Munros and Other Walks

We had much better rest at Blackwater campsite, due to the fact that we hired a small caravan for the night, I know hardly slumming it. We knew that there was only 14 miles between us and the end of the West Highland Way. Again, the weather looked like it was going to threaten a major downpour, but this never happened. The day stayed dull but muggy.   A large part of the morning was spent on largely flat track, as you can see above. Bear in mind that the start of this walk, from Kinlochleven was all uphill for the first couple of miles. Where did all the trees go? I knew from previous experience on the West Highland Way that there was a large wooded section that lasts for about 3.5 miles. The last section of the walk, before it heads down to Glen Nevis is a walk through the woods. The path ascends and descends a couple of times and keeping track of where you are during this time can be quite tricky. Things were different this time as a lot of the trees has been f...

Otherwise titled as "Are we going to make it to Fort William? During the night at Glencoe the heavens opened and the rain belted down on our tents for most of the night. The cloud base was also really low, and I started to think that we wouldn't make it to the end of the West Highland Way. I thought that trying to get over the Devil's Staircase, in the mist and driving rain with heavy packs and beat up feet would be the end of us. So we decided to do a couple of things to help us to get to Kinlochleven. First we used the baggage transfer, taking the heavy load of our feet. Second, we had a proper breakfast at the café before we left.  Glencoe Car Park The weather did seem to threaten to turn for the worse luckily it stayed dry for the day. Without the hindrance of a heavy pack my foot didn't get any worse and we were able to get to Kinlochleven in decent time, in just over 6 hours. Low cloud around the mountain View from top of Devil's Sta...

For the first 3 days we had been blessed with good weather. The temperature had been in the mid to late 20's(Celsius) so the only things we had to worry about was sun lotion and water. At the start of our 4th day the weather turned, and we woke to a dull wet day. At the start of our journey we were planning to hike to Kinlochleven, which would have been another 20 miles. The relative that I was walking with has suffered badly blistered feet during our last 3 days walking. It was going to be a great enough challenge for him to finish the West Highland Way. For that reason we decided to walk the 10 miles to Glencoe where we could spend the night there at the campsite. A few miles into our walk my right foot started to get worse. By the end of the 10 miles the foot had swollen around the ankle. Now it was more a case of me being the one in danger of not finishing the West Highland Way.

After a decent rest and a shower, we set about the task of walking to Bridge of Orchy. We should have made it to Tyndrum on day 2, according to our plans. Luckily we had the foresight to have planned alternative rest stops. Our first task was to hike the 11 miles to Tyndrum. This time the track would be wider and flatter so we were hopeful for a better day than the day before. Things went well for the first part of the day. This part of the West Highland Way is easier to walk along and we made good progress for the first few miles. About five miles into our walk I started getting a pain under the arch of my right foot. It wasn't a sharp pain but it niggled me, as I walked through the wooded section before Tyndrum. Clearing in the woods After a lengthy stop at Tyndrum to shore up on medical supplies, mainly plasters and bandages, we headed for Bridge of Orchy if ever someone was to sell blister plasters there they would clean up. The 7 mile hike is flat and can be ...

Knowing what type of gear and equipment was easy. Planning out a route with how many miles were planning each day was also straight forward. I've went for my trusted Trangia stove again this year, but instead of the spirit burner I'm using a gel burner. This is lighter than the spirit burner and the burner itself holds about 47ml of gel, this is 2/3rds full. It took about 6 mins to heat up a bowl of water and the gel lasted for about 13 mins in total until it burned out.  However, the most time thinking about what I was planning to eat on our hike. Obviously, I broke my food into seperate meals so; Breakfast Mid morning snack Lunch Afternoon Snack Dinner Breakfast This will consist of porridge. I have bagged each day's breakfast into 40gram packs. In This I have added a little sugar and chia seeds. I have also included with some flaked almonds, dried fruit or trail mix. I covered the mixture with about 300ml of water. The porridge tends to cook ...

You would think that after taking 4 days to complete the West Highland Way, we would start the Great Glen Way with an easy walk. You would be wrong. We are planning to complete the Great Glen Way in 3 days, covering the 79 miles to Inverness. Below , is what we are planning to do. Day 5: Fort William to Fort Augustus, 34 miles Yes I know, that's crazy and yes, you are right. We still have an additional day planned as a backup in case  The day will be broken into 3 sections. Fort William to Gairlochy 13 miles Gairlochy to South Laggen 10 miles Laggen to Fort Augustus  11 miles We'll see if we make it to the campsite at Fort Augustus in the evening or if we'll need to stop before it. Day 6: Fort Augustus to Drumnadrochit 25 miles Day 6 is dependent on the fact we can still walk after our previous day's hike. At this point the extra days rest would be good to help us recover. We have already booked a bunkhouse for our night in Drumnadrochit so a chance ...