Day 18 - Sandwood Bay to Cape Wrath

We made it! It’s both exhilarating and sad for me to say, but we made it!
Last night was the perfect last night for our trip. We truly were blessed to have such ideal conditions as we watched the sunset and reflected on our trip and our time here in Scotland. We woke early and were packed up and on the trail for the last time at 7:00. I am not sure if it was the adrenaline, or just a dire need for a shower, but what we thought might take 4.5 - 5 hours ended up only taking 3.5 hours. I didn’t look back but there may have been a vapour trail behind us. We started with sunny and blue skies, but by the time we got to Cape Wrath it had been snowing and raining and blowing for over an hour.

Ben and Zach In Front Of The Cape Wrath Lighthouse

I had booked us on the 2:15 shuttle to the Kyle of Durness ferry, but since we were there so early, and there was room, we jumped on the 11:15 shuttle. We noticed that the four hikers were all put on one shuttle, and all of the civilized and nice-smelling people went on the other shuttle. That was probably a wise business decision! As we drove along, one of the other hikers mentioned that it was a 5 km walk from the ferry into Durness. Wait! What???? I had not planned on this, and so it was a bit of a punch in the gut. So we toughed it out one last time, with waterproofs on, and six kilometres later we were really done.

We have since showered, relaxed, ate (I had haggis), relaxed again, and are now getting ready for bed. We are off to Fort William tomorrow to hand the camping gear over to Mandy and Kirsten who are starting their big crossing on Friday. Ben and I are are very excited to see them and give them the best send-off we can!

(Here comes the sappy part) How do I feel:
Rounding the corner and seeing the Cape Wrath lighthouse with my own eyes was a little emotional. Ben and I started this adventure four years ago when he was only 15 years old. To finish it with him today was very special for me, and something I will always treasure.
I also feel like I have accomplished something significant. To look at a map of Scotland and say that I have walked from the southern border, to the northernmost tip with my son, and from the west coast to the east coast with my wife makes me very proud - of them and of myself.
As mentioned in a previous post I also feel relieved. Waking this much is strenuous work. Being in charge of all of the logistics can be stressful. Waking up outside in the morning to rain or cold or snow isn’t the greatest way to start the day. To say I am not looking forward to regaining some of the creature comforts of normal life would be a lie. I can’t wait to get my slippers on, and sit beside our fireplace with a tea and milk. (I also can’t wait for one of Sammy’s world famous omelettes!)

What/who am I thankful for:

Zach Zanon for walking for 18 straight days on one of his first big hiking trips, and for keeping us thoroughly entertained with conversation, antics, and tick mishaps. We couldn’t have done the trip without you, Zach!!
Ben for wanting to come back and finish what we started, and for toughing out a strained Achilles early in the trip.
Birdman, Wouter, and all the other crazy hikers who walked and talked with us, helped us with navigation, and kept us occupied on long hard days.
The Scotts for being kind, curious, witty, and helpful as always. I would especially like to thank Moira, Joyce, Anne, and Martin (The Aberdeen Gang) for the unbelievable sendoff on Day 1, and Paul, Howard, and Nigel (The Melgarve Bothy Crew) for their humourous and thoughtful encouragement as we made our way. BTW, I did not find Nigel’s drawers that were cut off himself for chaffing reasons without even stopping, but I did notice they have posted a sign to warn others:

Mandy Pandy for supporting us through all of the planning, and execution. It was so nice to get messages and the odd FaceTime chats along the way. Our trip was much easier knowing you were always thinking and worrying about us.

Everybody who read this. Blogger lets me know how many people are viewing these posts. I was overwhelmed with the interest, and really want to thank people for taking the time to read them. It truly helped me knowing people were keeping us in their thoughts. Thank you, everybody!!! For those that left comments, I tried to respond to all of you, but have had no success. I am sorry I couldn’t reply.

So, this is it. We are off to Fort William tomorrow, and Edinburgh the next day for a few days. There may be some walking but I suspect it will be much less strenuous. Thanks again everybody for all of the support and time spent reading these posts. I hope it was interesting or entertaining, and as I am sure you all know, if you ever want to talk about Scotland, or hiking, or hiking in Scotland, I am always more than willing to!! Good night!

Birdman update - Birdman walked up to Cape Wrath about twenty minutes before the 11:15 bus was leaving. We had an enjoyable ride to Durness and discussed our camp spots from last night, the big sea eagle we both saw, and more hiking stories and plans he has. He pitched up at the campsite in Durness, and will be on the same bus with us tomorrow morning as he starts heading back to his place in Southampton to start planning his next trip - likely to Australia for three long distance hikes, one of them quite challenging in the Australian outback. It has been a real pleasure getting to know Birdman a little, and he may have pushed me over the edge to start bird watching, which is something I have been considering the past few months. Thank you Birdman!

