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 Wouter 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 taught 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.

Day 11 - Kinlochewe to Dundonnell Forest

It is interesting how a trip like this is an experiment with fortune - some good, and some not so good. Today was a good example of this. To start off, we were about 2.5 km into the day when we remembered that we had left some fresh food in the fridge (sliced ham, cheddar cheese, oranges). This was a devastating blow. It took the wind out of our sales and put us into a bad frame of mind for this three-day stint. It sounds silly in the normal context, but for us these three items were very important. About a half kilometre later, a guy in a truck approached us so we flagged him down. He agreed to take me back to town so I could collect our items. I left my pack with the boys, rode into town, and walked back to meet them and continue on. We were back on track!
The next bit of fortune came a couple of hours later when we were about to start one of our longest bushwhacking stretches of the trip. As we started climbing to cross from Lochain Fada to Loch an Nid via Bealach na Croise we found a stalkers path which took us the first two kilometres up to the bealach. On our way down to Loch an Nid we found another one which also wasn’t on the map that brought us the last two kilometres to the path we were trying to get to. These two good strokes of luck likely saved us an hour of bushwhacking and who knows how much energy.
I guess the point is, in order to be successful on a trip like this, and maybe life in general, you need to be prepared to deal with bad fortune, and appreciate the good fortune when it comes to you. There’s my inspirational thought for the trip!

We had a long day of walking today partly due to the late start, and didn’t set up camp until after 18:00. The boys and I laughed because we are in Dundonnell Forest, but despite being able to see for miles and miles in every direction we can’t see one tree!! Hopefully one of our Scottish friends will explain this.

There was some good chatter again today. I was completely flabbergasted at the at least 45-minute bit on the merits of cake versus ice cream cake. The general consensus after much back and forth is that ice cream cake is just ice cream in the shape of a cake, and cake is the real deal. I won’t go into details as it is much too complex for this simple a blog. If you want all the info, talk to Zach and Ben. They will be happy to explain!!
The scenery was unbelievable today. The mountains are massive, and the vistas are solitary. We really feel like we are far from the rest of the world right now. I can imagine how hostile it could be to be out here in bad weather conditions. Fortunately we have been blessed again today. We had mostly cloudy with a few sunny periods, and no rain. It will for sure be cold tonight, but our sleeping bags and fifteen layers of clothing will keep us warm!

I think that’s it for today. Thanks for reading, and thanks for the messages you have all sent. They have been a real pick-me-up!! Good night!

If we could have any piece of cake right now
Zach - Ice cream cake
Ben - Any kind of mom’s cakes
JM - Mandy’s carrot cake with cream cheese icing, of course!!

Route details - We followed the Kinlochewe to Shenavall leg of the SNT as per the Walkhighlands website except for we eliminated the dog leg to the bothy by heading north at NH 090 788. We are wild camping at NH 093 810. Very scenic spot, but not the most ideal location.

Day 10 - Allt a’ Chonais to Kinlochewe

Today’s walk went unbelievably fast, probably due to our anticipation of showers and a hot bar meal at the end of the day.

On The Way Up To Coulin Pass

We made it to Kinlochewe by 13:30 including a couple of breaks and one lunch stop. It took us an hour before we could get into the bunkhouse, so we just relaxed on the sidewalk with a snack and a cold pop. Since then we’ve showered, done some laundry, caught up with friends and family, bought food for the next three days, and charged electronics. We are now laying in our bunks waiting for our dinner reservation at 18:30. We are all starving!!

Back from dinner now (details below). There are five other hikers in two groups in the bunkhouse now. We’ve had some nice conversations. It seems we are all headed the same way, although neither group has the same end goal in mind this trip. It is a little reassuring to know that we are not alone out there. As Ben put it, “It feels good to know that there are other people going through the same hell we are.” Hahaha!!!
That’s about it for tonight.  I had two good FaceTimes with Mandy and the cats, and our good friend TT popped in which was a great surprise.  It was so nice to see some familiar faces.  We have breakfast scheduled at 8:30 tomorrow so it will be a late start. Next post in three days if everything goes well. Good night everybody!!

