Stac Pollaigh is a little gem of a mountain, well deserving of a geocache but as it is in the centre of Inverpolly Site of Special Scientific Interest, a physical cache is possibly out of the question. This is where Earthcaches come into their own, especially as the area is recognised as of geological interest, being part of the North West Highlands Geopark – one of a network of 32 European Geoparks developed since the start of the millennium.
The Stac Pollaig is made of Torridonian Sandstone, a coarse red-brown rock which was laid down between 1,200 to 850 million years ago as sediments dumped by fast flowing rivers draining from the west.
Massive ice sheets covered Scotland so deeply 20,000 years ago that only the tops of the highest peaks poked through them. The gradual movement of the ice carved out the “island” mountains we see today with Stac Pollaidh and the surrounding hills being the hardest remnants of the rock that were left behind by the glaciers.
Alpine-style glaciers returned to the area briefly around 11,000 years ago causing more erosion so that these mountains now rise sharply, with characteristic profiles, from the surrounding low-altitude landscape, which is a mosaic of small lochans and sparsely vegetated moraine and bedrock.
Stac Polly (it’s anglicized name) now only stands 2008 feet (612m) high but its jagged little ‘cockscomb’ ridge is instantly recognisable in almost all of the superb panoramas that visitors to the region marvel at. During the present inter-glacial period rain, wind and repeated freeze-thaw cycles have further eroded the short sandstone ridge into a series of fantastic pinnacles, which in the last 100 years have been subjected to even more physical erosion, this time by the feet of walkers and climbers.
Some of the pinnacles
A new, partly slabbed path has been created to minimise further erosion and this now directs walkers to the col on the ridge from the north side.
Part of the ridge
To claim this Earthcache you need to e mail me 2 pieces of information and post a photo.
First visit the lay-by near Strathcanaird at N 57 58.997' W 005 07.093' where there used to be a “Rock Route” information panel which showed how the landscape probably looked when the ice sheets were at their maximum extent, with only the tops of the highest mountains poking through the ice-sheets. In 2012/13 it was replaced with a new NW GeoPark "Deep Freeze Mountains" panel and you now have to e mail me to say which peak is named that isn't listed below:-
Stac Pollaidh : Ben Mor Coigach : Cul Beag
You also need to visit the Stac Pollaigh car park N 58 02.073' W 005 12.441' (NC 107 095) which used to say that these peaks were inselbergs" or “island mountains”. Now it gives other information. You need to tell me what Stac Pollaidh means translated into English.
Finally, because this is all too easy and I’d be inundated with over 150 e-mails each year if I left it at this, you need to climb the wee hill and post a photo of yourself, maybe with your gps in hand if you want to show people the flashy or old-fashioned kit you are using, at the summit with the cairn and the characteristic lichen covered rocks beside you (with maybe some of the lower pinnacles in the background). eg
This is NOT so easy for, although there is an excellent, partly slabbed, path from the car park which goes round to the right of the mountain and then rises to the ridge, the final pinnacle, with the summit cairn on it, requires you to negotiate a short scramble in a fairly exposed situation, hence the star ratings! It only takes 3 or 4 moves but is an ‘interesting’ little challenge and it’s up to you to decide whether to attempt it or not. You do not have to worry about reversing the moves to get down as most people just sit, slide and jump down the 3-4 feet to the col.
The final obstacle
Many thanks indeed to HighlandNick and The Black Isler (Teuchters) 
for keeping me informed of the recent changes to the noticeboards.