Transition Day

After last week's strenuous endeavours I had planned some kind of transition and off day yesterday. Spent a rather good night at the hostel in Glencoe and had pretty much all day to travel to Loch Tay. So I finally dragged my bike from the trunk of my car to introduce it to Scotland. Let it slip just slightly onto a large rock when prepping it up and have now a mean scratch and even a dent in my frame. Not... funny :(

Low hanging clouds and a constant drizzle didn't keep me from heading off to nearby Loch Leven. Cycled all the way around it via Kinlochleven which is rather popular amongst Scotland hikers and walkers and indeed the hostel there seemed to pour out quite a few of them all clad in rain gear for the day.

The rain eventually stopped as I was rolling over minor ascends finally able to enjoy the view. Back at the Glencoe hostel I had completed a nice and easy morning ride of 23 miles and 2.300ft elevation gain. Nice.
Had a cappuccino and warm apple pie with mustard at the cafe at noon and then drove over to Crieff to meet friends.
Took me ages as there was one slow driver after another, but I once more enjoyed the views passing Glencoe and Rannoch Moor a lot, even with clouds hanging low.
By the time I passed Loch Earn the sun had come out completely changing the atmosphere into a relaxed late summer with small waves glistering in the sun and small boats rocking lazily on them.

I was early in Crieff so I walked up and down the High Street before I met my friends for a chat in the sun. Then it was finally time to give my car a rest after arriving at Morenish House at Loch Tay. Funny how you remember things like a signposted camping site just the moment when you see them again. Found Morenish House easily with the last bit of battery on my phone (acting as my GPS device) dying as I veered into the courtyard.

Met the rest of the group and we had dinner together. Very nice people all of them and I bet it's going to be great fun this week.

Skye Day 6 - Bye Bye Skye!

The Voltarol wonder-pills helped my knees a great deal. Still felt a bit stiff this morning, but walking was pretty much okay. Phew.
Gone was the magical weather of the last few days and a typical all-day-grey greeted me when I got up at 7am. There was a more or less contant drizzle and I knew it wouldn't change much.
Packed my gear into the trunk and off I went to meet the others at Sligachan. Driving around the island is as simple as it gets navigation-wise if you know rughly where the few villages are. I already felt very comfortable driving around without even looking at a map. From Sligachan we drove over to Broadford and then a small single track road pointing to Elgol cross country around a small Loch and to a car park where our ascend of Blaven was about to begin.
We donned full rain gear and walked along a river up into the low hanging clouds. So far it had been surprisingly warm, but further up a breeze set in and the rain once more set in. My knees were okay so far but again I dreaded the way back down as we were heading up a scree strewn path again. It wasn't by far as bad as the ones I had seen so far, though.
Reached the top in what felt like 2 hrs altogether. DONE! All 12 munros on Skye! Woohoo! And we kind of were right back at where we started since we reached only the first one and the last one when they were hiding in clouds. All the other ones had presented themselves in perfect sunshine. Should've taken the hipflask and some of my whisky to celebrate.

Victory. Conquered all 12 Skye munros

We didn't linger long as it was quite unpleasant in the wind and rain and went back down again. Knees were still okay-ish, blessed be Voltarol, haha.

Within such a short time as it took us up and down again the river had swollen quite remarkably so the crossing was a bit trickier now. I merely pondered a few seconds at which foot on which stone I was about to set in order to make it safely to the other side, when hundreds and hundreds of midges came out of nowhere buzzing around my head. Woah! No time for thinking, I just hoped over the stones as quickly as I could with the water raging around them now knee deep.
I knew that I would have about the same amount of time back at the carpark and I just dumped my backpack and rainjacket into the trunk but was surrounded by countless of them little buggers. I fled into the car and took quite a lot with me inside. ARG. Tried to kill as many as I could before I rid myself of the rest of my rain gear and changed into some dry comfy clothes.
Said a quick goodbye to our guide and then headed back to the mainland. At 1.30 I arrived at Eilean Donan Castle and this time I stopped to have a look around. It is truly as iconic and beautiful as all the pictures I had seen so far. Wow. What a setting! Took a few photos and then drove over to Fort William which took ages since I was stuck behind one slow driver after another. ARG.

Eilean Donan Castle

Eventually made it, had some food at Weatherspoon again, wandered along the high street with now open shops, but didn't buy anything and then jumped back into the car again to drive to Glencoe Independent Hostel. Found it easily took only the most necessary things out of the car and will just chill tonight.

