Sunday

We left Redmond at 6AM for the four hour drive into Winthrop.  The sun was out and it was lovely run up I-5 then over the North Cascades Highway (SR-20) and down into the Methow Valley.   After a quick stop in Winthrop for a cinnamon roll we drove out to the 30 mile trailhead.   It’s aptly named as it’s a good 30 miles north out of Winthrop.  This region is also the location of the Thirty Mile fire where four people died.  There is a memorial to the fallen alongside the road as you head up to the trail.   We didn’t stop this time but I’d been there in 2008 when I last walked the loop – well worth a visit if you head out this way.

We arrived at the trailhead at 12:30pm and by this point it was already up to 90F.   Lynn was concerned about the heat with our two dogs – Boomer (1yr) and Jilly (3yrs).   Jilly had hiked with us last year when we did the Western Pasayten loop but for Boomer this would be her first true trip out into the Wilderness area.   The trailhead was deserted when we left so after swimming the dogs in the Chewuck River (this would become a theme for out trip) we set off through the dusty trail which runs alongside the river as it snakes it’s way up into the high hills.

Within about 30 minutes the heat really hit us and we were worried how the dogs would cope.   Luckily Lynn had packed a large pack-towel and we were able to cut this in half making a nice (wet) insulation blanket for Boomer and Jilly.   We would wet the blanket in the cold running streams and this would help keep them cool through the high heat.

The first section of trail took us along the river and up through the old burn area.   It’s very dusty but remarkably full of plant life.   In the three years since I was last there, it felt like a different trail.  The colors of fireweed brought a sense of cheer to what was otherwise a hot and dusty trail.

After walking about three miles we made it to Chewuck Falls – by this time the dogs were quite hot and panting a little so we headed down to the river and took a nice 30 minute break allowing them time to swim and cool off.  As you can see from the picture here, Boomer was very enthusiastic despite the frigid temperatures of the water!

From the falls we continued walking until we reached the start of the Basin Creek trail (342) some 6.1 miles from the trailhead.   We arrived there around 4pm – our goal was to head up about 1.7 miles to a great camp spot by the side of Basin Creek.  This would enable us to get an early start for the tough day of exposed climbing ahead.

The Basin Creek trail started climbing steeply across switchbacks.  The sun was very hot (my chest thermometer was reading 95F) – I was really starting to suffer from the heat and we had to take a break behind a large rock for me to cool off.   Fortunately I’d just filled by water carrier with cool water from the creek below and this served as a fantastic head cooler!

After cooling off we continued on for what turned into a tough slog up the hill before reaching our planned camping spot by the side of Basin Creek.   I was amazed how much the landscape had recovered in three years – when I was here last the whole landscape was barren with charcoal.  There were now lush grasses and small bushes in abundance!

We were all exhausted but it felt great to have made it to our nice little campsite.  The dogs looked tired but had done well.   After eating our fresh dinner we settled in for our first night.

Total distance ~7.8 miles

Monday

We woke up around 6am and were moving on the trail by 7am – the sun was already up and we wanted to get up and over Windy Peak before we hit the full on sunshine of yesterday.   Temps in camp were a nice 55F making it perfect walking weather as we climbed up to Windy Peak (trail 360) and then traversed across Topaz Mountain to Sunny Pass (trail 342).   It was warm again in the high 80Fs but we were all faring much better with the landscape being a good combination of flat sections then short climbs.    The climb to Windy Peak was nice in the early morning sun.   As we headed up and over to Sunny Pass the full on sun returned just in time for us to find a lovely creek to cool off our heads and let the dogs swim.   By this point we’d started to get more concerned about Boomer who was looking somewhat dehydrated and not eating as much as Jilly (the vacuum!).   Another good stop gave us a chance to get more water into her and ensure she was fueled with some good calories for the longer climb ahead.

We stopped at Sunny Pass under the shade of a large tree for lunch.   It was lovely in the upper meadows with no other people in sight.   It would have made a great camping spot with epic views across the valleys.   After lunch we continued walking through Horseshoe Pass on to our next stop at Louden Lake.   This was our planned water stop and also an option for overnight camping if we felt the dogs were too hot to continue on.   The lake was very low and quite muddy though Boomer insisted on checking the whole area out.   It was quick comical to see her barking at a large rock for a few minutes.  The high valleys were lush with grass and very few bugs with critters such as marmots and chipmonks in abundance so had to have the dogs on leash for the first time in two days.

Temps in the high valleys were better so we pushed on past the lake towards Haig Mountain for our planned overnight stop.   This was a return to a campsite I’d stayed at with Brett, Tim and Bill on our 2008 trip.   Getting to the camp was tiring but worth it with the nice logs and campfire.   Unfortunately there was a complete burn ban in the Wilderness so our lovely campfire pit had to make do with a camp stove.

