2017 TGO Challenge Day 6
Newtonmore Hostel to Glen Feshie Wild Camp (NN 844 918) - 19.25 miles
Total Trip Miles: 101
Wednesday, May 17th, 2017
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| Day 6 part 1 |
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| Day 6 part 2 |
After a good night's rest (despite the commotion I slept through), it was time to push on eastward. I have to say again how much I enjoyed my stay at the Newtonmore Hostel. It was comfortable and welcoming and unfortunately for me just a short stay.
I took the main road through Newtonmore, stopping along the way at a Co-op to buy myself a breakfast of a sandwich and some fruit. I ate as I walked along the large sidewalk/bike trail to Kingussie.
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| Newtonmore |
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| Welcome! |
I walked through Kingussie, not taking a customary breakfast stop there, and headed on to Ruthven Barracks. The current ruins that are standing were built in 1719 to police the Scottish citizens. There had been a building on the site as early as the 1200's. I could see a couple backpackers ahead of me on the road, but they didn't stop at Ruthven. I took some time to walk around the grounds of the barracks.
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| The location on the hill definitely makes for an impressive sight. |
From Ruthven I had just over a mile walk on the tarmac to Tromie Bridge, where I caught up to the two backpackers, Gary and Freddie. They convinced me to head down Glen Tromie with them instead of my original plan of heading over to Glen Feshie. Shortly after heading down the LRT into Glen Tromie we ran into Ian and Donna (I think, I'm having trouble remembering her name...sorry) who joined us for the day.
The walk through Glen Tromie was pretty uneventful, we did see a couple out for a dayhike, until we reached a small cabin along the Allt Bhran. Two black-and-white sheepdogs were hanging around outside the cabin and ran up to us as we approached. They followed as we walked away from the cabin and we figured they'd turn around and go "home" as soon as we got too far away. We arrived at the weir and the dogs had a nice swim.
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| The weir |
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| Playtime! |
We followed the Allt Bhran for a while and headed off-trail up the hill at the base of Carn Dearg and caught the path that wandered around the wooded area on the side of the hill. The dogs were still following us despite us telling them to go home and refusing to feed them (thinking that if we did feed them they would never leave).
Some of the views from the climb up:
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| The whole gang and one of our four-legged friends |
From there we started the trek down into Glen Feshie:
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| Heading down into the glen |
Everyone was getting tired as it had been a long day, and Freddie announced he was stopping for the night at the first bit of flat ground he found. Ian and Donna soon broke off to camp. Gary and I kept going all the way down into Glen Feshie where we found a giant open field to camp in -- definitely the right move. The dogs had followed us down into the glen and seemed to enjoy playing in the field chasing birds. One of the dogs kept trying to get into our tents, but neither of us were having that.
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| Campsite in Glen Feshie |
The dogs were running around playing when we both turned in for the night. Beginning at about 2am and going until 4am, the dogs were barking and growling almost non-stop. I was up for most of that time and I'm pretty sure Gary was as well. Surprisingly, I felt pretty well rested in the morning.
Brian, I'm a fellow yank planning my first TGOC in 2018 so your blog is of interest. Curious what you recommend in terms of (1) rain gear and (2) shoes? I do a lot of backpacking in the mountain west US, and avoid waterproof shoes like the plague. I realize Scotland is wetter/boggier/muddier. Still, I hate the idea of wearing waterproof shoes. I have a OR Helium jacket and noticed you used one - is it sufficient?
ReplyDeleteHey Kent! Congrats on getting into the TGO!
DeleteAs far as rain gear goes, the Helium jacket was sufficient. When it rains all day it eventually wets out, but I don't really know of a jacket that doesn't. Also, it could have been sweat that was inside the jacket as well. I feel like my helium jacket did as well as any other jacket I've owned.
And as for shoes, I'll tell you my two experiences on the TGO. My first year I used trail runners (which I use here in the US) that were not at all waterproof, following the advice on the message boards. In theory they get wet but dry quickly. I found that my feet were wet almost the entire time. As soon as they'd be about dry I would step into grass that looked dry but was in fact boggy and my feet would be soaked again. This led to me getting bad blisters on the balls of my feet. Granted, the day I got blisters was a long road walk and a warm day, but I feel like my skin was so soft from being wet it caused me to get blisters.
Last year I decided to go with waterproof shoes. My feet only got wet once crossing a river that was pretty deep and not having any decent rocks to hop on. My pinkie toe did get a bad blister, but I think it was sort of pinched in the toe box. I had another long road walk due to some weather and got some blisters on the front of my feet behind my toes but not nearly as bad as on my first challenge. It was more soreness really.
I think next year I will go back to using liner socks with my waterproof shoes. I'm thinking that since I sweat more in waterproofs that I just need that extra layer to absorb the rubbing.
So, I hope this helps you. I do love my trail runners for backpacking everywhere but Scotland. I know everyone's feet are different so it's really hard to give advice on footwear. I still feel like I haven't found the perfect system for Scotland so the process continues...
Thanks, that helps. Got a reservation for Kintail Lodge, and am working on a route that might be loosely based on/similar to your 2016 route. Your 2016 route looks like a good one to start with - we want to maximize trails ("tracks," I guess) and minimize roads and cross-country.
ReplyDeleteYeah, it was a good one to start with. I based it on a few people's blogs from previous years. Let me know if you have any more questions, either on the route or things I did logistics-wise. Good luck with the rest of your planning!
DeleteBrian, what software & maps did you use to plan your route?
ReplyDeleteI use Ordnance Survey https://osmaps.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/ It's about $22 per year for the subscription. I print the maps on waterproof paper for the Challenge. So far that system has worked pretty well for me
DeleteBrian, I purchased a subscription last night. Now I need to get used to using it. You've been very helpful - I'm sure I'll have lots of other questions as I go through the next 6 months of planning. Would you prefer to use email?
ReplyDeleteNext question: Is there anything about your 2016 route that you'd change for a first timer?
Kent
Email would be a lot easier, feel free to email me at bgruber44@gmail.com
ReplyDeleteAs far as my 2016 route, I was pretty happy with it. When I changed my route to head to Ballater from Braemar instead of my intended route, we didn't realize a bridge was out and it forced us into a long road walk which caused me to get some bad blisters. I don't think the bridge is an issue anymore, just be wary of long road walks, really.
What sort of backpacking experience do you have? If you feel comfortable going up high I would recommend the route I originally intended, which was to head south out of Braemar to Callater lodge (where there are some great people who open up the lodge and provide food and fun for the Challangers) and then up and over Lochnagar (I actually did this in 2017 because I didn't do it in 2016). If you're looking for a social ending you could then head to Tarfside where some other former/current challengers run a sort of hostel and make an excellent dinner for challengers. If there are no beds available they let you camp on the sports field. They even open a little bar for the challengers and it's another night of socializing. It's another excellent choice.