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.