TGO Challenge Day 7 - 18 May 2022

Walking 8am to 10am; 2pm to 6.30pm

Distance walked 11 miles
Distance remaining 88.5 miles

An interesting night. I'd pitched my tarp with the tail into the wind but during the night the wind and rain turned 180 degrees and I was woken by being rained on. Fortunately, I'd brought an umbrella with me so I blocked off the head end with it.

Barbara and I walked in to Newtonmore and called in at the hostel which is Challenge Control until very shortly when it will relocate to the Park Hotel, Montrose as usual. There were hot drinks and cake on offer for Challengers and good conversation. Unfortunately, my Amazon delivery of lithium batteries for my Spot tracker hadn't arrived but was due between 2-4pm so I decided to wait and had more tea and cake. I also walked down the road to resupply at the Co-op.

Was good to put some faces to names - Sue and Pauline at Control and Ali who also runs the hostel, had been doing the Challenge but had dropped out, Louise Evans who is very active on the Challenge forum and some others. About sixty Challengers have dropped out for various reasons, blisters and some having lost fitness during Covid and not realised how much. Mountain Rescue were called out to three Challengers but they are OK.

My batteries were delivered and I got away at 2pm. I shortened my planned route between Newtonmore and Kingussie by taking the cycle way alongside the main road which was fine. Kingussie didn't detain means a little on the other side I met an old acquaintance, Gordon Green, coming the other way, heading for a booked room in Kingussie. I knew him from the Backpackers Club but he's no longer a member.

Ruthven barracks

Inshriach Forest

Shortly before reaching my planned wild camp at Baileguish, I met a Dutch hiker coming the other way. He'd checked the place out and rejected it for camping. I went on though. The bothy at Baileguish was closed but the camping around it is alright. There was quite a strong wind so I pitched at the lee end of the bothy although the wind has dropped now. I look out towards Glen Feshie which I'll walk down in the morning.

Bailleguish bothy

My view