Day 10: Strath Mulzie to Inverlael
? 13.85
?310m
We woke in a cloud filled valley and packed up a very wet tent and donned full waterproofs before setting off. The cloud lifted with us as we climbed out of the valley and we were soon stopping to peel a layer off, then stopping again to peel another layer off… After descending to cross the river in Glen Douchary, we were just about to leave the main track when I spotted a deer antler! Not the full shebang, head and two antlers deal, but a decent single antler. Pretty darn lucky to find it right by the track like that and a great souvenir, so I strapped it to my pack and will post it home from Fort William.
The second climb was on difficult terrain without much of a path for most of the way. Occasional vehicle tracks helped pick a good route over the flat boggy pass and we eventually picked up the gravel track on the other side which took us steeply down towards Inverlael Forest.
Along the way we met Adriene and Peter who were out on a day hike, the first hikers we’ve met whilst it walking so far, after almost 350km! We also met an geologist who was going up to check on some peat restoration work that was going on.
We then had to walk a few km along the busy A835 which is part of the popular NC500 route, to our accomodation for the night at the Forest Way Bunkhouse. We were a bit early arriving so took advantage of cafe just nearby. An can of orange San Pellegrino hit the spot on such a hot day and both the ginger and courgette cakes were delish!
At the Bunkhouse we meet a group of four hikers who were in the area climbing a few Munro’s. They very kindly provided us with a glass of red to go with our bolognese Firepot camping meals, which we ate al fresco since the weather was so warm and no sign of midges yet. We also received our first ‘trail magic’ from the group in the shape of a couple of Tunnocks bars, and some skittles. ?
An alternative route for tomorrow was suggested by Iain who owns the Bunkhouse, which would save us walking back on ourselves up the busy A road, so we will take that to tomorrow’s camp spot at Loch an Nid. The only downer was realising that we had planned to get to Fort William on a Sunday so the Post Office will be closed. Will need to decide how we can revise our schedule to fix this as we have a package or two to collect there.
Day 11: Inverlael to Loch an Nid
? 18.88
?452m
We set off this morning in just shorts and tops. Following the route suggested by Iain the previous evening, we were soon walking along a lovely river side path which soon began climbing the gorge that the river flowed through and there were many waterfalls and pools. We crossed a rickety old bridge above one of the falls and climbed a bank to emerge on a B road which we had to walk a couple of km along before taking a path that leads to Loch a’ Braoin.
We had misheard or been misinformed about a new path the opposite side of the Loch to the one shown on the OS maps. At some point in recent years, the water level of the Loch had been risen a couple of meters in connection with a hydro power project, and the track alongside the Loch had been moved too as some was flooded. We realised after not seeing a track on the other side of the Loch that the new track followed the same (northern) shore which we followed and eventually came to Lochivroan bothy where we stopped for lunch, sat on a bench outside in the sun.
Continuing, the path deteriorated but was easy to follow round to Loch an Nid and we arrived around 1430. After setting up camp in the shadow of 3 Munro’s, I went to collect some water from a stream fed by the waterfall we can see. It’s crystal clear, not like the peat filtered stuff from earlier on in our journey, and tasted so gooood!
With extra time after a shorter days walking, I did my usual thing and had time to get the drone out, then do some photo management and backups. An early night ready for smashing it over to Kinlochewe tomorrow morning.
Day 12: Loch an Nid to Kinlochewe
? 18.61
?403m
After a slightly disturbed night with us both waking around 0200 to the sound of what I think was a rock tumbling down one of the nearby steep sides of the valley (and had thought about this when pitching the tent but figured we were in a reasonably safe place, not that it helped in the middle of the night!), we woke to clear blue skies, the sun already glowing on the surrounding mountain tops.
We got an early start and set off to find the path that would lead us up to the Bealach na Croise, a pass with a small loch at the top. There was a good path most of the way but for about 3km at the top it was a matter of finding your own way, again around a few boggy areas, but much easier than some of the previous missions. We were rewarded with views of Loch an Fada once we were over the pass and I couldn’t resist a quick dip once we got down to the loch. It was fricking cold and I didn’t really do it justice!
From Loch an Fada we followed a nice undulating single track trail down to the valley of Kinlochewe Heights, picking up the estate road through the valley, then tarmac into Kinlochewe. Easily three busiest day in terms of other hikers on trail, and even a couple of bikers, with it being a bank holiday. We made it just in time for the village store which closed at 1300 on a Sunday, I grabbed an ice cream, we each guzzled a fizzy pop, and topped up on a few snacks.
We checked in at the motorhome campsite only to find that their tent pitches are a bit of turf on top of the gravel laid down everywhere so you can’t actually stick any pegs in the ground properly. This really ground my gears. Luckily it’s not windy. We spent the afternoon relaxing, did some clothes washing for the first time on the trip and had a wicked Sunday Roast at The Gorse Bush to finish off the day.
We have had a few easy days recently and I’m feeling a bit frustrated that we aren’t doing longer days, partly because I’m not very good at not doing nothing, so arriving at camp early afternoon like we have recently seems weird to me. We needed to rearrange our schedule to be in Fort William when the post office is open so this either meant having a big day tomorrow, or having an extra day in Fort William and having a rest day. In the end we chose the latter. Although it means our next two days are again a bit on the short side, we are also in the heart of the Scottish Highlands now and there is more climbing to be done in terms terrain, not to mention it’s a nice place to hang out. ? We are both still nursing foot issues that we haven’t seen before on such trips which is frustrating, but we need to manage them and not rush it!
???xxx