Route notes - We followed the SNT/CWT route without any deviations.

Day 17 - Loch a’ Garbh-bhaid Mòr to Sandwood Bay

We could not be more lucky than we are right now. We are pitched up about 75 meters above Sandwood Bay, the sun is shining in our tents (my tent doors are wide open), there is nobody on the beach anymore, and the view is stunning. Sandwood Bay is an iconic Scottish beach. It is only accessible by foot - 6.5 km by trail. My understanding is that you have to be somewhat fortunate to be here on a sunny day, as there are only a handful every year. And here we are, more than spoiled to enjoy it all to ourselves, on our last evening on this adventure. The boys are rolling their eyes at me but I keep telling them how lucky we are. I think they know though, because I hear nothing from their tent, just the odd comment.

View From Tent - Boots Off!!

Half of our walk today was on road, which is usually a little tiresome and dreary, but the scenery as we walked from Rhiconich, past Kinlochbervie, up to Blairmore where the path to Sandwood Bay starts was very pretty. Think stereotypical Scottish fishing villages, on cliffs avove the sea lochs. I would love to come back here as a tourist and stay in a few B&Bs that we passed along the way.

From The Road To Blairmore

We stopped in at Spar in Kinlochbervie to resupply for tonight and tomorrow morning, and also splurged on some crisps and chocolate bars. We ate ham and cheese buns on the front step, with a cold pop before heading out for the final push to where we are tonight. When we arrived we spent a good hour or two sitting on the beach, and walking in the surf (sorry Aberdeen gang, despite all the sun it was too cold to get motivated enough for a swim).

Picture Of The Boys Swimming As Promised

We made contact with James at the Cape Wrath shuttle van service, and we are penciled in for 14:15 tomorrow afternoon. This is the shuttle that takes you to the Durness ferry, which I think is a motor boat, that will deliver us to Durness where we are staying tomorrow night. We have heard this last leg is tough (although we also heard that about every leg), so we are going to play it safe and get an early start. We are having apples and muffins for breakfast, so no need to spark up the stove, which usually saves us a half hour in the morning.
It is hard to believe that the hiking portion of our trip is going to be over. I’ll save the sentimental thoughts until tomorrow after I’ve had a pint or two of my dad’s favourite beer - Bellhaven Best. I will say again though, that I am extremely proud of and thankful for, my two amazing hiking partners, Ben and Zach. They have been amazing company and have both shown a lot of patience and determination. I know they are excited for the Edinburgh part of our trip, but I am also sure that they will look back on the hiking portion in the future, and feel very satisfied with what they accomplished.
That’s it for tonight. I am going to go and enjoy the last hour of the sunset out of my front door, and then hit the hay for one last time in my tent. Good night, and thanks for reading!!

Sunset As Seen From My Sleeping Bag

Birdman Update - We played leapfrog with Birdman again today. I enjoyed some more PCT stories, as well as learned more about the local birds. When we met up at the beach he let me try out his binoculars (most amazing binoculars ever, later found out they are worth $2,000!) to watch some of the birds diving for fish. It was so awesome!!

Best piece of gear:
Zach - Water/windproof shell
Ben - Patagonia mid-layer
JM - Laminated maps and OS Locate app

Least used/ most useless piece of gear:
Zach - Gaters (he only used them twice)
Ben - River crossing footwear
JM - Water filter (used once on first day, Ben carried it the whole way)

Gear we wished we brought:
Zach - Inflatable pillow
Ben - Deodorant and cleansing products
JM - Magic carpet

Route notes - We followed the SNT/CWT route without any deviations.

Day 16 - Glendhu Bothy to Loch a’ Garbh-bhaid Mòr

We left the bothy this morning with more discussion about the two families who had taken it over as a holiday cottage. I think our conclusion was that the bothies shouldn’t be used in that way as they are intended as shelter for hikers on their way through. To my Scottish friends, please correct me if I am wrong about this. Despite that we were all glad that we got the chance to sleep in a bothy, and it was nice not to have to pitch a tent, and also to be able to cook inside and while standing!

