Legs and Borders

Today was a bit of a mixed bag, weather and trail were all over the place there were some easy sections followed by hard ones but the scenery kept on getting better. It was cold and rainy since morning, first climb towards Sgurr a Chaorachain was quite tough and pathless, luckily I had to head towards the pass so it wasn't a big deal, descent was steep and muddy but once at the bottom and after doing an easy river crossing the trail followed a stone road, the weather was getting worse though and the wind was getting stronger. After two more small passes and an extremely muddy descent that reminded me of trails in New Zealand, I've arrived in Kinlochlewe, a town with a small grocery store I was hoping to buy some food in. Despite it being Sunday, the shop was opened from 12-5, it was decently stocked and I've bought a venison salami, pack of digestive biscuits, few butteries and a brie and red onion quiche. On my way out of town I've booked the hostel in Ullapool as I re...

A near perfect day on the trail, perfect weather, path was mostly straightforward and the views were spectacular. The trail was running next to two bothies or Scottish huts for hikers early in the morning, I had a peek in the first one and it kind of reminded me the hiker huts in New Zealand but a bit smaller and with less facilities, they were still much better than three walled huts on the Appalachian Trail. As I progressed down the path I've met Anja, an accountant from London who recently left her job to pursue her dream of travelling and self discovery, she has spend 15 months travelling through Asia and now was on a short hiking trip here, her plan was to hike PCT next year which I've completed four years ago, so we had plenty to talk about. Anja was finishing her walk in Morvich so I wished her good luck on her travels and carried on. At the Kintail Outdoor Centre I got offered a coffee and biscuits from a bunch of friendly horse riders who just finished their hike, I co...

Morning was very cold. Wind and rain were also omnipresent, I've put on my wet gear and carried on along the trail. The views were spectacular, heavy rain clouds gave the vast landscape a very gothic and unique look. I was sheltering myself from the wind using an umbrella I found yesterday lying somewhere in the bog, I thought I will have no use for it but it came in handy pretty much immediately. After five miles of struggle I've reached Cluanie Inn, everyone was asleep but the reception was opened so I snuck in to get some warmth into my trembling body, I had to rethink what to do next, the weather for the next week looked all doom and gloom with 10 degrees max temperatures and rain all over, I had to either abandon the trail completely or get a better gear that would keep me warm and dry in this conditions. I decided on the second option. While sitting in a bakery next door and waiting for the bus to Fort William, a couple from Oxford started chatting to me, they went to Heb...

Second day on Cape Wrath Trail and I got totally schooled by it. After a breakfast in Great Glen Hostel, I've packed and left for the trail. First part of the day was a rinse and repeat of yesterday, walking along logging roads and Loch Garry the difference was that I have not met anyone along the way. Around mile 35, the logging road suddenly disappeared along with, well any trail at all and I started my first challenging section of Cape Wrath Trail. It was running along the river bank the terrain was very marshy and uneven with long grasses and moss covering everything, few times I underestimated the depth of the boggy terrain and sunk my leg up to my thigh inside of it. Soon after came two river crossings followed by another pathless, boggy section after which the trail finally arrived at the country road. This comfortable trail only lasted for about a mile after which it turned into a muddy and wet ascent towards Spidean Malach after which it was following a beautiful valley in...