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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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.
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