Total distance ~11.4 miles (total of 19.2 miles)

Tuesday

Overnight we’d re-evaluated our plan of looping on to Cathedral Pass.   The heat had been causing us lots of problems with the dogs and was also making it harder going for both of us.   In addition the “high hunt” was scheduled to start on Thursday so we wanted to ensure we were well out of the high mountains by the end of Wednesday before the shooting started on Thursday morning.   Fortunately planning ahead always pays off and we had an alternate option to loop back to the car.   We opted to continued on the Boundary Trail (533) until we reached the old Tungsten Mine and would then head down the valley on the Tungsten Creek Trail (534).  This option would cut off a solid 12 miles saving us an additional day.   We also felt the trail would be more sheltered from the sun as it meandered through thick forest.

We hit the trial by 8am – overnight had been much warmer than we’d anticipated and it was already in the mid-60’s despite being in the shade.   The trial from Haig Mountain was a joy to walk as it hugged the mountain side passing Teapot Dome before heading up to the flats at Scheelite Pass.  Despite the initial reading of the map which looked like things headed downhill the trail still had a fair bit of climbing to reach our destination at Tungsten Mine.   We stopped for lunch beside a small stream and then headed out looking for the intersection of Tungsten Creek trail (534).    We’d initially headed across from the mine along the trail to find a trail side marked “not maintained, unsuitable for horses”.   This didn’t look like our trail and given our last experience going down an unmaintained trail was looped back to the mine and examined the map more carefully.   This time we found the trailhead (hard to miss honestly) directly below the old cabins. If you’d like to know more about the old Tungsten Mine, I researched it back in 2008.  The full report is here.

The Tungsten Creek trail headed sharply downhill beneath the old spoil heap and then started to turn taking a nice shallow descent out along the valley floor.   It was cooler here with nice shade from the trees and lots of water as we looped back across the many streams we’d crossed on the Boundary Trail.   The walk down the trail was nice – although it missed the epic views of the Boundary Trail there was lots of wildlife to see and lovely views through the trees into small mountain meadows.    After descending to reach Cinch Creek (about 4 miles in) we stopped for a  good rest.  Boomer was literally pooped and needed to rehydrate, eat and get a good long rest.   We found a lovely camping spot between the forks of Cinch Creek and decided to stop here overnight.

After feeding Boomer and letting her sleep for a while she seemed much better so we changed plans again and headed down to the base of the trail to meet the Remmel Creek Trial (510).   After crossing the Chewuch River we found a huge camping area that looked to be very popular with horses (judging by the amount of horse poop!).   We stopped here for the night and setup camp in a lovely little site just by the side of the river.

Total distance ~15.9 miles (total 35.1 miles)

Wednesday

We woke around 5:30am after a nice restful night beside the river.   The sounds of running water made for a lovely backdrop to our early morning tasks of cleaning camp and feeding the woofers.   The dogs looked well recovered from their long day yesterday and were bouncing around the camp chasing each other with lots of energy.    We broke camp and then headed out for the short (8 mile) hike back to thirty mile trailhead.   The walking today was the easiest of all the days with a nice long walk down the mountain back 8.1 miles to the car.   The walk back was uneventful and a little cooler than other days.    We ran into our first people on the trail just 2 miles from the car; it was a pack train of hunters heading into the high hills for the high hunt which starts on Thursday.   We made it back to the car by noon and then bathed and swam to dogs in the Chewuch River before heading into Winthrop for a well earned pint of ale in the Old Schoolhouse Brewery.

Total distance ~8.1 miles (total 43.2 miles)

Summary

Overall this was a very hot and dusty trip.   It was fortunate that Lynn had a large pack towel that we could use to cool the dogs.   Other than the heat the trip was good – the wilderness has really started to recover from the thirty mile fire and it’s far prettier in the lower valleys than my last visit.  Both dogs did well camping in the Lunar Duo – there was lots of space for the four of us including our packs and gear.

It was a little disappointing not being able to loop through Cathedral Lake but we’ll just have to save that for another trip

Full pictures are available here.

For more details on the hike look it up in Backpacking Washington.

We had a nice restful night in our riverside camp. Graeme and Marion showed up later and we chatted with them and Stuart. We woke early around 6am and had oatmeal and coffee before breaking camp. We left camp at a record early start of 7:50am joining Graeme and Marion for the walk to our planned finish of Stonehaven.

