Routes
Huts / campsites
Roadends
Summits
Passes / crossings
Scenic features
Junctions
DOC Land
Altitude: 52m to 297m. Gain: 249m. Loss: 451m . Gradient: 4 deg (Moderate)
Skills: Occasional scrambles (3/7) - Streams (2/6)
The track between Kintail Hut and Loch Maree Hut was poorly marked and maintained in 2020.
From Kintail Hut the marked route follows the riverbank, passing Gair Loch by sidling low on the face. The ground here is a series of clearings and open scrub alternating with open bush. Track marking is infrequent and it is hard to relocate the track after each clearing.
A steep sidling descent follows from the upper valley to the forks with Kenneth Burn. Care is needed in places where the sidle is steep and exposed, and again the track is poorly cut & marked (2020).
Kenneth Burn is crossed on a walkwire, below which the gradient is flat with the route meandering down the western bank of the river. Marking is poor and the track no more obvious than the various deer trails that traverse the valley floor. Clearings present problems picking up the track as it renters the bush and for those with good routefinding it is faster to ignore the track and follow your nose in places.
Parties report rafting the Seaforth from approx pt134 to Loch Maree Hut - but the river was very low when I visited and frequent trees blocking the entire width would require frequent brief portages. Given this it seems unlikely that rafting would be any faster than walking.
4-7 hrs
See also Moir's Guide Ed 7, pg 140: Kintail to Loch Maree Hut