Well, I didn't climb Ben Nevis today because the cloud was down to about 300m and I've had enough of climbing mountains in fog already.
Also I got very little sleep last night due to a snoring German, so I was kinda glad for the excuse to take the day off.
So today I gave up trying on new hiking boots and have attempted to fix mine up with blu tac and superglue. We shall see.
Also stocked up on meths, noodles, mars bars, and my new favourite; malt loaf.
Tomorrow I'm getting up insanely early (7am) to catch the ferry across the river to start the Cape Wrath Trail. The final push. Surely it can't rain EVERY day for the next four weeks?
Ok, so, the great glen way, Loch Ness etc. Still got ten miles to go tomorrow morning but thoughts so far;
Lots of big tracks through pine plantations with no views whatsoever. I got hugely excited whenever I actually caught a glimpse of a loch at a break in the trees.
Loch Lochy today has afforded better views on the whole.
Stayed in a couple of very good hostels, and had nice camp spots by the canal in between. Otherwise camping opportunities very limited on the long forest sections.
Urquart Castle was a fun experience, since following local advice I sneaked in after dark when its all floodlit, avoiding the 8 quid entry fee. And a very atmospheric place to be, as it juts out into the centre of loch Ness.
No sign of any monsters, but plenty of tour buses and boats.
Other highlights include the sadly defunct Invergarry to Ft Augustus railway line, which collapsed after disagreement on financing the continuation to Inverness, and today a rather bizarre "fairy forest", like falling down the rabbit hole into Wonderland, the trees are suddenly full of teddy bears, wind chimes, shoes, you name it! Must be seen to be believed.
Oh and some impressive Victorian canal engineering including swing bridges and some massive locks. Looking forward to seeing "Neptune's staircase" tomorrow.
Lots of big tracks through pine plantations with no views whatsoever. I got hugely excited whenever I actually caught a glimpse of a loch at a break in the trees.
Loch Lochy today has afforded better views on the whole.
Stayed in a couple of very good hostels, and had nice camp spots by the canal in between. Otherwise camping opportunities very limited on the long forest sections.
Urquart Castle was a fun experience, since following local advice I sneaked in after dark when its all floodlit, avoiding the 8 quid entry fee. And a very atmospheric place to be, as it juts out into the centre of loch Ness.
No sign of any monsters, but plenty of tour buses and boats.
Other highlights include the sadly defunct Invergarry to Ft Augustus railway line, which collapsed after disagreement on financing the continuation to Inverness, and today a rather bizarre "fairy forest", like falling down the rabbit hole into Wonderland, the trees are suddenly full of teddy bears, wind chimes, shoes, you name it! Must be seen to be believed.
Oh and some impressive Victorian canal engineering including swing bridges and some massive locks. Looking forward to seeing "Neptune's staircase" tomorrow.
I've been daydreaming a lot, especially on these easy forest tracks where no active brain power is required for navigation or foot placement.
Sometimes the scenarios get ridiculously convoluted, bringing up all sorts of little details and problems to think around.
Today I was daydreaming, and then realised that one thing wasn't actually imaginary this time.
But by the time my brain had woken up and I went back to check, it was too late.
Que sera sera!
Sometimes the scenarios get ridiculously convoluted, bringing up all sorts of little details and problems to think around.
Today I was daydreaming, and then realised that one thing wasn't actually imaginary this time.
But by the time my brain had woken up and I went back to check, it was too late.
Que sera sera!
Just about to set off on the Great Glen Way from Inverness down to Fort William.
Had a chillaxing day off yesterday in Inverness after a bit of a trudge to get here.
Saturday night a gale sprang up in the early hours of the morning and I now have a concerningly bent tent pole, fingers crossed it doesn't snap cos a new one costs 60 quid!
Had a chillaxing day off yesterday in Inverness after a bit of a trudge to get here.
Saturday night a gale sprang up in the early hours of the morning and I now have a concerningly bent tent pole, fingers crossed it doesn't snap cos a new one costs 60 quid!
cairngorm mountains
The quick summary: definitely the place I would most like to revisit!
Climbed several mountains, experienced some interesting weather and all is good.
So having narrowly missed seeing the Queen and caber tossing, and bought new socks and insoles, I loaded up with mars bars and malt loaf and had an easy stroll in to the Bob Scott's bothy on the southern edge of the mountains.
Glorious day, but as the sun went down the midges emerged to give me a first experience of their infamous pestiness.
Three blokes turned up on mountain bikes with heavy packs which turned out to be full of beer and meat, and led to an entertaining evening as they proceeded to non stop take the piss out of each other!
One of them had already completed all the munros, and the three of them meet up once a month to bag a couple and then make a calendar at the end of the year!
Then the dusk cloud cover cleared and wow, what a clear sky, of distinctly twinkling stars.
In the morning I headed out under blue skies up Glen Derry towards the fords of Avon. Within an hour the sky was grey and it started hailing. yes, hail stones!
I was thinking "oh no, I'm going to get soaked all day", bit just as quickly the sky cleared again to leave me eating lunch in bright sunshine
This was a double relief as it gave me a rare opportunity to recharge my camera.
Further up the valley at the outlet of Loch Avon is one of the most beautiful places I've visited.
