Written By Sam
After a refreshing night in Fort William, today was sure to be an easy one, right?.. Nope. The day started out beautiful, some nice double track and then a well trodden path up the Water of Nevis, a gorge behind Ben Nevis (tallest mountain in the UK). The trail was beautiful with waterfalls lining both sides.
 |
| Massive Waterfall In Distance |
Shortly after the tallest of the bunch, the people we passed became few and far between indicating the commencement of the more remote part of the day. The trail condition quickly worsened the further we went, complete Scottish bog. Ben remarked that the conditions were so difficult to walk in you couldn’t really enjoy the scenery, which is how it felt. Lots and lots of bog. I think this was the point where everyone had pretty much had enough and we just walked in silence. After a quick stop for some salami and cheese sandwiches we were back to the monotony. Even though conditions were sub optimal, we were surrounded by some of the most vast and beautiful landscapes this country has to offer. Grassy peaks lined the trail on either side with Water of Nevis flowing through the middle. Massive boulders and sharp rock dotted the landscape as well.
Just as the trail conditions began to improve we stumbled upon ruins of an old house that was beginning to be reclaimed by Mother Nature. Not much but enough of a pick me up to keep slogging on.
 |
| Sam By The Abandoned House |
After the ruins and a mandatory river crossing the trail conditions declined again and it was back to our new normal. We followed Abhainn Rath - another river, for the remainder of the day. I quite enjoyed this part of the walk, the river was beautiful with massive rock slabs creating lots of mini waterfalls. After about three more kilometres and everyone feeling pretty tired we were once again blessed with some trail magic. Right where Dad had us camping on the map was a Bothy. A bothy is a building that is maintained by an organization and kept unlocked for backpackers to use as needed. Most are pretty rustic, with no power or insulation, however to us it is pure luxury. After a hard slog it is just what we needed. A sheltered place to stay dry and sleep for the night. After a quick river shower, we cooked up some grub and enjoyed a much needed meal. Some warm drinks, coffee for Ben and I, and tea for Dad made the day complete.
 |
| Our Upstairs Bothy Room |
This will be the first time not in the tent in five days and I think we are all excited. We are headed to Uisge Labhair tomorrow and a possible cold drink at a remote train station in the morning looks promising. Will update then!!
Health Update
Ben: good, no blisters
JM: managing blisters, sore body
Sam: recovering from 3 blisters, good
 |
| Day 5 Route - 22.8 km, 565 m ascent |
No comments:
Post a Comment