The weather was nice with no wind and gray skies (no danger of flying sheep today). The Fetteresso is a working Forrest and we soon passed several work crews and logging trucks. Graeme had a cunning plan which would cut down on road walking so we all walked together for the day. The planned route involved following the powerline to reach a LRT which lead out to a road only 2 miles from Stonehaven.

Alas the path didn’t really exist so we hunkered down low and crawled/walked up the hill following a moss encrusted stream bed. Lynn was in the lead and made some sort of victory whipping noise as she found a clearing. Unfortunately the victory was short-lived as the clearing soon gave way to more trees! :(. Graeme moved into pole position and applied an innovative (if somewhat unusual) technique of walking backwards trough the trees. After another 50 feet the forrest ‘birthed Graeme’ shortly followed by me, Lynn and Marion.

The paths from that point were easy to follow an soon after passing the ‘Harlie Bog’ we bumped into Stuart we’d followed the road from our camp. From there the five of us walked the final miles to a lunch spot in Stonehaven where we refueled before stomping out the final mile to the beach. We dipped our feet, gave congrats all round and headed to the pub (after photos) for our congratulatory post TGO pint.

We then took the express bus from Stonehaven which meandered along the coast road into Montrose. After a quick stop for a new toothbrush at Boots we headed to the Park Hotel to
sign out and officially complete our 2011 TGO challenge. Tonight we’ll be visiting our favorite curry spot for a post walk dinner

We had a nice night at the Potarch Hotel. Despite the power being out the restaurant was hopping with people and the booze was flowing well. Since the kitchen was without power, the staff was cooking out back on a BBQ so we had a choice of steak, chicken, salmon, lamb chop or sausages. We both opted for the steak with a glass of wine. It went down well and was finished off with creme brûlée and chocolate mousse! Super yummy

Our hope for a morning shower were dashed with the power still off this morning. We had a breakfast of cereal and cheese. Since there was no hot water we retired to our room and brewed up some Starbucks coffee on the camping stove

The winds yesterday were a record for Scotland with gust recorded at 114 mph. Unfortunately two people were killed when their cars were hit by falling tree – see here for the full story.

We left the hotel and found two huge stones with rings for lifting them. Lynn had read a book last night which told the legend of Donald Dinnie who was a local Scots strongman. Legend states that Donald’s father carried both stones 100 yards across the bridge. I tried lifting one with both hands and couldn’t even budge it! I’ve included a rather amusing picture of Donald with his extraordinary(!) sporran below.

After leaving the hotel we lucked out and joined a new footpath which paralleled the road from Potarch out to the woods of Shooting Green. The walking was lovely meandering over the hills while paralleling the road. The high winds if yesterday were obvious with lots (I counted over 20) of trees downed by the winds.

Sadly our new trail came to an end and we picked up the short road walk into Waulkmill for a pint and lunch at the Feughside Inn. Fortunately they had power and lunch was being served :).

After a leisurely 2 hr lunch we trotted off down the road to Stratchen where we crossed the river before following minor roads to enter the Fetteresso Forrest by Burns of Curren. The climb up towards the forrest gave rewarding views across the valley towards Banchory. We then followed a combination of minor trails and tracks to reach our planned camp alongside a stream leading into Burn of Sheeoch. The camp here is in a lovely flat spot in a depression with a large clearing of trees. Pretty rare find in the woods we’ve been through. We soon found Stuart who’d been pitched here since 2pm and then Graham and Marion appeared each group with their own interesting stories on how they braved the wind storms.

It’s Mac and Cheese for dinner and Apple Chrisp for desert. Given this is our last night we’ll likely finish off the scotch too

The weather today was much better with lots of sun and blue skies. The winds are still fairly strong around 35 mph but a major relief from yesterday.

Tomorrow we have ~18km to reach Stonehaven with a nasty 8km road walk at the end. Still one more day and we’ll be done

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Last night we had a lively dinner with Marion, Graham and Mary in the local Italian restaurant. The food was fantastic and the company superb. We finally rolled into bed at 10:30pm for a record breaking late night. Over night the predicted winds didn’t come and it was blissfully quiet until 5am when all hell let loose with full on winds and rain. We finally left camp at 8:30 and meandered through town to pickup the Deeside way hiking/biking path. We soon banged out 11km to reach our coffee and cake stop (recommended by Graham) at the hamlet of Dinnet. There’s nothing quite like a warn baked scone and clotted cream – it was lovely. We were soon joined by cowboy Mike, Graham, Marion, Stuart? and six other challengers. I was up for another scone but the boss insisted we press on.

