dooger.org

Distance: 22km (220m), total of 65km
On the trail: 8hrs
Planned route: map

We stopped about 3km short of Glenmallie last night. The walk into our camp was a horror compared to the nice trek out to Invermallie. It was raining hard when we woke so we decided to break camp and eat something cold in order to get on our way quickly. After leaving camp around 9am we picked up a nice LRT (landrover trail) and had a very fast walk to Glenmallie then out to Invermallie where we had a hot lunch sitting under a huge oak tree. The walking today was easy in comparison, mostly flat on nice trails or roads. The only surprising thing was the discovery of the ‘Gairlochy fairies’ in the woods (see pics below). We found them by following the Great Glen Way Trail from the end of Loch Arkaig to Gairlochy. Read more…

Distance: 20km (1000m climbed) – total: 45km
Time on the trail: 12 1/2 hrs
Planned route: map

Today started by trying to dry out socks and other wet soggy stuff from our late night yomp. The weather cleared and we hit the trail with Alan and John intending to hit our planned Monroe. After climbing the ridge with Alan (John has headed in another direction) the winds were whipping up and the climb to the summit looked like a real scramble. Truth be told we were all feeling a bit knackered so we opted for our bailout route which took us down Glen Mallie. Our route better describes the route as ‘a wonderful lush green valley with easy tracks’. Well I think he must have confused it with somewhere else. Ever heard of Lake Baikal in Russia? It supposedly has 1/3 of the worlds fresh water supply. Read more…

Distance: 25km (1100m climbed)
Time on the trail: 11 hrs
Planned route: map

We arrived into Mallaig around 5:30pm on what would appear to be the TGO express train. It was packed with challengers who jumped off at the different start points. We met several folks from our 2009 challenge and made many new ones. Overall challengers are quite a social bunch.

We had a great dinner in the local pub with fresh locally caught seafood and a pint or two if the local real ale.

Our challenge started at 9am by signing the start book. We then headed down to the Inverie ferry which left packed to the gills with the 47 challengers starting at Inverie. After landing a great deal of self control was exercised preventing a quick pint in the old forge inn. Read more…

Let’s talk gear.   Now my husband is the research king of the best, the most minimal, the lightest, and the most functional gear on the market.   But while I love the idea of a 20lb pack total,  I also need something that is comfortable.  If I’m cold, wet,  have blisters, haven’t slept well, or am experiencing back spasms due to an uncomfortable pack, it’s not going to be a pleasant trip for anyone.

Read more…

Lynn and I leave on our second TGO challenge in a few days. We are going to be starting from Mallaig on the western coast of Scotland (just off the Isle of Skye) on Friday, May 13th.   We’ll then take 13 days to walk the estimated 205 miles to end at the ocean below Dunnotar Castle.  Our hike starts with a ferry boat ride to Inverie where we’ll enjoy a pint (or two) in the remotest pub in Britain, the Old Forge.

We’ll have our SPOT satellite tracker with us so you’ll be able to follow both our planned and actual routes at https://www.dooger.org/topo/tgo.htm.   We may post a few blog entries along the way which you will find right here along with any Tweets from the trail.    You can also follow us on Twitter under @chillidemon.   I’ve also been experimenting with a new social hiking site in the UK which aggregates Twitter and GEO tracking feeds into a single map.   You might like that too: