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...

I thought I'd post the equipment that I will be taking on the forthcoming trip. Most of the equipment I have had for a number of years and have served me well. Also, in order to keep the cost down  I have borrowed some items from my wife. Some of the items may not be the lightest, but I'm not paying over the odds to save a few grams, although I am conscience of the weight I'll be carrying. Detailing my equipment will help me to refine this process in the future.  The items are shown below, I've left food out just now as I'll probably make a separate post about this. Gelert Rucksack Rucksack I'm taking my wife's Gelert X-plorer 65l bag which will be more than enough to see me through the hike. The bag weighs in at 1.6kg, a bit on the heavy side but it is comfortable.There is no frame back support, not that I'm used to that, but it'll be interesting to see how I feel about it after a week of use. Hilleberg Akto Tent Tent ...

I first walked the West Highland Way in 2004 and then again the year after. I took 5 days to complete the route the first time and took a more leisurely pace the next year, completing it in 7 days. This year we are attempting to finish the West Highland way in 4 days and taking a further 3 days to walk the 79 miles of the Great Glen Way. I say we as I am walking these two routes with my wife's stepfather. He has always wanted to walk both the West Highland and Great Glen Ways and he has set this summer as his target to complete them. He has also planned out our route, which I have noted below. Day 1: Milngavie to Rowardennan 27 miles Our first day should see a flat section of the route from Milngavie to Drymen before the climb over Conic Hill to Balmaha. The hill is only about 360m but it will test our fitness especially since we will be carrying full packs including camping and cooking equipment. Even at Balmaha we still have another 7 miles or so to Rowardennan. In...