Tomorrow awaits a hopefully halfway dry cycle around Loch Leven before I head over to Crieff to meet some friends who stay there and then finally to Morenish House on Loch Tay for my second week of munro bagging. Can't wait to stay in a room with a wardrobe and sort all my stuff properly, haha. I may even find the knee bandage I've been looking for so deperately for the last few days.

Skye Day 5 - A Day Off

Slept almost 10 hours last night as it was an off day today so I had plenty of time. Moved into another room since mine wasn't free for the time of my time when I booked it and hen drove up to Portree. As expected the weather had changed over night and the morning started with grey clouds and some drizzly showers.
Somehow I dodged them when I walked around Portree and just lazily strolled in and out of shops.

Portree

Knees felt a better today but still a bit stiff so I got myself some voltarol pills to help since I'm going to climb another munro tomorrow. Had coffee and lemon tart at a cafe and found a very evil whisky shop with a good selection of non-standard editions including a Scapa 14 which is no longer in production. Ahhh!!! Got away with a Glenmorangie Quinta Ruban and said Scapa. Arg. That makes it £200 spent on whisky this week.

Drove over to Dunvegan in the the afternoon to visit the castle and gardens which are both really nice. Then weather had cleared up again and I as driving home under a clear blue sky before I knew it.

Dunvegan Castle

Back in the hostel I settled in to my new room, surfed a bit on the net and enjoyed my Thistle Cross Scottish cider which I had gotten at the whisky shop. Nice honey taste, but too sweet to drink all night.

The last of the Skye munros is due tomorrow, which will take us roughly 4 hours return. I will then drive over to Glencoe to say there over night, making a decision Saturday morning if I cycle around the Loch or not depending on the state my knees are in. Will meet some friends in the afternoon in Killin or Crieff and then meet next week's group at Morenish House on Loch Tay at about 7pm.

Skye Day 4 - Two More Down, One to Go

After having ticked 9 munros off the list within the first three days, today was a more relaxed venture up the remaining two on the Cuillin Ridge. I was really glad about this as thighs felt better today but my knees where really starting to bother me.
Still the fantastic weather persisted and we started from Glenbrittle Youth Hostel up along Allt a'Choire Ghreadaidh. I just got out of the car and was changing from trail runners into walking boots when immediately hordes of midges were swarming around me. ARG. How do you tie your shoelaces with hundreds of those little buggers landing on your face and arms biting lustfully into your skin. I tried to get away as fast as I could and we started walking up the easy path into the coire straight away just to be rid of the tiny buggers.
The approach was not as long as the days before and we soon found ourselves once more in an amphitheatre of rough rugged rock with no easy route up to the ridge.
The only way to a notch in the ridge called An Dorus was up another steep scree slope. Yay... My knees were moaning straight away about having to go down the same way. The slope wasn't as long as the ones the days before so we reached An Dorus around 11am and immediately set to climb Sgurr a'Ghreadaidh. Apart from the first bit which is a grade 3 scramble the rest of the scrambling up to the top was rather easy and we enjoyed the view with Loch Coruisk glistering in the sun below, trying to name all the other peaks of the ridge.

Loch Coruisk

Someone sitting on the south col of Sgurr a'Ghreadaidh

Down to An Dorus we scrambled again, secured on the rope for the last bit, then headed up Sgurr a'Mhadaidh on the opposite side. Again the first bit was rather tricky and the rest fairly easy. We dumped our sacks halfway up and were down by 12 for a small lunch before we tackled the dreaded scree slope on our way back.
My knees were complaining a lot and I was glad that this was the last time I had to go down scree. Eventually I reached the bottom and trodded along the path out of the coire back to the hostel.
With the last three days in my bones my legs felt a bit wobbly again and I was happy to have my poles to support me. But hey, I did f..ing 11 munros in not even four days!!! And they are pretty much the hardest of the 282.

By 2:30 I was back at my bunkhouse, had a shower and some food down at the Inn, then a nap and a short visit to the Talisker distillery just a minute's walk away. Felt like a granny wobbling along the road with stiff knees. There were no more tours today but I had a look around the shop and would've bought pretty much all of their non-standard whiskys along with nice glasses and shirts, ahhhh. Settled for the smoother Distillers Edition matured in port casks.

Glad bout the off-day tomorrow which is dearly needed. Hope my knees will get better over night. Right now walking feels awkward and walking down a slope or stairs is nothing I'd volunteer for.
The weather is said to change over night so my plan A is having a lazy morning moving from one room to another as mine was fully booked tomorrow night when I made my reservation and then drive down to Portree and just wander around, do some window shopping, have coffee somewhere and just relax. If weather and knees play along I might drive further up to The Old Man of Storr and for once be a proper tourist looking at some famous landmark just because it's famous, haha.

