2016 TGO Challenge Day 2

2016 TGO Challenge Day 2

Alltbeithe Youth Hostel to campsite (16.75) miles
Total Trip Miles: 28.75
Saturday, May 14th, 2016

Day 2 part 1

Day 2 part 2

Night one had been cold, from what another challenger said it had dropped down to 29 degrees overnight.  I had been toasty warm in my new sleeping bag.  Day 2 started off with more beautiful weather, and the sun was shining as I began my walk down Glen Affric towards Loch Affric.  Is this really Scotland?  I'd heard it rained here...not that I was complaining.

The view looking down Glen Affric

Views of the Glen

Ruins in Glen Affric

 

Lodge in the Glen. 

Athnamulloch Bothy along the river

****A bothy is an enclosed shelter you are permitted to sleep in overnight****

I kept running into a very nice couple, Kenny and Ava, who I had met camping at Alltbeithe the previous night.  By the time we got to Loch Affric we had unofficially begun hiking together.  It so happened they had the same route as I did through day 3 so we ended up walking together into Fort Augustus at the end of Day 3. Our walk took us along Loch Affric and then up into the hills a bit.

Kenny and Ava (this picture is from the last day of the Challenge)

Loch Affric

 

We ran into a guy and his dog going down into the Glen to camp for the night.  We chatted for a good 10 minutes with him while his dog army crawled around the brush.

The view back the way we had come

It's hard to tell, but this was a pretty steep climb up along the path to the right of the fence. 

Not sure I'd want to drive my car over this bridge

This is a field that had been clear cut.  The lines of gray are all the pieces of tree that were cut off the trunk, they ended up in neat rows that make it look like farmland from a distance. 

About 11.5 miles into the day we arrived at Cougie Lodge, which gives challengers fresh scones and sells beer, coffee, and tea on their covered porch. Some of the guys we were sitting with were quite a few Jamaican beers deep by the time we got there. 

Challengers hanging out on the Cougie porch

Cougie Lodge also provides a hostel, as does the place next door.  The other place is apparently another member of the family.  Some of the Challengers had booked the other hostel accidentally, thinking they were booking the Cougie lodge hostel.  They were saying it was not in the best condition.  For example, one of the front steps was missing and the rusty, exposed nails were just left there.  As far as we know they all survived the night, though. 
 
Seeing as we still had some miles to do for the day we decided to head out after a couple afternoon beers. 

The next few miles had us walking along this valley

The view back the way we had come

Campsite with my own personal water supply

We were told about a nice campsite a little further on than we had planned to go for the night, but it turned out to be a good decision.  We had a nice area with a little stream all to ourselves and less miles to do into town.