Today’s weather was looking bad with wicked gale force winds predicted for later in the day. Most challengers had started to muse over the idea of taking the Deeside way into Aberdeen. With approximately 50 km to go it would be an easy (but very boring walk). Our planned route took us south over some exposed hills so we elected to continue on the Deeside way until we reached Aboyne were we’d have lunch and decide on plan A or B.

We walked to Aboyne chatting to Stuart and the miles flew by. Stuart continued south on his planned route and Lynn and I headed into Aboyne with Mike to find a lunch spot. We found a great little ‘tea room’ (translation for our American readers == cafe) and had a nice lunch.

After pondering the maps we decided the Deeside way to Aberdeen would be too boring so we elected to link up with our planned route to the Fetteresso Forrest.

While we were sitting in the cafe the scene outside was incredible with all kinds of things flying by in the gales. We headed out and walked through the buffeting winds crossing the river south to pickup a minor road. The skies were a mixture of blue, clouds and rainbows. For the trip so far our working theory was that you can have any two of rain, wind or sun. This was soon disproven with all three making a simultaneous appearance throughout the afternoon.

After about an hour on the trail we decided to head for a pub/inn marked on the map in the hope they would have a room available. We pushed on and arrived at the Potarch Hotel. I’d tried calling them earlier in the day to check on a room and had no luck. Once we entered the hotel we found candles and learned they had a powercut, no doubt caused by a
flying tree. This is where the day’s genius shone through as the hotel had real ale – no power needed! We are currently supping our second pint of something (don’t know what but it’s doing the trick) while seated in a pair of lovely leather armchairs. Jackpot!

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Today went by quickly but was not one of our favorites. We had a great breakfast at our BnB ‘Callater Lodge’. The porridge came with lots of honey which was lovely. I had a nice cooked breakfast and Lynn opted for the continental – it was great to have a choice. We’d stayed here in 2009 and Andy and Liz have continued to do a wonderful job.

We left Braemar heading out over the Lions Face path – so called as it passes by a rock face that resembles a lion. I can’t see it but Lynn assures me its there! We soon hit the main road for a short 2 miles yomp before veering off at Invercauld Bridge into the Balmoral estate. After passing Connaucht cottage we saw a herd of deer grazing in the meadow. I guessed they knew it wasn’t hunting season so they watched us while we snapped lots of pictures. Soon after we met up with Mary, a fellow TGO challenger. We then followed packed dirt roads through to Easter Balmoral. We had hoped to pass by Balmoral itself but the gate was locked with a nastygram informing people they need to pay to get in. Being the law abiding types we followed the trail around to Easter Balmoral. After stopping for a quick lunch we hit the B road for the long 10 miles or so into Ballater. It we there that we ran into Kim who’d hopped the gate into Balmoral and enjoyed tea and cakes at the cafe

For me, the next three hours was long, boring and a real foot pounding 10 miles. Lynn however was having a great chin wag with Mary and seemed
none the worse for ware. The weather was good though with lots of sun and heavy winds. Although we were on roads the scenery was nice with lots of lambs, cows and scenic vistas.

After exiting the woods near Ballater we had to walk another mile before crossing the bridge. We found a well situated pub just over the bridge with four real ales on tap so it was pints all around. Lynn, Mary and I chatted in then pub for an hour before being joined by Graham and Marion who we’d met back on day 3 while walking the Puggle Line. We had another round of beers before heading out to pitch our tent.

We now have three days to go and some 71 km before reaching the eastern seaboard. Tonight we are camped at the Ballater campsite and have winds in excess of 50 mph coming our way. It’ll be a great test of our little Scarp-II :). Oh and we are pitched close to the ladies lavs to Lynn is quite chuffed.

Yesterday started with a wonderfully long shower at Mar Lodge. We had a nice breakfast with the other challengers before saying our good byes and starting the epic 8km yomp into Braemar. We left by walking around to the front of Mar Lodge before crossing Victoria Bridge taking a road walk into Braemar.

The trip seemed shirt as we walked with TGOers Pete and Tony so the miles went quickly as we chatted. We were soon in Braemar and headed for the gear shop to find a midweight thermal top for Lynn.

Little seemed to have changed since we were here in ’09. After stopping for gas and a shirt for Lynn we headed across the road to the Hungry Highlander for a huge fish and chip lunch before heading to our BnB. Later in the afternoon we headed up to the Moorfield Hotel for some real ale before having a nice dinner with our trail buddy Colin.

Sunday’s weather looks to be good but high winds and rain are coming on Monday :(. We have a 26km walk to Ballater on Sunday to our planned campspot.

I am writing this post while sitting in an ancient leather armchair, stuffed deer at my side (why not?), in the main entrance of the amazing Mar Lodge. But wait you all ask, aren’t you supposed to be camping tonight? Well dear readers, hold in to your mouse as we step back in time to last night….