Health update: The legs seemed to be working fine today, despite all of the climbing yesterday. Getting our packs off so early today will help our bodies also.

What we will probably order for dinner tonight:
Zach - Steak pie
Ben - Mac and cheese
JM - Fish and chips

What we actually ordered:
Zach - Prime steak and onion burger
Ben - Fresh haddock (not battered) with chips and peas
JM - Same

We justified dessert also!!:
Zach - Ice cream - 2 scoops strawberry, 1 vanilla
Ben - Creamy triple white chocolate cheesecake
JM - Sticky toffee pudding

We are stuffed now!!

What we will probably be dreaming about tonight:
Zach - Big Macs
Ben - Sleeping in
JM - Slippers and tea by the fireplace at home

Route details - We left our campsite beside Allt a’ Chonais and followed the track north to Craig. We took the A890 west for about a kilometre to the sign marking the old pony track to Coulin Pass. We followed this to Coulin then took the hydroelectric scheme road from Torran cuillin. This brought us over to the A896 at NH 018 593. We walked the A896 for three kilometres to Kinlochewe. We are staying in the bunkhouse at the hotel.

Day 9 - Iron Lodge to Allt a’ Chonais

By consensus this was one of our most strenuous days. We got out of camp at Iron Lodge a little later than normal (8:30), and did not get to our current location until 18:30. I’m usually in bed by then!!!! Our longer day was partly due to trying to take more breaks, but mostly due to over 1000 m of ascent.
We started with a climb from Iron Lodge over to Maol-bhuidhe. Maol-bhuidhe is a bothy. For those that have not heard of bothies, they are remote buildings in the Scottish wilderness that provide shelter to hikers that go by. They are all more or less in the middle of nowhere. Some are maintained, some are not. They all have the potential to provide for a unique hiking experience, especially when you happen to meet up with other hikers. Amanda and I had an amazing experience in a bothy when we were here in 2017, and met some people that we are still in touch with. The boys and I took a break at the bothy, looked around inside, and signed the guest book. Ben commented on how awesome it would have been to sleep there, and I fully agreed. But we had to press on.
From the bothy we had our first bushwhack of the day which led us to our beach lunch beside Loch Calavie. This loch (thank you Joyce!) is about two kilometres long, surrounded on three sides by mountains including Beinn Dronaig. We all laughed again because we were wondering why people bother going to Mexico or the Mediterranean to get away from cold, dreary weather, when you can just go to Scotland in April. I know I will eat those words before we finish this trip... It was a very peaceful and relaxing lunch of macaroni and mashed potatoes.

Looking Way Back to Lunch Spot

After lunch we walked along the lake and dropped into the glen by Bendeonaig Lodge to start our 6 km hike up to Bealach Bhernais. It was a real grind, but when we made it to the top, we were truly rewarded. With munros surrounding us, we sat at the top of the pass in the sun looking down to the valley so far below us. Again, we wondered how many people get to experience a spot like that, in those favourable weather conditions. I don’t think it happens that often. We were very fortunate.

View From Bealach Bhernais

After this amazing break, we packed up and began descending to the valley floor. We quickly gave up every meter of elevation we had just fought for. The last few kilometres were tough, but we found another beautiful, solitary spot to pitch up. We are camped beside the Allt a’ Chonais, a small stream that will provide us the same soundtrack as all of our previous nights.
We are all excited to walk into Kinlochewe tomorrow where we are staying at a bunkhouse. We will have showers and flushing toilets. We will also be able to resupply for the next three-day stint. We will also likely get a pub meal at the hotel. Can’t wait!!
That’s all for tonight. It’s getting chilly again, and I am starting to yawn. Thanks for reading again. Good night!!

Route details - From Iron Lodge we took the trail heading north over to Maol Bhuidhe bothy. From the bothy we bushwhacked over the east end of Beinn Dronaig to the east side of Loch Calavia, where we picked up the trail. We followed this toward Bendronaig Lodge by turned north over the bridge just before reaching it. We followed this trail north then north-east until it petered out, then bushwhacked to the top of Beallach Bearnais. The path on the other side was easy to find. We followed it down to our camping spot beside the Allt a’ Chonais near NH 072 475.

