Distance walked 14 miles
Distance remaining 123 miles
It wasn't capercaillie I saw last night, it was black grouse, identified on an information board I saw later. They (I assume it was them) have a very unusual call which actually got on my nerves this morning as I was lying abed willing myself to get up. It was a beautiful morning, the early sun streaming into my tarp and a cloud inversion down below.
My pitch last night was OK but there was a much better and larger grassed area further on towards Torgyle Bridge at NH305141.
Taking the logging road up through the forest, I stopped to replenish water at Allt Phocaichain and along came the first Challengers I'd seen since the day before yesterday, Dave & Julie Skipp and their two team members. I was following a new road parallel to the pylons which isn't on the OS map yet. Much of the forest shown on the map has been felled.
Eventually I started on the muddy at times path that wound its way down to Fort Augustus, teeming with day trippers. I phoned in to Challenge Control, resupplied at the Londis shop and downed fish and chips. I was also able to refill my water from a tap at the side of Londis.
Leaving the village, I followed signs for the Corrieyairack Pass. It involved a steady ascent over about 1.5 miles, followed by a gradual descent to my pitch outside Blackburn of Corrieyairack bothy. There are five overnighting in the bothy, including two Challengers, Kevin Parisi from the USA and Noam Gal from Israel, walking as a team.
Eventually I started on the muddy at times path that wound its way down to Fort Augustus, teeming with day trippers. I phoned in to Challenge Control, resupplied at the Londis shop and downed fish and chips. I was also able to refill my water from a tap at the side of Londis.
Leaving the village, I followed signs for the Corrieyairack Pass. It involved a steady ascent over about 1.5 miles, followed by a gradual descent to my pitch outside Blackburn of Corrieyairack bothy. There are five overnighting in the bothy, including two Challengers, Kevin Parisi from the USA and Noam Gal from Israel, walking as a team.
Blackburn of Corrieyairack bothy
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Hi Geoff, following your TGO adventure, reminding me of my walking in Scotland and being happy it gives me a reason to ponder over OS maps again to follow your route. Hopefully the midges aren't to bloodthirsty!? Where do you intend to finish, btw? Keep going!
ReplyDeleteNow back “home”. Actually at at Philippa’s. Home tomorrow. As you’ll now know, I finished at Kinnaber Links, just north of Montrose.
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