Journal: |
I left the rather pricey and atmospheric hotel soon after 9am,
having to stop on the porch to get my raincoat out as it had started
raining. There were also a lot of midges about so I had also
put on some repellent. My walk started with about 4km along
the Glen Garry road in a westerly direction before I turned north
along a moderately steep path towards a pass. Most of the
glens (valleys) in this part of the world run east-west and, since I
am mainly heading north, my day will comprise climbing over three
bealachs (passes) and crossing the glens in between.
Although the path wasn't too bad, the wet undergrowth from the
rain soon meant my boots and socks were wet. My boots are
showing signs of wear and the left one now has a hole in the upper
by my little toe. The showers came and went, but generally the
visibility was very good and I had clear views up the steep sides of
the mountains I was passing between. Nearer the pass, the path
became quite boggy in parts and my pace slowed as I found my way
around the difficult bits, with the aid of my trekking pole as a
prod and support. Glen Loyne was a remote and desolate place
with no sign of civilisation apart from a deer fence. the
valley was wide with the shallow River Loyne flowing down the middle
and across the valley I could see the next pass I had to climb.
But first, I had to leave the path I was on and go cross country to
the river, find a place where it was shallow enough to ford (but
not, unfortunately, shallow enough to keep my feet and boots
dry......I don't like fording in bare feet because it makes you
unstable and prone to fall and wastes time). The ford was
without incident and then I had to make my way cross country again,
climbing the other side of the valley up to a saddle where I
connected with the old Skye road which is now closed to traffic.
It was now nearly 1pm, but I knew I had the old road all the way
into Strath Cluanie and the Cluanie Inn where I hoped to get some
lunch, so could keep a good pace for a change. There was
barely any radio reception, but I heard a snippet that said
Australia now had its first female Prime Minister.
I took my raincoat off after getting warm on the climb, but there
was a cool wind and by the time I reached the remote Cluanie Inn,
which was on a busy road along the valley, I was getting quite cold.
Knowing that I would not be having much for dinner tonight, I
ordered some very over-priced bangers and mash for lunch and then,
after putting on a sweater, headed out for my last pass of the day
over to Glen Affric. The path started out dry, but then became
quite boggy for very long stretches. I settled down to a
couple of hours of hopping from one semi-dry spot to another,
finding my way around marshier bits, and trying to follow the line
of the track. You can't actually walk along the track in many
places because it is so boggy, so what you tend to do is follow its
line, but off to the side. However, you still encounter bogs
and streams and can't avoid a few misteps. On one occasion, I
planted my trekking pole, intending to vault across a boggy bit and
the pole rapidly plunged all the way to the handle (1 metre) in the
morass. I wasn't expecting it and, as my weight followed the
pole into the bog, my pack came forward over my head and I very
nearly nose-dived into the bog.
Although the walking was challenging, I frequently stopped to
admire the concave valley sides sweeping up to the 1000m mountains
on either side. I felt dwarfed and isolated, but thrilled to
be here and reminded myself that I will probably never pass this way
again. Eventually, the boggy path descended slowly into Glen
Affric, hugging the contour of a hill, and giving fantastic views to
the west. At last I spotted the two very isolated buildings
that make up the Youth Hostel and finally reached them about 6:45pm.
I was the only guest, but the young German couple looking after the
place assigned me to the Annex, the other unheated building about 30
metres away, to sleep, despite there being two unused dormitories in
the main (heated) building where the shower, kitchen, toilet and
common room were. I accepted my fate, put my boots back on and
walked to the Annex.
The hostel is apparently a favourite with Munro baggers.
Munros are Scottish mountains of more than 3000ft and it's very
popular to try and climb them all. There are a few close to
the hostel.
After a shower, I cooked the savoury rice I had brought with me
and plan to have an early night once I have updated my diary.
I looked at my food supplies and wonder whether I have brought
enough given that I will be camping (or maybe staying in a hut)
tomorrow night and won't see a shop until late the next day.
Ten Snickers bars and about a kilogram of trail mix (M&Ms, peanuts
and sultanas) should be enough.
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