Day 8 - Cluanie to Iron Lodge

As mentioned in the previous post we got a head start on today by doing the first 7 km last night. Good thing we did too, because 29 km today might have been rough.
We woke to a cool overcast morning. There had been a few light sprinkles last night but our pack-up this morning was dry. We started with an easy downhill bushwhack into Glen Affric at the Alltbeithe hostel/bothy. The boys were game for a quick river crossing across River Affric to shave off a little distance, which we were able to do relatively incident free - one of my boots slipped in but I didn’t get a soaker. At this point the clouds started to break up and we got some more of that Scottish sunshine that has been so kind to us this trip. We were joking tonight that we are so tanned that we are going to have to make sure to share our pictures with everybody in order to make sure they know we weren’t actually in Hawaii or the Bahamas!!

Carnach

The four or so kilometres off-track up Gleann Gaorsaic were surprisingly kind to us and before we knew it we only had the steep descent into Strath Duilleach and a couple more kilometres up the track to Iron Lodge where we are pitched up tonight. The view of the buildings at Carnach and Loch na Leitrich as we descended into the glen were very picturesque in the sunshine.
Our tents are set up underneath a huge maple tree tonight - three Canadians camping under a maple seems appropriate I think! There must be several dozen bees hard at work in the tree as it sounds like a bee hive down below in our tents. The flowers on the tree must be good because nobody has bothered with us since we arrived.

Maple Tree!!!

After dinner we went down to the river and had a good face and hand wash. It felt very refreshing. After that we walked up to a waterfall nearby, before coming back and having dessert and a hot beverage. It was a very nice wind-down for the night!

Today was interesting in that there was very little conversation during the walking. Things picked up at dinner, but it was very quiet during the day. I don’t think anybody minded, but it was just different than the rest of the week.
We did some more reflecting on the trip today and agree that 450 km in 18 days was ambitious. If I were to plan it again I would do it in two trips with a little more flexibility than this time. Live and learn, I guess. Next time we won’t make the same mistakes.
Feels like it might be chilly tonight. I’ve got everything I need either on me or keeping warm in my sleeping bag. I’m off to the loo one more time and will be bundled up for the night by 20:00. Not bad!! Thanks for reading, and good night everybody!

Health update - Blister situation is very positive right now. Legs are feeling decent all around. Ben is still struggling with his sore achilles, but was leading the way over the last few kilometres today. I will be keeping my eye on it and decide if we need another rest day when we get to Kinlochewe.

Best camp meal so far:
Zach - Ham and cheese buns with tomato soup
Ben - Same
JM - Same

Favourite hiking snack so far:
Zach - Fruit pastilles
Ben - Double Decker chocolate bar
JM - HobNobs at tea time

Route details:
We deviated from the SNT as per plan today. Once we got to Glen Affric we headed north through Gleann Gaorsaic. We picked up a trail at NH 033 247 and followed it as it descended into Strath Duilleach near Loch na Leitreach. We followed the glen NE and are wild camping beside Iron Lodge at NH 043 293.

Day 7 - Loch Garry to Cluanie

We got back on the trail today after our rest day yesterday. After a very delicious and filling breakfast at the Bank House B&B we did a little sight-seeing around Fort Augustus. We walked down to the head (or foot depending on how you look at it) of Loch Ness. It was very cool to see it in person, and we snapped a few photos. After looking around, and sitting around, for a few hours we finally caught the 14:00 bus to Cluanie, where we were supposed to end today. The drive only took about an hour but the scenery was spectacular. The road seemed treacherous, especially in a big bus! The driver was a professional though and was clearly used to this, and delivered us safely to our bus stop literally in the middle of nowhere. We had decided yesterday to walk 4-5 km along our route for tomorrow in order to make tomorrow a little less demanding. It actually felt great to have the packs back on. After about 1.5 km back along the road we headed north and were on our own again five minutes later. The conversations started up immediately and we seemed to get back into our normal groove. We had a very nice walk up An Caorann Mòr. I have no idea what that means, but if I had to guess it might be something like “Beautiful Solitary Hike Up Glen With Spectacular Mountains on Either Side”.

