Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park (LLTTNP) rangers have been very kind to support our efforts! Our February trip was scheduled for March 9 with transportation to be provided by LLTTNP. Katherine had "finals", but I made the trip ... hoping the weather would clear. Unfortunately, gale force winds added to the rain on Monday and the LLTTNP rangers wisely cancelled the trip. Since they were booked until Friday, I was left to find a way over to the island to salvage my trip. The weather forecast was "partly sunny" with winds abating for Tuesday ... but for Tuesday only.
Our friend, Bill Porter, is back on the water in his Beneteau, but was fully booked for Tuesday. The folks at Can You (out of the Loch Lomond Shores Mall in Balloch) were able to help with a canoe, but didn't have racks. Fortunately, TISO in Glasgow had both canoe and racks. They are in the opposite direction from the airport to the loch, but are a reliable source for canoe or kayak and were very helpful this trip!
After dropping my key at the Ardlui Hotel, I made my way south to the third lay by south of the Pulpit Rock construction ... the one with the large rock along side and long enough for three cars to lay by lengthwise. There's a relatively sharp eight foot drop down to the water, but it was easy to slide the canoe down to the flat bedrock at the water's edge. The loch was particularly high this trip.
I had a little wind to contend with on the paddle over, but it only took about five minutes to make the crossing. The drizzle had stopped and the clouds began to clear as I reached the beach on the north end of the island. It proved to be another gorgeous day on Eilean A Vow!
The archaeologists were re-scheduled to come over later in the week, so I focused on photogrammetry. Eight tall, but light traffic cones were place carefully on or near the tower with the camera pole ... as points of reference. With the vegetation down, I was able to get about 500 shots ... but photogrammetry still has an element of "art" to it and the "jury is out" on whether I got all the necessary shots for good 3D modeling. The initial run was promising, but will take a lot more processing.
Feeling fully satisfied, I paddled back across a glassy loch ... having the whole loch to myself, it seemed.
The three archaeologist (Fiona, David, and Tom) were scheduled to be on the loch today to complete the survey work. The weather seemed good from the forecast, but I haven't gotten word yet on whether the trip was successful. I hope to provide a full update in the next few days. Thanks to LLTTNP, thanks to the archaeologists, and thanks to you all for your support!
Bruce
(and Katherine, in absentia)
Our friend, Bill Porter, is back on the water in his Beneteau, but was fully booked for Tuesday. The folks at Can You (out of the Loch Lomond Shores Mall in Balloch) were able to help with a canoe, but didn't have racks. Fortunately, TISO in Glasgow had both canoe and racks. They are in the opposite direction from the airport to the loch, but are a reliable source for canoe or kayak and were very helpful this trip!
After dropping my key at the Ardlui Hotel, I made my way south to the third lay by south of the Pulpit Rock construction ... the one with the large rock along side and long enough for three cars to lay by lengthwise. There's a relatively sharp eight foot drop down to the water, but it was easy to slide the canoe down to the flat bedrock at the water's edge. The loch was particularly high this trip.
I had a little wind to contend with on the paddle over, but it only took about five minutes to make the crossing. The drizzle had stopped and the clouds began to clear as I reached the beach on the north end of the island. It proved to be another gorgeous day on Eilean A Vow!
The archaeologists were re-scheduled to come over later in the week, so I focused on photogrammetry. Eight tall, but light traffic cones were place carefully on or near the tower with the camera pole ... as points of reference. With the vegetation down, I was able to get about 500 shots ... but photogrammetry still has an element of "art" to it and the "jury is out" on whether I got all the necessary shots for good 3D modeling. The initial run was promising, but will take a lot more processing.
Feeling fully satisfied, I paddled back across a glassy loch ... having the whole loch to myself, it seemed.
The three archaeologist (Fiona, David, and Tom) were scheduled to be on the loch today to complete the survey work. The weather seemed good from the forecast, but I haven't gotten word yet on whether the trip was successful. I hope to provide a full update in the next few days. Thanks to LLTTNP, thanks to the archaeologists, and thanks to you all for your support!
Bruce
(and Katherine, in absentia)
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