Munros: 11/12
Midges bites: Err... stopped counting at 40...

Skye Day 3 - Three Times Three

Today we met at the Glenbrittle camp site and again the weather was just absolutely fantastic. It even felt a little warmer than yesterday and without wind it was even a little too warm when climbing up but I would never complain about sun in Scotland! I had a bit of an uneasy sleep last night as the muscles in my thighs were aching with every move.

Morning at Carbost Bunkhouse

Again we had three munros on our agenda. First Sgurr nan Eag then Sgurr Dubh Mor and the highest one of the whole ridge Sgurr Alasdair last.
So headed up an easy path into Coir' a' Ghrunnda with just a fantastic atmosphere right at the end where the rugged Cuillins surround the highest loch on Skye. A truly rare sight as it is more often in mist than not. We made our ascent up to the ridge just beneath the climb to Sgurr Eag which just involved some easy scrambling but being the last one on the ridge offered stunning views over the rest of the ridge from its top so we could try to find the ones we already did.
Once more we could see all the way to the mainland and the isles and without any wind stayed for a few minutes just marvelling at the view. But now a few small clouds had come in to put some spots of shadow on the ridge which made it even more marvellous.

Coir' a' Ghrunnda

Back down we went, got our packs and scrambled over to Sgurr Dubh Mor where we dumped our packs and scrambled up. With sheer deep drops just a foothold away this was great fun again and although a cairn marks the top there is another top nearby which we climbed as well just to be sure.
Back down we took our packs and walked over to Sgurr Alasdair, roped up and started a two pitch climb before it was just scrambling to the top. I have to admit I enjoyed the climbing most so far be it on Sgurr Alasdair, The In Pin or Sgurr nan Gillean. The rough rock has such a good grip that even the faintest holds are good enough.

We enjoyed fabulous views from the top that none of my pictures do justice before we climbed down to a bealach between Sgurr Alaisdair and Sgurr Mhic Choinnich. Down a steep 900 yard scree slope we went into Coire Laggan into which we had went on day one. At time I felt like the whole ground was moving and I was starting a scree avalanche. Although I was cursing in my mind some parts where actually fun.
That kind of did it for my knees again and the rest of the then rather easy path I more like stumbled down. Eventually I made it, drove home, had food and picked up my amazon packet that I had delivered to my hostel. Yeah. In it was the new Opeth CD so I sat in my car with a Magners and listened to it.

Tomorrow we'll do the last two of the main ridge before we have an off day and do the last and easiest one on Friday. Brilliant!!! I never expected to do all 12 munros on Skye in less than a week. It's simply unbelievable how lucky I am again with the weather on my holidays, HA!

Skye Day 2 - Halfway Through

I had slept pretty well which was not a surprise as knackered as I was. Got up at 7:30, had some breakfast and drove over to Sligachan where our little group was about to meet at 8:30 to tackle another three munros. Again the weather was absolutely fantastic. A clear blue sky all day long.
I had felt my thighs this morning from yesterday's arduous descent but luckily my knees felt okay. A long but not too difficult path led into a gully, then up a steep scree slope to a bealach between Sgurr nan Gillean and Am Basteir. The views on this fine day in all directions where simply breathtaking. We could see as far as Harris, Torridon with Ben Eighe and even the Old Man of Storr and the Trotternish Ridge could be clearly seen in the distance. Wow! Simply WOW!!! Seems like I came to Skye just at the right time.
We left our packs down at the foot of a nice climb up a chimney on the Northwest side of Sgurr nan Gillean. Two pitches we climbed then scrambled up to the top. Again nothing for the faint hearted and the best scramble/climb for me so far.
Down we went and abseiled where we had climbed the chimney before. After a short break we headed over to scramble up Am Basteir to tick another one off the list. Again good fun that one. Hiked around the North face of Am Basteir afterwards, left once more our packs and walked up Bruach na Frithe which was a lot less exciting but still a nice munro to do.

We collected our packs and took on the looooong ascent. I felt a bit better today on the scree and the longest stretch was on a normal hiking path. When we finally reached the cars at 5pm my thighs and knees were aching again. Crouching down was quite an effort. Still I felt a lot better than yesterday and with 6 munros off the list we were halfway through, yeah!!! Minimum number reached and quite a few climbs out of the way now. Another 3-peak-day tomorrow and we're almost done. The weather is said to last until tomorrow afternoon, so we should be on our way down by that time.

I drove the 9 miles to Portree, got some supplies at the co-op and back at the hostel had a feisty dinner of minced meat, chili sauce and half a package of veg. Finally enough food. I had felt the impact of missing out dinner the night before. So hopefully I'll be a bit fitter tomorrow.