How to get your coat on without taking your pack off!

After passing what seemed like a dozen perfect camp spots we decided it was time to pitch up, and of course couldn’t find anything suitable. After an other half-hour of searching, and a couple of kms later we found something dry and flat beside a babbling stream, which seems to be a requirement for our personal preferences now. Our spot is about three kilometres from a place Mandy and I camped in 2017, as our routes are about to intersect for one last time on this trip. I remember that day in 2017 as being one which Mandy had to drag me along to finish. It was also the day we discovered crème brûlée thanks to our very good friend TT - this was an event that changed our lives forever!! We are probably 7-8 kilometres into tomorrow’s walk now, which helps set us up for success.

Tomato Soup and Ham and Cheese Buns

I have had time to reflect these past two days and have made a few observations:

Not starting with some shorter days was a mistake - we should have not been so ambitious right off the hop.
The 29 km mostly road day was a mistake - we should have broke it up or looked for an alternative route.
We have not been breaking enough, and we have been walking at too fast a pace. I need to remember that this is not a competition, and we are not in a race.
Hopefully we turn a new page over the next few days, stay a little more healthy, and have a bit more success.
A good family friend of ours wrote me some good advice before we left. He told me to go and expect that everything will work out, and that when it doesn’t just to deal with it. His advice was very helpful the last couple of days, and I will be sure to thank him when I get home.
I think our morale is up tonight as we are laying in our tents reading and writing blogs. We had tomato soup and ham and cheese buns for dinner tonight, with hot chocolate for dessert - how could we not be happy???
That’s it for today. Time to visit the restroom, and then call it a day. Thanks for reading everybody. Night-night!

Best meal from civilization the last few days:
Zach - Fish and chips at the Lock Inn with a pint of Bellhaven Best
Ben - Had three good ones and can’t decide: fish and chips st the Lock Inn, baked haddock filet in Fort William, and steak pie with potatoes and veggies at the Lock Inn again
JM - I also had steak pie, which I enjoyed, but all of those cooked veggies were extra-delicious!

Route notes: We were to follow the SNT official route between Fort Augustus and Cluanie on Days 6 and 7.

Rest Day Photos

These are just a few pictures we took on our rest day today.

In Fort William

Ben Nevis

Bank House B&B Room

Day 5 - Garva Bridge to Fort Augustus

We made it to Fort Augustus yesterday at about 16:30. I was too tired and full to write an entry last night so I am doing it today instead.
We woke up yesterday morning to some very light drizzle. It looked like it might get worse but fortunately it stopped and we were able to pack up in relatively good conditions. We were pretty excited at the prospect of having a pub meal that night, but we were a little down after a tough day the day before. The road walking really took a toll on us. After a slow start we hit a bit of a groove through to Melgarve bothy. We stopped for a look and there were two gentlemen from Glasgow just getting their day started - Nick and Grant. Nick was having a very hard time getting Grant to wake up, so he was happy we were there to make some noise. Grant finally came down about 30 minutes later and couldn’t understand why we had all gotten up so early - it was already 10:15 at that point. Haha! We all had a great chat. They were in the area doing some climbing. We talked about tourism, the wind farms and hydro schemes, and somehow even Donald Trump - not the Scotts’ favourite person in the world! It was a nice break, and I appreciated getting their view on different things. After we left the bothy we started the climb over the Corrieyairack Pass, something Amanda and I did in a raging storm in 2017. This time it was sunny with clouds and a little wind. We had some tremendous views on the way up and down, and stopped for lunch about 15 minutes after we started the descent.

On The Way Down From Corrieyairack

The next nice bit was at the bottom along General Wade’s Military Road in the Culachy Forests. The trees were very unique and it was very beautiful.

Optical Illusion??

Our first view of Fort Augustus was exciting. We could almost taste the fish and chips!! It ended up being quite a bit further than we thought, but we finally walked into town around 16:30 and found our B&B for the night. The first showers after five days in the bush felt sooo good, and the fish and chips at the Lock Inn were well worth all of the hard work.