Looking Back Towards The Bothy

Today wasn’t as spectacular as the last few days, but those days were truly exceptional. We were still treated to some very beautiful Scottish scenery, as well as a full menu of Scottish weather conditions. It was another day of layering up from t-shirts and down from every piece of clothing we brought. We crossed the only peak on the Cape Wrath Trail, Ben Dreavie. With all of the climbing we’ve been doing it’s hard to believe this was the only peak we covered. We made good time all day and decided to push a little further than where our intended camp site was. This would also help out with shortening our 28 km day tomorrow. Unfortunately the further we went, the harder it got to find a suitable place to pitch. Over 3 km later we came upon the loch in the title above and found just enough beach to pitch two tents on. Good fortune found us again. We are currently sitting in our tents, ten feet from the loch, listening to small waves lap the shore, with the sun beaming into our tents. It is a small piece of heaven. Nobody is talking right now. All we hear is the waves, the breeze and the cuckoo birds that have been following us since about Garva Bridge.

Not Bad For A Last-Minute Find!

We are down to one full day of hiking, and one half-day left. There have been moments earlier in the trip when I thought it would be impossible to get this far. We have had more than our share of good weather, and good fortune, and have managed to deal with a few setbacks. We have also been lucky in a few of the decisions we made. Pushing on the day before yesterday set us up for success yesterday, as adding an extra 6 km would likely have killed us. This happened a few times throughout the trip and I think good group discussion and a little compromising usually ended up pointing us in the right direction.
I think that’s it for tonight. I am going to lay back and enjoy the last few minutes of sun in my tent. Good night, and thanks for reading!

Almost forgot - We met up with Birdman again today after following his footsteps for the last couple days. He has a very noticeable foot placement (toes out), so we knew it was him. He finally saw a cuckoo the other day, and saw some red-throated divers, which he explained is what loons are called in the UK. We walked together for about an hour and then chatted again for a few more minutes when he passed our campsite for the night.

What we will miss the most about hiking every day:
Zach - Being outside and seeing the beautiful scenery
Ben - Meeting other people and talking to them
JM - All of the above

What we will miss the least about hiking every day:
Zach - Wet feet, and smelling like garbage
Ben - Not being clean ever
JM - Getting out of a warm sleeping bag in the morning

Wildlife we have seen:
Sheep
Deer
Rabbits
Snakes (two short and reddish-brown, one bigger and patterned)
Frogs
Small lizard/gecko
Sea trout (caught by family in the bothy)
Coos (some Highland and some other breeds)
Birds (could not name or count these)
Dogs
Spiders
Big black slugs
Bumble bees

Route notes - We followed the SNT/CWT route without any deviations.

Day 15 - Inchnadamph Forest to Glendhu Bothy

Another monumental day for us, with more indescribable views. Just when we think our toughest days are behind us we have another one like today. We thought with the 5-6 km we shaved off yesterday, that today would be relatively easy. Wrong!

Break Time At Tiny Shelter

We had three long climbs, but each one rewarded us with amazing views. We are currently seeing large rocky mountains, high mountain lochs, and rugged landscapes during our walks. We have passed a number of sea lochs in the past few days, which are very breathtaking as you come over the mountain passes. We keep getting the smell of the sea in the air. As I mentioned last night it is a very unique and beautiful area, and I am so excited that we got this far, and that I am getting a chance to see it.
Tonight we are at Glendhu bothy. It is in a very picturesque location on the shore of Loch Glendhu. 

Glendhu Bothy - At Very Right Of Sea Loch

There are a couple of families here who have walked in from Kylestrome, which is only 6 km away. I am not sure, but I think tomorrow is a Bank Holiday here in the UK. Unfortunately for us they are using the bothy tonight as a bit of a holiday spot, which I don’t think is the intent of them. Oh well, I will be asleep soon and they can carry on as much as they want. It is nice to be out of the rain, and maybe 2-3 degrees warmer!

The Boys In Their Cocoons In The Bothy

I think we are definitely on the countdown now. We have 2.5 days of walking left. The boys are like machines during the day, just eating up the kilometres. I am consistently bringing up the rear, forcing them to stop and let me catch up. I am pretty sure we are all looking forward to some different kind of days in Edinburgh once we finish up with the hiking. As with other similar trips I have done, I am starting to have mixed emotions: relief, satisfaction, sadness, and anticipation. Finishing this will be bitter-sweet for sure.

List of broken or lost items:
Cooking spatula
Route notes for the last four days of the trip
One hiking pole lost
One hiking pole bent
Ben says we all lost our sanity

Route notes - We followed the SNT/CWT route without any deviations.

