate and relaxed. When the mist dropped and the smirr got heavy we were ready for a kip and an early start anyway.

Next morning we took a nosey up the River Polloch.

We were curious about the big pools on the map and right enough, they're curious big pools.

Any stationary object became a damselfly mating ground. There were loads of them.

Rich proclaimed this a nice looking spot for lunch...

...and he wasn't wrong.

Oh, shiny!

Around then the wind swung round and from the cemetery island we could see it was going to be tougher going for a while.

Still, we got our heads down and bay hopped along, stopping for a rest and walk at one point...

...then in the evening the wind died off as the loch narrowed. This's looking back we way we've just come.

The river was a nightmare. The level was awfy low and the boats all took a beating.

Wayhay, salt! Rich looking as pleased as I felt too about hitting Loch Moidart.

We headed out the channel and found a spot for the night.

Loch Moidart was lovely. We had a good mooch around it on the last day.

Josh

 

[Large Sack]

Amazing. This is something I really must have a go at.

Thanks for sharing

Sack

 

[nolightweight]

Great pics. Cracking scenery up there.

 

[Toddy]

I so want a boat again and those photos just really drive it home.
Looks like an absolutely brilliant trip Josh
Cheers for the photies

atb,
M

 

[locum76]

My knees ache just thinking about canoeing, I'd like a wee dinghy to get out there though.

Do you know anything of the grave yard?

 

[gsfgaz]

That must have been amazing trip , because the scenery and the wild life is awesome in tha area. great pics and check for ticks
cheers for sharing

 

[Grooveski]

Do you know anything of the grave yard?

It's this place. There were markers ranging from melted stubs through large slabs to crosses old and new. At the time all I knew was that there appeared to be a high MacDonald population.

The big modern(relatively) cross looks west down the loch from the top of the hill. An honored looking position.

I so want a boat again and those photos just really drive it home.

Funnily enough there was joking round the fire about how much you want another boat. We all seemed to know about different ones that you've been sniffing around.
I know where you can borrow one any time you like.

 

[Shewie]

Great piccies again Josh

A great few days out and sorry guys for having to cut it short, that stretch down the bottom of the loch was a real bind and should gave been done over a few days rather than one afternoon/evening, apologies for that one.

Obviously I have some brownie points to redeem so I'll get part two in the planning

No ticks on me so far

Piccies up tomorrow

 

[Chinkapin]

Very lovely pictures! Looks like a trip of a lifetime.

 

[MagiKelly]

Another great looking trip Josh. you are really packing them in it seems. Reminds me I must try getting out fishing on Loch Long of Gairlochead and see if the mackerel are in yet.

My knees ache just thinking about canoeing, I'd like a wee dinghy to get out there though.

I've been paddling canoes for a few years now and have probably spent less than 5 minutes kneeling in them. You know you can just sit on the seat

 

[locum76]

I've been paddling canoes for a few years now and have probably spent less than 5 minutes kneeling in them. You know you can just sit on the seat

I'm 6' 6". I'd keep banging the paddle off my ears if I sat on the seat.

 

[MagiKelly]

Can't see why. I am only a couple of inches shorter than you and it really is not a problem.

 

[jungle_re]

fantastic photos, stunning - really makes me look forward to getting in the water this weekend.
The sail looks top notch too - what's it like in use?

 

[locum76]

Can't see why. I am only a couple of inches shorter than you and it really is not a problem.

Okay, you've got me. I just prefer me bike. You cannae go up hill in a canoe.

 

[Doc]

Great trip and pics.

How do you do those panorama pictures?

 

[Grooveski]

My camera has a setting specifically for them. It shows a bit of your last photo down one side and you line up the next one to match.

It also locks the exposure to the first photo so if you're doing a full 360 it's worth lining up the first one and doing the half-depressed button bit to autofocus then holding the button there and spinning round. Sometimes you'll find the trees or hills are too dark or the brighter areas are washed out when you get to them. If so choose a slightly lighter or darker view as your first image and try it again.

You can take them with cameras that don't have an assist function too, it just takes a little more mental discipline. Use manual mode so your exposure is locked as mentioned.

Other tips:

Turn on gridlines or a bounding box(if your camera will let you) to help you stay level, the wonkier the assorted horizons are the more you have to crop off the top and bottom of the finished picture.
Wonky horizons make things harder in the stitching software too, they induce waves that are a pain to sort, you're sometimes best taking [a copy of] the images through photoshop and rotating/cropping/saving them first to get them level.

My current camera is set to 50% overlap, my last was locked at 20%. It means 12 pics per rotation instead of 8 but I reckon it's worth it for the ease of leveling the images. I also have two 360s which are missing a few degrees because the canoe was rocking and one bit of forested hilltop can look surprisingly like the next sometimes. I doubt that would have happened if the overlap had been higher.

Stiching software enjoys woods a lot more than lakes.

PTGui walks all over any of the free stitching software(and any of the Pro versions I tried as well). Switching to it was like an electronic breath of fresh air.

If you're trying it and get into any bother feel free to give me a shout.

 

[jdlenton]

great trip that note to self get a gate pass from the wife and bugger off to Scotland with the canoe : )

 

[Shewie]

My first venture into video and youtube so it's well ropey

[video=youtube;EjJQBqnm1nQ]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EjJQBqnm1nQ[/video]

 

[davyowens]

Looks like you all had an awsome trip, great pics, they give me a far better idea of an area I've always loved - wild as it gets - looks like there's plenty of good potential campspots - thanx for sharing, I've always looked at Loch Sheil when planning my summer trip but ended up going elsewhere, - the SCA guidebook mentions the midges very specifically - greatly encouraged by your midge free experience.

 

[davyowens]

Magic video mate shows the place in all it's misty character, the frame with the rainbow over the island sums up the wild beauty of the passing squalls that give each of our glens their own wee micro climate.

A trip for the future.