At The Locks After Dinner

We had a strategy session at dinner, and made some tough decisions. I am not ashamed to say that Scotland has gotten the better of us in this first five days of walking. As a result, we decided to try and get some healing in and skip the Fort Augustus to Cluanie leg. We are going to rejoin our route tomorrow afternoon where we would have been and see how we do the following three days before we hit civilization again. We took a bus to Fort William today to look for some new hiking shoes for Ben, in addition to a few other supplies. The rest is doing us some good I am sure, both physically and mentally. It was also cool to get to see Ben Nevis. We also re-evaluated our daily routine and have agreed to focus on a few more regular breaks with snacks throughout the hikes. Wish us luck. I hope that I have some good news to report in four days when we get a signal again.
I think that gets us back up to date. As always, I really appreciate the support we are getting from everybody reading the blog. Thank you all so much!! I’m off to bed now. Good night!

Route Details - The route was very straight-forward today. We continued West from Garva Bridge, past Melgarve bothy, and over the Corrieyairack Pass. From the North side of the pass we stayed on the General Wade’s Military road all the way to Fort Augustus passing through the burial ground on the way into town.

Day 4 - Glen Tromie to Garva Bridge

We finished Day 4 with good spirits but slightly broken bodies. Zach seems to be getting stronger by the day. We definitely held him back this morning as he practically sprinted across the first few kilometres of Scottish bog. Ben and I, on the other hand, have seen our feet slowly deteriorate. Ben is dealing with two uncooperative blisters, and today I have developed a second one on my other foot. It has been tough getting around camp tonight but I am hopeful that we will get some good healing as we sleep.

We did 29 kilometres today and were helped along by a couple of strokes of good luck. Firstly we were able to make brief contact with the outside world as we walked through a few lightly populated areas. It was so good to hear from home and get a few encouraging words - thank you Mandy Pandy! Our second bit of luck came when we passed the coffee, cake, and gift shop that I mentioned yesterday, and it was open. We really really enjoyed the rest and the food: three sandwich buns, three cans of Coca Cola, and three pieces of cake (Zach - coffee cake, Ben - chocolate cake, JM - carrot cake). Soooooo good!!

What a Treat!

With renewed energy we hit the road for the last 10 km of the day. The boys got into a good discussion and I got into my own zone, and we arrived at camp at about 17:15. Dinner was maybe our best yet - One package of Dahl Delight (a rice with curry sauce), and one package of chicken piccata with noodles and capers. Mmmmm good!!!!

We are set up at Garva Bridge beside River Spey. It is a great spot beside a double arched stone bridge at the beginning of the approach to the Corrieyairack Pass. When Amanda and I came over the pass the other way a couple of years ago, it was in some of the worst weather I’ve ever been outside in. I have my fingers crossed that we are more lucky tomorrow... We will see.

Garva Bridge

Today was another short and T-shirt day, although much cooler towards the end. We had sun in the morning followed up by some more ominous looking overcast in the afternoon and this evening. I would say we have a 50/50 chance of some rain tonight, which would be the first precipitation of the trip.
Zach commented today how he was amazed at all the different geographies we have seen already and after listening to him I agree. Rural/agricultural, mountainous, plains/moors, lush vegetation (Glen Feshie), back to hilly agricultural, and now back to mountainous. It is pretty remarkable to have seen this all in just four days.
We are all looking forward to tomorrow - our first day in an accommodation. Yay!!! Hot showers, laundry, and fish and chips will all be on the menu. And of course we will be searching for Nessie!! Provided our feet cooperate, we should make good time there. I think the boys are very excited. I am too!
It’s 8:15 and we are in our tents. We are too tired and it’s too cold for dice. I can hear the boys laughing in their tent but I suspect it will get quiet pretty soon. I’m about to go brush teeth and then try to get some sleep. Thanks again for reading. Good night!

Health update - see above

Best part of the day - no question the lunch stop. The lady in the shop was so nice. The food tasted amazing. It was the best!