Day 14 - Oykel Bridge to Inchnadamph Forest

What a day today!! We had an epic walk, ending up 5-6 km further than planned, and we passed through some of the most beautiful scenery I’ve ever seen. The pictures likely won’t do it justice, and I won’t be able to adequately describe it other than to say I couldn’t believe what I was seeing.
We all had a warm and cozy sleep last night in the bothy rooms at the Oykel Bridge Hotel. I had sent a resupply parcel here, and was disappointed to find out that border security had seized some of the contents: a big pack of Costco pork jerky, 24 Hot Rods, and 6 Cliff bars. They put a nice note that it was OK this time but next time I could face “unlimited fines and up to 18 months in jail”. Ouch!! I won’t make that mistake again. I guess meat bought in Canada that probably came from the United States doesn’t pass muster here. Don’t ask me why the Cliff bars were taken. We did an inventory before bed, and despite the national security incident we still have enough to make it to the next resupply on Day 17.
Our day started later than normal due to the fact that the hotel didn’t serve breakfast until 8:00. This allowed a bit of a sleep in, which worked out well for all of us.

River Oykel With Big Snowy Mountains In The Back...

We hit the road at 9:05 along with a gentleman we had met at the hotel the night before. Wouter is from the Netherlands and he is on a 40-day trek of his own. He has just done the West Highland Way and the Great Glen Way as a warmup for the Cape Wrath Trail. I truly enjoyed walking with him today. We discussed many things and it made the day go so fast. He was very kind and thoughtful. He also set a brisk pace for us, which the boys seemed be up to the task for. Towards the end of the day as we were climbing over Bealach Trallgill the boys kicked into another gear and left the two old guys in the dust. They were kind enough to wait for us at the top, and promptly left us in the dust on the way down again.

Descending Towards Inchnadamph

We parted ways with Wother at our wild camp spot beside River Traligill, as he walked a few more kilometres to Inchnadamph in search of a room at the hotel or hostel.
This may be our coldest night yet, based on how cold my hands are typing this, and the fact that we are only a couple hundred meters below the current snow line. It will be a good test for the sleeping bags. I hear the boys talking and laughing in their tent right now, so they must still be having fun. That’s probably a sign of good friends I think, as we have been in tight quarters and have been enduring long days for two weeks straight now. I guess that’s it for tonight. Thanks for reading!! Good night.


Top 3 meals so far:
3 - Kung Pao Chicken
2 - Ham and cheese buns with tomato soup
1 - Forever Young Mac and Cheese (tonight)


Route details - We did not deviate from the SNT/CWT route today. We left Oykel Bridge hotel, and followed Glen Oykel to Loch Ailsh. We continued North past Benmore Lodge and followed River Oykel towards Ben More Assynt. We passed over the bealach as mentioned above on the West slopes of Conival. We wild camped beside River Traligill at NC 271 210, only a couple of kilometres from Inchnadamph.

Day 13 - Strath Nimhe to Oykel Bridge

The Scottish weather had a temper tantrum today and threw everything she could at us. I’m pretty sure last night was the coldest we have had yet. We woke up to slushy rain, which slowed up enough for us to have a fairly dry pack-up (good fortune). Throughout the day we had pretty much every combination of layers on imaginable. I owe my good friend and Co-CEO of the Monday Morning Hike Club a big thank you here, as he tought me the real benefit of stopping and layering up or down. Thank you, Mr. Mac!! We saw snow, sleet, hail, rain, mist, wind, clouds, and even a little sun. And we saw all of these on multiple occasions.

Ready For Anything

By the end of it Zach had thrown his hands up and just kept his waterproofs on for the last couple of hours, even during the sunny break. Haha!!

Zach With Rain Kilt and Pack Cover Still On

We passed two bothies today - Knockdamph, and Schoolhouse. The first one made a perfect spot for lunch, as the wet snow and hail had just started again. We all felt a little humbled when we were taking refuge inside as we watched a small bird pecking for food on the grass outside, oblivious to the hail pellets smashing into him. Man, even the Scottish birds are tough as nails!! The second bothy made a perfect spot for a break, as the rain had just started again. We loved both of these bothies, and would love to come back sometime with a plan that would allow us to stay at all of these. I think it would be a great way to meet people and have a bit more comfort than a tent offers.