Then the first big climb, to the summit of Cairn Gorm, with its ski lifts on the other side, before the final few miles in the gathering dusk to reach Hutchison memorial hut bothy.
There I shared a comfortable evening with Gary, who had popped into the hills to test out the time lapse feature on his new GoPro camera.
Coincidentally it turned out he was manager of the YHA in Glenmore which I would be reaching two days hence, and has had an inspiring career in guiding in amazing places around the world. Returning to an office job seems less and less necessary / appealing...
Tuesday was a bit cloudy but I set off full of excitement about climbing Ben Macdui.
Two German lads were on the way down, they.said the overnight winds had broken their tent poles!
Indeed the summit was VERY windy. and foggy / rainy, so not a place to dawdle about.
The descent started with a line of much appreciated cairns, followed by enforced compass bearings to scramble down into the famous Lairig Ghru.
I was now out of the clouds, which were sitting at about 700m, obscuring the peaks, but the going underfoot was arguably more difficult, consisting of many rock slides and boulder fields, so it was with some relief that I arrived at Corrour bothy in the early evening,
Just enough reception to listen to the England v Ukraine match on five live.
Wednesday I had planned to climb to Devils Point and then walk the ridge above the Lairig Ghru with breathtaking views.
Well, I walked it, but without the views. shame, however the last couple of days have provided practice in navigational skills and equipment testing.
Thursday I took the day off, got my lot dry and went into the resort supply town of Aviemore.
Bought an insulated jacket, waterproof mitts and a merino baselayer, anticipating colder and damper conditions.
Also took a ride on the restored steam railway and went on a tour of the Cairngorm brewery.
This tour consisted of about three minutes of "this is where we make the beer" and an hour of tasting about 12 different ales, (no lagers or IPA!) whilst being regaled with amusing anecdotes about the filming of the movie "highlander". Great stuff!
In the evening Paul (who id met on the Pennine Way) turned up to start a week in the mountains and cooked up a great spag bol. Result!
Now off towards Inverness, should be an easier three days.
The quick summary: definitely the place I would most like to revisit!
Climbed several mountains, experienced some interesting weather and all is good.
So having narrowly missed seeing the Queen and caber tossing, and bought new socks and insoles, I loaded up with mars bars and malt loaf and had an easy stroll in to the Bob Scott's bothy on the southern edge of the mountains.
Glorious day, but as the sun went down the midges emerged to give me a first experience of their infamous pestiness.
Three blokes turned up on mountain bikes with heavy packs which turned out to be full of beer and meat, and led to an entertaining evening as they proceeded to non stop take the piss out of each other!
One of them had already completed all the munros, and the three of them meet up once a month to bag a couple and then make a calendar at the end of the year!
Then the dusk cloud cover cleared and wow, what a clear sky, of distinctly twinkling stars.
In the morning I headed out under blue skies up Glen Derry towards the fords of Avon. Within an hour the sky was grey and it started hailing. yes, hail stones!
I was thinking "oh no, I'm going to get soaked all day", bit just as quickly the sky cleared again to leave me eating lunch in bright sunshine
This was a double relief as it gave me a rare opportunity to recharge my camera.
Further up the valley at the outlet of Loch Avon is one of the most beautiful places I've visited.
Then the first big climb, to the summit of Cairn Gorm, with its ski lifts on the other side, before the final few miles in the gathering dusk to reach Hutchison memorial hut bothy.
There I shared a comfortable evening with Gary, who had popped into the hills to test out the time lapse feature on his new GoPro camera.
Coincidentally it turned out he was manager of the YHA in Glenmore which I would be reaching two days hence, and has had an inspiring career in guiding in amazing places around the world. Returning to an office job seems less and less necessary / appealing...
Tuesday was a bit cloudy but I set off full of excitement about climbing Ben Macdui.
Two German lads were on the way down, they.said the overnight winds had broken their tent poles!
Indeed the summit was VERY windy. and foggy / rainy, so not a place to dawdle about.
The descent started with a line of much appreciated cairns, followed by enforced compass bearings to scramble down into the famous Lairig Ghru.
I was now out of the clouds, which were sitting at about 700m, obscuring the peaks, but the going underfoot was arguably more difficult, consisting of many rock slides and boulder fields, so it was with some relief that I arrived at Corrour bothy in the early evening,
Just enough reception to listen to the England v Ukraine match on five live.
Wednesday I had planned to climb to Devils Point and then walk the ridge above the Lairig Ghru with breathtaking views.
Well, I walked it, but without the views. shame, however the last couple of days have provided practice in navigational skills and equipment testing.
Thursday I took the day off, got my lot dry and went into the resort supply town of Aviemore.
Bought an insulated jacket, waterproof mitts and a merino baselayer, anticipating colder and damper conditions.
Also took a ride on the restored steam railway and went on a tour of the Cairngorm brewery.
This tour consisted of about three minutes of "this is where we make the beer" and an hour of tasting about 12 different ales, (no lagers or IPA!) whilst being regaled with amusing anecdotes about the filming of the movie "highlander". Great stuff!
In the evening Paul (who id met on the Pennine Way) turned up to start a week in the mountains and cooked up a great spag bol. Result!
Now off towards Inverness, should be an easier three days.