Munros and Other Walks

The one area of long distance walking that I still struggle with is to have a decent lunch to eat during the different walking days. It's okay if I manage to pass by a small village or town where I can grab a bite to eat, but on more remote walks I tend to not eat very well during the day. I usually try and get by with either snacks like protein bars, nuts or fruit. To combat this I got a small flask as a birthday present a couple of years ago. I decided that this can be used to prepare some hot food that can be stored in my bf ready to eat during the day. I decided to carry out a couple of experiments to see how well this would work. Rice and Sausage 80g quick cook rice Cured sausage Dried vegetables.  Half a stock cube This is quite simple. I boiled up 190ml of water in my stove and poured it into the flask with the rice and the dried vegtatables. I shook the flask a little to mix the contents and I then left it for 4 hours. Once the contents had absorbed the water I chopped up s...

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...

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 ...

Our second day started brightly enough. We had a quick hike to Rowardennan and then a short walk from there to the start of the loch Lomond stretch. We took the lower path when it split, taking us along the shore of the Loch. The path was narrow but dry and I made good progress along its 3 and a bit mile stretch to Inversnaid. There was a tree that had fallen across the track at one point, the only way was to crawl under it. At another point later we had to take our rucksacks off again to squeeze paat a large boulder.  Our journey slowed down conaiconside after Inversnaid, the track continued to be narrow however the undulating nature of the track and the amount of boulders you had to negotiate meant that we lost a lot of time during the six miles it took to get to Bein Glas. The effort involved drained both of us and we were glad to stop at a campsite with daylight to spare and a pub for a bar meal.  Fallen tree over track before Inversnaid Rowchoish ...

Updated May 2019 The Start at Milngavie Where Does It Start?  The West Highland Way begins in the small town of Milngavie, which is a 40 minute train ride from the centre of Glasgow. There is a regular train and  to bus service to Milngavie, however the train is more convenient as it is a direct line.  The Route This Is Easy As expected the first part of the West Highland Way is flat. From Milngavie to Drymen it is easy going and with or without a loaded pack you will be making good progress. After Drymen, the route shifts through a forest section before opening out onto Conic Hill. In the past this forest section can be tricky to pin point exactly where you are on the map, when all you see are trees as a reference point. sections of this woodland has since been cut down making it easier to track your progress, by having Loch Lomond and Conic Hill visible from afar. Tiredness Sets In It gets tougher at the 16 mile mark. After walking for 6 pl...

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 ...