Route details - We headed NW from our campsite at NN 752 922 to pick up a path at NN 739 936. We followed this path to General Wade’s Military road, and headed SW from there. At the buildings marked Phones we followed a small road NW to an electrical utility building then bushwhacked down the hill and across the A9 to the Glentruim Road. At Catlodge we followed the A889 towards Laggan. Veer off onto the private road at NN 605 936. We then rejoined General Wade’s Military road and continued East towards Garvamore. We are now wild camping beside Garva Bridge at NN 521 948. We will be rejoining the SNT route tomorrow at Fort Augustus.

Day 3 - Geldie Burn to Glen Tromie

Day 3 - Geldie Burn to Glen Tromie
Note: Will tidy up and add pictures tomorrow when we have wifi.

I think we are getting into a bit of a groove. It’s 17:45 and we are already in our tents, dinner, freezing river shower, dessert, and hot beverage finished. Zach is repeatedly surprised at how early we are getting things done. I think it’s because he is having a tough time sleeping at night and doesn’t want to go to bed too early. I am having a bit of the same issue. Last night was better, but I’m sure I checked my watch five times. Once I checked it and it said 2:30 and I was relieved at how long I had gone without waking up, then I did a double-check and it actually said 23:01. Dang it!!! Ben is sleeping like a baby, no night sweating, and doesn’t understand what all the fuss is about...
We had another super walk today. A little sun behind us in the morning, then high overcast in the afternoon. We were in shorts and t-shirt all day again.

On Way to Glen Feshie

Today was fun for me as I am now retracing some of my TGOC 2017 steps in reverse order. I had some fond memories of Paul, Nigel, and Howard on Glen Feshie day as we walked into the Glen today and stopped for lunch. I think they may have saved my marriage that day, as they provided some comic relief and calming words to Amanda and I after a particularly challenging day. Thanks again guys!!
We started the long climb out of Glen Feshie and over towards Glen Tromie after lunch. It was good training for days yet to come, and as always with this trip the conversations made it go by fast. Today there was a lot of focus on superhero movies, followed by some ranking exercises (see below).
We are pitched up beside River Tromie tonight. We had our best dinner yet (Kung Pao chicken with a side of powdered mashed potatoes), and topped it off with apple crisp and tea/hot chocolate. We call it Hike Trip Fusion. The upside of so much walking is that you can eat just about everything you can get your hands on!! Being camped by the Tromie tonight made me think of my good friend Mark (Mr. Dungpile), because we have recently been working on a bottle of Spey whiskey, which I believe is made with water from the Tromie. If I had any, I’d have a wee dram for us tonight, but I don’t...
Tomorrow we might briefly get some service so we are excited to check in with family and friends. We are also excited to stop in for a treat at a little tea and craft place Amanda and I had stopped in last time. I’m pretty sure I will get carrot cake again if it’s available!! We might need it as tomorrow is our longest day of the trip 29 km. The upside is that it will be relatively flat, the downside is that there is a fair amount of road/tarmac.
I think that’s it for tonight. Thanks again for checking in, and I hope you are enjoying the blog. Good night!!

Pitched Up Beside River Tromie

UPDATE - As of tonight we are all on our second pair of underwear. I won’t say who held out the longest, but I will say it was a close race! That might have been too much info, but I think we are a little delirious from the fatigue...

SECOND UPDATE - I forgot to mention to Joyce that the boys finished off their rainy day pick-me-ups yesterday (Day 2, on one of the sunniest days ever in Scotland). It was so good, that they could not resist. I haven’t opened mine yet, but I do owe Ben one square when I do because he shared one of his last ones with me. It was sooooo good! Thanks again for a great treat, Joyce!!

FINAL UPDATE - We just finished two games of dice. Zach won easily on the first one. Ben won the second one with one of the highest scores I’ve seen (14,450) due to the dice being passed around at least five times. Overall dice score is one to one to one now.

Health update - Feet are better, bodies still sore. I got my first blister - bottom of toe beside baby toe, left foot. I always get one here, so not too worried.

