A week after having spent four and a half months in Switserland I was all packed and ready to leave on my next journey. While in Switserland I was mainly working, but also had lots of opportunities to go into the mountains to run , this trip I could realy focus on preparing for Nepal. My objectives were to spend long days on the trails with a rather big backpack, testing my rain gear, solar powered charger ( maybe I was a bit too optimistic bringing it to Scotland, where it rains most of the time. :-) ) amount of food I would need for at least 3 or 4 days...etc.
Upon arrival in Glasgow I went on to the startingpoint of the West Highland way (150 km), which was the first of the three long distance hikes I had planned on hiking in 4 weeks time. This is also the only one that is marked and is considered an official hike. Paths are always clear, and there´s plenty of accomodation and food options along the way.
I hiked for just a few hours and put up my tent at a riverside. One of those lovely things about Scotland: Because of their `right to roam` one is allowed to walk just about anywhere and camp wild as long as you behave responsibly.
The next day I got up early ( as I would every day actually ) and started my first full day on the trail. It was a quiet easy day as the trail was mainly flat mostly going through woods dotted with flowers. From day 3 the landscape started to get a bit rougher. on my 4th and last day I met 2 Scotts who were going quiet fast as well so we stayed together untill the end of the hike. We had good laughs and bad weather on the way, even a hailstorm. That same evening in Fort William we went for dinner and a drink at the pub to celebrate our accomplishment. The next morning I walked up to Ben Nevis, the highest mountain in Great Brittain. Which is ofcourse peanuts compared to Nepal. It was a straightforward walk, just a bit tricky coming down in the snow.
Upon arrival in Glasgow I went on to the startingpoint of the West Highland way (150 km), which was the first of the three long distance hikes I had planned on hiking in 4 weeks time. This is also the only one that is marked and is considered an official hike. Paths are always clear, and there´s plenty of accomodation and food options along the way.
I hiked for just a few hours and put up my tent at a riverside. One of those lovely things about Scotland: Because of their `right to roam` one is allowed to walk just about anywhere and camp wild as long as you behave responsibly.
The next day I got up early ( as I would every day actually ) and started my first full day on the trail. It was a quiet easy day as the trail was mainly flat mostly going through woods dotted with flowers. From day 3 the landscape started to get a bit rougher. on my 4th and last day I met 2 Scotts who were going quiet fast as well so we stayed together untill the end of the hike. We had good laughs and bad weather on the way, even a hailstorm. That same evening in Fort William we went for dinner and a drink at the pub to celebrate our accomplishment. The next morning I walked up to Ben Nevis, the highest mountain in Great Brittain. Which is ofcourse peanuts compared to Nepal. It was a straightforward walk, just a bit tricky coming down in the snow.
The plan now was to start with Cape wrath trail untill I was close enough to Isle of Skye and make a detour to hike that trail first and continue Cape wrath later on. The first day was not that spectacular but from Glenfinnan ( famous for it´s ´Harry potter´ viaduct ) the scenery got more and more impressive all the way to Cape Wrath actually! On day 3 I arrived at Shielbridge from where I would hichhike to Isle of Skye. A bit later I arrived at Portree, the biggest town on the island, checked in into a hostel, got some laundry done and had myself a good meal. The next morning I took a bus to the starting point of the Skye trail (130 km) Starting off following the coastline before heading up to the spectacular Trotternish ridge. A 36-km-long stretch of beautiful rock formations and steep cliffs. it was also a very hard sections going up and down constantly. Just before dawn I found myself a wonderful campingspot on the edge of a cliff.
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Coming back down from the mountains the path continued along the coast for about 34 km and next through a beautiful valley untill it reached a peaceful bay with a wonderful bothy. ( kind of a very basic, free mountainhut ) That´s another of those great things about Scotland. They´re mostly located in remote and beautiful places and often at a lakeside.
The next day I finished the rest of the trail and hichhiked back to the place I interrupted Cape Wrath trail 5 days ago.
The next day I finished the rest of the trail and hichhiked back to the place I interrupted Cape Wrath trail 5 days ago.
The further north I went the more impressive the landscape and the stronger the sense of remoteness, but the trail also became more and more boggy and pathless which, in combination with bad weather, made it hard to navigate. Because of the heavy rain of the past days the paths ( if there were any ) had turned into streams and rivers nearly impassable. With great care I managed to cross them, but not without risk. At one point I slipped and most of my gear got wet and would not dry before I finished and got to a hostel where I could dry my stuff.
To make things worse all my batteries went dead and my solar charger was not charged because of the absence of sunshine so no more GPS track and I had no map. I just had to rely on my compass and my instinct now. Which turned out well actually. Good thing I was not too far from the end. Cape Wrath lighthouse came in sight after 9 days on the trail.
Without any doubt, this 380 km long trail was my favorite one! It had everything I´d expected from it!
Overview of my gear test:
- New rain jacket was perfect but too thin for Nepal.
- Rain trousers worked well
- solar charger has not been tested well enough because of the lack of sunshine.
- (cheap) Sleeping bag and liner were not warm enough, even for Scotland.
- hikingboots not waterproof (anymore)
- As my back was the only bodypart that was suffering I will have to do some extra training to strenghten my back before going to Nepal.
To make things worse all my batteries went dead and my solar charger was not charged because of the absence of sunshine so no more GPS track and I had no map. I just had to rely on my compass and my instinct now. Which turned out well actually. Good thing I was not too far from the end. Cape Wrath lighthouse came in sight after 9 days on the trail.
Without any doubt, this 380 km long trail was my favorite one! It had everything I´d expected from it!
Overview of my gear test:
- New rain jacket was perfect but too thin for Nepal.
- Rain trousers worked well
- solar charger has not been tested well enough because of the lack of sunshine.
- (cheap) Sleeping bag and liner were not warm enough, even for Scotland.
- hikingboots not waterproof (anymore)
- As my back was the only bodypart that was suffering I will have to do some extra training to strenghten my back before going to Nepal.