Knockdamph Bothy

After lunch I decided to put my music on for an hour. What an amazing treat!!! I put my phone on shuffle mode and got so into the music that I didn’t even notice my feet. I felt like I was on wheels! On top of that, it was as if all of my friends were choosing the tracks as a way to help out. I will list the songs I am taking about, and you will know if it was you who requested it on my behalf.
Crying Over You - Platinum Blonde
Round and Round - Ratt
Roses - OutKast
Let’s Go Crazy - Prince
Seven Nation Army - White Stripes
Locomotion - Kylie Minogue
It was great. I’m not sure if Ben laughed or rolled his eyes when he looked back and saw me playing my hiking poles like an electric guitar!
Tonight we are in Oykel Bridge, in our own Bothy rooms. It’s like a bunkhouse but with private rooms. The facilities are shared but there is only one other guy here so no problems!! We had a good bar meal, and will have breakfast and a packed lunch tomorrow. Woohoo!! Life is good! My heater is on full blast and I am sure I will be sleeping soon. I think the countdown will start tomorrow for sure. Five days to go....

Health update - If you are not fond of too much info skip this next part... We have each found multiple ticks on us the past six or seven days. Unfortunately for one of us, a tick was found on the last part of a guy’s body that you would hope to find one. I won’t say who, but it wasn’t me or anybody I’m related to... (sorry Jacqueline and Paul, this is probably way more than you wanted to know). We all had a good laugh and the person who I won’t name handled it waaaay better than I ever would have. Other than that I would say we are all dealing with the usual pain and fatigue of this much waking fairly well.

Route notes - We continued from our wild camp spot in Strath Nimhe NE to Glen Achall, and rejoined the official route at Loch an Daimh. We walked past Knochdamph and Schoolhouse bothies as mentioned above, and into Oykel Bridge where we are staying in the Bunkhouse at the hotel.

Day 12 - Dundonnell Forest to Strath Nimhe

Well it was bound to happen... We had to pull out our waterproofs for the first time this trip. Gators, shells, and rain kilts served us well for more than half the day today. We had a fairly wet pack-up this morning as it was raining on and off for most of the night. It continued on and off for most of the morning and part of the afternoon also, with varying degrees of severity. We did see some blue sky, and even had 20 minutes of sunshine near the end of the hike. We had a dry but windy and chilly dinner, and are having a rest in our tents now before hot beverage and night-time snack. We have running water again tonight in the form of Allt Raon a’ Chroisy. Last night was our first wild camp without a burn beside us, so it is nice to have one back tonight. I might have to get an app when I get home with the sound of a stream playing all night since I have gotten so used to it!!
We played leap frog with a hiker today, and finally lined up for about an hour of hiking together. He was very interesting and we had a very nice chat about hiking. We didn’t get a name other than “Birdman”, which was his trail name from doing the Pacific Crest Trail last year due to the fact that he brought binoculars with him and was always stopping to birdwatch. He is from the Netherlands, but has lived in Southampton for the last 12 years. He was an engineer who managed to figure out a way to retire at 40 - sorry I could not get that secret out of him! We discussed different approaches to hiking. His preference is slow but steady, on his own, with no time constraints or end goal. When he set out on the PCT he had only planned to do a month, but he was enjoying it so much that he decided to spend five months doing the whole thing. Good for him, but I think this is not a luxury many of us have. I really enjoyed hearing his stories, and learning a little bit about birds. The diversion was a welcome one, allowing us to forget about pain and fatigue for a while. Thank you, Birdman!!

We had some amazing views as we descended into Inverlael. It seems to be a small sheep farming area with huge green pastures nestled into the valley, just below Loch Broom which is a sea loch. Ullapool, is a bigger town further up the loch, which is probably a bigger center for the area. Zach commented that this is the type of scenery he had pictured before coming to Scotland.

It feels like it will be quite chilly again tonight. Zach has the worst sleep of his trip last night, so hopefully he has a better one tonight. Tomorrow night we’ll have another bunkhouse night, which means showers, bar food, and a warm room to sleep in. Hooray!!! I think we’ll all be looking forward to it as we walk tomorrow.
Pre-Bedtime Update: We decided to do snack and hot beverage in Ben and Zach’s tent tonight. I brought the dice and we had a quick game while we enjoyed our hot chocolates. Highlight of the night - Ben rolled a 1,1,1,1,1,5 = 4050 = really good roll!!! It made us think of Jenni With An Eye’s 1,1,1,1,1,1 = 8000 = best roll ever. It also made me think of the rest of the Friday Night Dice Crew (Coach Mr. Dungpile, Audrey-Shops-A-Lot, Ger-Bear, and Maheed). Hope everybody back home is doing well. I miss all of you!!
That’s it for now. Off to our freezing cold beds. Good night!!

Route notes - We followed the SNT/CWT route from our camp spot, but deviated at Inverlael as planned. We walked a few kilometres up the road towards Ullapool, then took a trail up the hill near Leckmelm, into Strath Nimhe. We are wild camping at NH 192 902.