dooger.org

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.

We soon left the village road and headed into the hills by following a double track trail before turning off and beginning the 400m+ climb up and over into the next valley. We then crossed a rickety old bridge before entering a nasty section of marsh swamp before curving around to arrive at Sourlies Bothy at 5pm. This was an amazing spot by the water and would have made a fine stopping point. Unfortunately we had to press on to our planned spot of A’Chul bothy some 10km and 500m distant. We hiked up with our new buddies Alan and John with sun shining in the sky. As soon as we hit the ridge the rains came along with mud and nasty trails. To cut the tale short (more details later) we made it to the bothy at 10pm in near darkness after both of us taking a pretty good swim in the bog. Fortunately there was space in inn and we kipped down on the floor thoroughly exhausted.

A very long and wet 1st day 🙁