Day 6 - Abhainn Rath to Culra Bothy

Intended - Abhainn Rath to Uisge Labhair

Actual - Abhainn Rath to Culra Bothy

We had a comfortable night at Staoineag Bothy last night. After dinner we relaxed for a bit, and then Ben and I played a game of chess while Sam rested and watched. It was very civilized and it felt nice not to be checking each other for ticks…. We woke up this morning at about 7:45, started to get ready, and eventually headed out around 9:00. The stepping stones that were partially submerged when we came in last night were more exposed so we opted to cross the river right away instead of bushwhack down the side we were already on. Everybody’s bog tolerance is at a bare minimum right now due to the copious amounts we’ve done so far - more than Ben or I have ever done. The plan worked out and we started cruising towards our first destination of the day - Corrour Station.

Corrour Station is a train station in the mountains of the Highlands, seemingly in the middle of nowhere. The nearest road is at least 15 km away, and so the whole purpose of the station would seem be to service backpackers and day hikers.  A famous scene from the movie Trainspotting was filmed very near by. We stopped at the bridge where the scene took place before crossing the tracks over to the station. 

Ben On Trainspotting Bridge

The Train Tracks At Corrour Station

There is a very nice cafe/restaurant there so of course we all got a pop and a delicious slice of homemade carrot cake. It was a very good pick-me-up for the rest of the long day.

It Was Obviously Very Good - I Couldn’t Get A Picture Before It Was All Done!!

The next part was an easy walk up the side of Loch Ossian, followed by a rough stretch along Uisge Labhair.

Lots Of Flowering Trees Along The Loch Ossian Trail

On the map a clear path exists, in reality it was a boggy mess. As the day drew on, and we realized our campsite was going to be less than desireable. Sam started campaigning for us to head farther, over the pass and down into the next valley. Ben and I grew to like the idea more and more, so we all agreed to go for it. There was another Bothy about 8 km past our planned stopping point, that looked to be the next best stopping point. We all caught second winds, put our heads down and just kept walking.

Beautiful View Back Towards The Pass As we Approach The Bothy

When we arrived we found an idyllic spot to pitch our tents right beside the river. We met another challenger nearby who had just performed a 10-minute tick check and she gave us the green light. We started the nightly routine of unpacking and setting up. Ben and I had a sit in the river and washed up while Sammy started getting dinner ready. We all enjoyed our noodle pots and cooked chicken dinner. What started out as a perfect night unfortunately ended in disaster. When Ben went to set up his tent it was covered in ticks. Nooooooo!!!! Since then we have spent a couple hours getting his tent decontaminated, checking each other over, and packing everything up for the night. It was a sad end to what could have been an amazing day.☹️

While we have been having an extraordinary experience so far, the tick issue is becoming overwhelming for us. We all don’t mind a little hardship but this level of ticks is almost too much to bare. I am having doubts about whether or not to finish this crossing, and whether or not I would want to do another TGOC…

We have a short day tomorrow thanks to our hard work today, and will be ending up in Dalwhinnie where we will be staying at a hostel. This will allow us to decontaminate, wash up, and try to get ourselves settled. Hopefully our frame of mind improves and we have a happier post tomorrow.

Thanks everybody for reading and good night!!

Day 6 Route - 29.7 km, 696 m ascent