We had a great time at the bothy night with quite a good social group. Lots of very amusing stories from the challenge. After pitching our tent we headed into the bothy to enjoy the company and warmth of the wood burning stove. From 6 until 9pm each passing hour brought more folks down from the hills into the bothy. I think the final tally was around 15 with the lawn outside the bothy looking like a multi colored patch work of color.

We turned in around 8:30pm and slept through until 7. The night had brought lots of rain and colder temperatures and we woke to freezing sleet on the tent. The rains continued and it was looking grin for our trek up the glen.

While I was packing up the tent, Lynn was playing the role of ‘first aid trail
angel’ in the bothy. After taping one knee and a foot we set off up the glen. We had taken this path in ’09 but it felt very different this time. Since ’09 a new double track path had been added making the trek up the glen easier than our last visit.

The weather had changed by now and it seemed we had any two of rain, sun or wind at the same time. Sun and a strong wind finally won out to make our trek up the glen very enjoyable.

The trek across the top of the watershed was wet but an easy walk compared to our earlier days. We soon made our planned lunchspot of an abandoned building just before whitebridge. We’d sheltered in it in ’09 and did the same again to have a nice hot pasta lunch.

Our original plan was to camp at Whitebridge but we were on fire today so we kicked it in into gear and pushed on the additional 10km to Mar Lodge. I’d originally tried to book into Mar Lodge and was told it was full. When we got there they’d decided to open up the luxury apartments in the main building so we were soon showed into our ~800 sq ft bedroom! The shower over the ancient claw-foot tub was outstanding and soon had us somewhat presentable.

The staff put on a great dinner for the 33 TGO folks staying here tonight which was soon consumed given the sound appetite everyone had.

Time for bed – tomorrow will be an easy 8km walk into Braemar for our visit to the Hungry Highlander (fish n chips), Fife Arms, and an evening with the Bingo Wings at the TGO gathering :). I’ll post pics of Mars Lodge too.

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Today marked a new standard in super easy days. We had a nice breakfast in the hotel before heading to the highstreet to restock on essential supplies. We left town around 10:30am passing the Ruthven Barracks and on to Trombie Bridge. From there we left road walking behind and joined a LRT through the forrest and into Glen Feshie. We stopped by Stonetrooper (a cute little house) for our picnic lunch and enjoyed another hour of glorious sunshine. Yes folks the sun has actually been seen today!

The glen was lovely in the sunshine and the river Feshie seemed a little low compared to all the other rivers we’ve crossed. After passing over a very sturdy bridge we headed up a single track path along the glen. When the trail forked we elected to stay left following the high ground into the woods. Our minor climb was rewarded with wonderful views back down the glen. We arrived at the bothy around 3:30 and joined the growing campsite of challenger tents. It’s lovely here and we are currently chilling out by our tent. Overall a nice, easy and enjoyable day.

We woke around 6:30am to the sound of pelting rain on the tent. After the morning rituals we packed up camp leaving the grounds of the Mondalaith Hotel at 8:30am. Our planned route to Kingussie followed our 2009 TGO route – last time it wad rains, blisters, tears and 11 hours on the trail. Today couldn’t have been more different with healthy feet, sunshine (ok a little wind and rain too) and a nice 20km to bang out!

The trail was pretty uneventful, we’d made general wades road by 11:30 and were walking with clear skies, sun and a wicked tail wind. The views were amazing and we soon entered Kingussie at 1:30 to find our landing spot at the Silverfjord Hotel. Lunch went down well with a pint of the local ale

This feels like a good rest day for us. Send thoughts of good sunshine as we head back to the hills and into Glen Feshie tomorrow.

Bonus point to viewers who can explain the clan motto ‘touch not the cat but a glove’ (pic below)

We had a lovely restful sleep in our little riverside nest. Lynn even made me breakfast in bed by cooking in the tent opening! The weather was much nicer today with sustained sunshine and no bog hopping! We left camp around 9:30 and spent the day puttering along the shores of several lochs and passing through several forests above Kinloch. The terrain and views were spectacular (amazing what a little sunshine can do). There were several amazing beach camping spots on Loch Nearabagh (need to check the spelling). Once we passed through Kinloch Laggan we had a little road walking before joining General Wade’s road towards Laggan. We passed Laggan Wolftrax foregoing a visit to their great cafe in favor of push on hard past our planned campsite to have dinner at the Mondalaith Hotel in Laggan. We arrived there around 6pm joint a growing bunch of challengers including our trail buddies Graham a d Marion. After learning the hotel allowed camping in the grounds it was mere seconds before my next pint