2016 TGO Challenge Day 3

2016 TGO Challenge Day 3

Campsite to Fort Augustus (12 miles)
Total Trip Miles:  40.75

Sunday, May 15th, 2016

Day 3

We woke up to overcast skies, but we were excited nonetheless as it was a town day!  Most of the day we would be following Land Rover Tracks (LRT) next to, or under, power lines.  Easy navigation...or so we thought.

The road and power lines, looking back the way we had come.

 We came across an old bothy that had either been trashed or taken out of service.  It was a tiny little building with four built-in bunks, but the actual platforms to sleep on had been destroyed, leaving only the frames.  We closed the door as it looked like rain.

Old bothy

The view from the road

It was cold and windy and there was really no shelter on the road we were following.  We needed a snack break so we jumped down into a drainage ditch to get out of the wind.  It blocked the wind pretty well and we were able to warm up a bit.

The road would take us over the hill just beyond the power lines, drop down into the valley and then back up the other side

The hike down to the bridge in the valley was pretty uneventful.  Once we got down to the main road leading to the bridge we saw this, sort of in the middle of nowhere...

It worked!

Once over the bridge we ran into our navigation error for the day.  We weren't totally sure where we needed to go as the map wasn't too clear about it.  We knew we needed to follow the power lines, so we decided (incorrectly) to just go straight up the hill under the power lines.  There was no trail, and the power company was doing some work on the area and the terrain was all torn up.  It was boggy and tough going working our way through the brush and debris.  It took us over an hour to do a mile up the hill until we finally hit a dirt road (the one we should have been on initially).

Not so clear

The dirt road is the double dotted line on the map above under the big 'T'.  We should have gone west after the bridge until we found that road and followed that up the hill.  Once on the road it was much quicker walking.  Around lunchtime, and in a pretty exposed place, we sought shelter behind a giant construction truck that was parked out there to hide from the wind.  (I was sure I had taken a picture of this, but seems to have disappeared).


After lunch we continued following the road, which we would do most of the day into Fort Augustus.  There was lots of construction going on along the road, although not actively when we walked through as it was a sunday, and we came along a little trailer with a canteen and a bathroom.  The bathroom was unlocked so we helped ourselves to the facilities.

Don't mind if I do!!

The walk into Fort Augustus was pretty monotonous, other than the balls of my feet burning from walking downhill most of the afternoon.  I kept taking my shoes off to check for signs of blisters but they were fine (foreshadowing??)

We arrived in Fort Augustus, which is the town on the southern tip of Loch Ness, late in the afternoon.  There was an ice cream truck along the street so of course we stopped and got some.  All three of us were booked into the same B&B. which we quickly found and enjoyed showers and got some laundry done.  I had a resupply box waiting for me to get me through the next 5 days of hiking.

The Bank House B&B.  It was an actual branch of the Bank of Scotland before being converted into a B&B.

After getting cleaned up and settled in we went to dinner.  We each got a huge plate of fish and chips  as well as a couple beers.  After dinner we explored town a bit as I was excited to see Loch Ness and the locks on the Caledonian Canal.

Me and Loch Ness

Some locals, and some interesting fashion choices.

The bridge over the Caledonia Canal.  It swung open instead of raising up.

The other side of the bridge, you can see the mechanism that swings the bridge around.

Wire Nessie

Fort Augustus, looking over the locks leading to Loch Ness

Standing on one of the locks.  You can see Loch Ness in the distance.

It may not look like it, but it was getting pretty late (9pm or so, which is late for hikers) but the sun stays out until 10:30ish this time of year in Scotland.  We headed back to the B&B for the night.  Kenny and Ava would be taking a different route than me, but we both had pretty long days the next day.  We all had plans to arrive in the the town of Braemar on Friday, with a day off on Saturday, so I would be seeing them again. 

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. 