Favourite superhero movie of all time
Zach: The Watchmen
Ben: Spider Man (the one with Toby Maguire)
JM: Batman

Favourite superhero
Zach: Batman
Ben: Black Panther
JM: The Hulk

Route details - Today we deviated from the official SNT route, as per plan. As mentioned above, when we got to Glen Feshie we crossed the river at NN 853 906 and headed SW over the pass. We took a small shortcut through the woods at NN 823 902 and bushwhacked down the hill to join a trail at NN 791 892. We followed this trail into Glen Tromie and wild camped near the ruins at NN 752 922.

Day 2 - Glen Tilt to Geldie Burn

Another unbelievable day today!

I would say we all got marginally good sleep at best last night. Ben and I both woke up around 2:30 and had difficulties getting back to sleep until 3:30-4:00, unbeknownst to each other. After a little debate we figured it was likely that in our hearts we knew the Leafs were about to start their game, and that we wanted to be supporting. Zach made two trips to the loo and said that he was also a little restless. It was also a little chilly last night and we are still figuring out the best way to stay warm without sweating - not an easy task it seems. We ended up waking up around 6:15 and had a leisurely breakfast and pack-up. Despite being chilly all night we left camp around 7:45 in shorts. In fact, we hardly saw one cloud all day. The back of my legs and my left arm are actually a little sun burned - in Scotland!! In April!! I know!! I have probably just given this trip the kiss of death by saying that, but it had to be said. Unbelievable!
Walking up Glen Tilt the last two days has been one of my favourite sections in all of these hiking trips. It was so beautiful, and unforgettable. I am super excited for Amanda and Kirsten to walk through in a few weeks from now. I think they will also love it. We stopped for lunch at 10:00 (hahaha) at the Falls of Tarff. What a perfect place for lunch and a break. There is a beautiful grassy area on the north side of the bridge where we lazed in the sun and ate our veggie ramen noodles. Not to sound pretentious, but it was really a moment that I will never forget. It does sound pretentious, but it isn’t meant to, I just really thought it was special.

Lunch at the Falls of Tarff

After lunch we continued up the Glen which ended at Geldie Burn - site of the now famous Aberdeen Gang initial meeting and gourmet dinner. We stopped in for a few pictures and another rest before the last push of the day. It was too nice out not to.

Break Time at Geldie Burn

At this point we had had to cross four rivers. The boys managed to find a way to do them all in their boots without getting wet. The old man put his river shoes on for the last one. About six kilometres later, one kilometre further than our goal, we found another great spot to set up camp next to the Geldie Burn. We finished walking at 15:45 thanks to our early start and had camp set up by 16:00. I promptly jumped into my tent and had a quick nap before dinner. I am loving this technique, and am thinking that it should become part of the normal hiking routine. I’ll test it out tomorrow just to confirm. The boys rested and I heard them playing Would You Rather. I broke out laughing at “burp confetti, or fart glitter”! We couldn’t decide.
Having Zach with us this trip has been great. I have really been enjoying the conversations these two are having - from serious and thoughtful, to silly and entertaining. Today also saw them break out with a number of impromptu raps - anything from the Easter bunny to sore feet. It really took our minds off the walking and made for lots of laughs.
I’m snuggled in my sleeping bag right now with the sun going down. Actually there is probably another hour before that happens - it’s only 19:30. Hahaha!!! Thanks for reading everybody. Nighty-night!

Pitched Up by the Geldie Burn

UPDATE: We decided 19:30 was way too early so I went over to Ben and Zach’s tent. We taught Zach how to play dice and had one game. We also had a couple of Hob Nobs each for our bedtime snack.

We are now debating whether or not to pick up hotdogs next time we go through town (three days from now). Zach is very in favour. Ben says he has dibs on the hot dog water because that’s where all the nutrients go. Hahaha!!!
Goodnight for sure now!

Health update - Feet situation better than yesterday, but consensus is that feet and legs are more sore. We also had troubles taking full breaths without coughing later in the day, but that situation seems to have cleared up for all of us. Strange.

Best part of the day -
Zach: Not having to put water shoes on
Ben: Lunch at Falls of Tarff, and break by the Aberdeen Gang shack at Geldie Burn
JM: Lunch at Falls of Tarff

Route details - Not much to say. We continued north through Glen Tilt, crossed Geldie Burn, and headed west from there. We are wild camping at NN 950 872.