2016 TGO Challenge Day 1

The 2016 TGO Challenge Day 1

or

"Has Anyone Ever Died on This Thing?" 
Shiel Bridge to Alltbeithe Youth Hostel (12ish mi -- probably more)

Friday, May 13th, 2016

Day 1

"Has anyone ever died on this thing? I had asked at dinner with a few other Challengers the night before the event began.  Now, standing on the eastern ridge heading down from the summit of Beinn Fhada, the question rang in my head.  It was steep, slippery, and rough terrain; it was late in the day and I was getting tired. 

The view down the eastern ridge -- the river straight ahead is my destination for the night, and also what I would follow for most of the morning on Day 2

 But let's start at the beginning...

The Great Outdoors Challenge is a yearly walk across Scotland.  It takes place over two weeks in May and requires the Challengers to be self-sufficient in their crossing of the Highlands.  That means: no car rides or support team meeting you at road crossings, carrying your own food and resupplying along the way, navigating on your own, and wild camping most nights.  Each participant chooses from one of fourteen starting points on the west coast and plans their own route to the east coast.  Experienced vetters check your route for safety and viability. 

I had arrived in Shiel Bridge, my starting point, the night before and had spent a nice evening at the Kintail Lodge Hotel.  I had spent the previous 27 hours flying from West Palm Beach, FL to Dublin, then onwards to Glasgow where I had a few hours to spend getting fuel, mailing a couple packages, and waiting around.  From there it was a five hour bus ride up to Shiel Bridge, where we arrived about 8:30pm.  I got set up in the Wee Bunkhouse and then grabbed dinner in the pub (conveniently located in the hotel) with a couple other North Americans I met on the bus ride up.  I was exhausted from traveling so I was in bed soon after dinner.  

A view from the bus

I awoke bright and early the next morning, had a full Scottish breakfast in the restaurant, and packed my gear to head off.  First I had to sign out and do the traditional toe dip in the water to start my crossing.  

The view from the hotel first thing in the morning

Heading off!

 The first 2.5 miles were along the road to get to the path that would start ascending up the valley, eventually connecting to a stalker path that would take me up to the summit plateau of Beinn Fhada.

A view from the road - boggy

The path I followed up the valley

Double waterfall on the way up

The view of Sgurr A'Choire Ghairbh, which was off to my right heading up the stalker path.

My first good view of the wall leading up to the summit plateau

Once up on the summit plateau it was a boggy mess with only vague trails leading to the summit.  I finally made it to the summit around 2:30pm.

Me on the summit of Beinn Fhada

A view from the summit.  On the right you can see the eastern ridge I would follow down and off in the distance is the river I would be following for a good portion of Day 2.

The top of the eastern ridge from the summit

I spent a few minutes on the summit enjoying the view, but it was cold and windy and getting late in the day.  My route would take me down the eastern ridge of the mountain, and the first part of the walk was easy enough as it was relatively flat.  Once I started descending it was anything but.  At times there was vague trails to follow, but most of it was over trackless bog.  I slowly picked my way down, learning that any grass that was solid looking was surprisingly slippery and would hide rocks that twisted my ankles.  At times I had to step from grass tuft to grass tuft to avoid the bog.  About a third of the way down, after slipping for the 50th time, the question "Has anyone ever died on this thing?" began playing over and over in my head. There were steep slopes to my left and right most of the way, and a slip in the wrong place could lead to disaster, especially seeing that, as far as I could tell, there was nobody else on the mountain.  

The view to the right as I was coming down the east ridge.  If you look carefully you can see the red roof of the Camban bothy (left-center of the picture)

I continued slipping and sliding my way down the ridge, eventually making it down to the footpath that would lead me to the Alltbeithe Youth Hostel where I would be camping for the night.  I arrived

around 6:30 pm, exhausted and relieved to have made it down that ridge safely.  I quickly set up my tent and made myself a hot dinner.  I talked to a few other people that were camping, but soon was ready to climb in my sleeping bag for the night.

The view back up the eastern ridge and the summit from my tent.

Alltbeithe Youth Hostel and campers

When it was all said and done, it had been an exciting and beautiful day with its moments of worry, but I was feeling good physically and ready to see what came next.  After all, it was only day 1!