Skye Day 1

Just when I was walking back to the car in Frot William I passed a small hotel which advertised single rooms en suite for £34. Hm. I was very tempted to just stay here and drive up to Skye tomorrow moring. Well, as least I could ask if they had any vacanies.
They had so I parked the car on one of those designated long stay car parks, got myself two Magners (I'm not goig to call this cider) at Lidl and spend the rest of the night chilling and watching some tv.

My alarm was set to 5 am so I would meet our guide George and the rest of the small group in Glenbrittle at 8:30am. Of course I woke up at 4:45 so I went back to the car, changed into my hiking clothes and hit the road again.
There was rarely any cloud on the morning sky and the setting sun dipped the hill tops in a light red. Wow! What a loveley morning! I wished I could just walk up any of the munros that soon loomed left and right. But I was bound for Skye. Some time after Glen Shiel I passed by Eilean Donan Castle and thought "Ahhhh, this is where it is!!!" Haha. Before I could make a decision weather to stop for a photo or not I was way past it.

After a really nice drive I arrived in Glenbrittle just a few minutes after 8am. Cool. It had definately been the right call to stay in Fort William. Got my gear together, met the other guys and we set off straight away since we were otherwise about to be eaten alive by hordes of midges. Arg.

George - our guide - told us about today's plan on the way up. We first wanted to do Sgurr Mhic Choinnich, then scale Sgurr Dearg (Better known as the Inaccessible Pinnacle) and maybe do Sgurr na Banachdich afterwards depending on our progress.

As we ascended on an easy path up into the Black Cuillins the views out to Rum, Eigg and even Ben More on Mull in the distance got better and better. Left and right rugged rock towered. After a steep bit on lose scree we arrived at a small ridge around 11am. George, me and one of the two couples in our group geared up and headed for Sgurr Mhic Choinnich which the other couple had already done.
By now clouds had come in and hid Choinnich and the ridge from our eyes. I experienced my first grade 2 scramble which was a lot of fun and with steep drops just a foothold away I wouldn't want to do this in rain and wind.
The summit came as a surprise as we literally stumbled upon the small cairn with a memorial plate. Back down we went and collected the others to head over to the infamous In Pin. Despite the good weather we met only a small group of climbers who did one of the routes and a hiker or two who passed by.
We went in two groups and while I waited with my companions from the climb before the clouds cleared up and gave way to wide views all the way to Loch Hourn, Loch Nevis and all of the Cuillins. Wow! I was totally amazed.

Rum

Heading Up

On Sgurr Mhic Choinnich

Heading Over to The In Pin

I went first onto the In Pin in our small group and both pitches were just great great fun. Had no problems climbing up since I'm used to use my hands and fingers and feel comfortable with reasonably small handholds.
Unfortunately we didn't abseil but were let down. Still good fun.

Our little group was still fresh and up for another one, so we headed over to Sgurr na Banachdich. An easier scramble later we found ourselfs on the top with brilliant views all around. The absense of wind and the blazing sun made me want to stay there forever. But a long long long descent lay ahead. I named it The Neverending Descent. Goodness! A endless steep path led down more or less straight back to Glenbrittle. At least the first halft was covered in rock and lose scree again. By the time we arrived on more level ground and some grass my legs were all wobbly and my knees were complaining loudly.

View From Sgurr na Banachdich

Back in the valley we got into our cars and drove off. My destination was Carbost, where I had booked a bed in a bunk house for the next couple of days. Settled in, had a nice warm shower and was actually starving, but the Inn that the bunk house belonged to was completely full. Boo. Somehow I lost appetite and instead sat down to write the blog and have a look a the footage from today. Recorded some videos with my GoPro and it looks really cool!!! Will do some small features when I'm back.

Off to bed now, as I'm totally knackered after such a long day.

The Road to Skye Pt 2

Walked around Carlisle for a bit Saturday morning. Went to the cathedral first and bring all alone inside caught a magical moment when the morning light streamed through the high windows. I realized just how lucky I was when the light changed a few minutes later and I was standing in an ordinary aisle again.

Got a few bits on sale from the local outdoor shops, a bag full of german salami at the international market in the centre and stuffed a bit of food in the trunk of my car before I headed further north at noon.

Entered Scottish soil after just a couple of miles on the M6 and a grin crept onto my face. I drove all the way to Scotland. It was funny how much I'm in love with this place. I immediately had butterflies in my belly and it just felt like seeing your lover.

From Glasgow up to Crianlarich the roads were pretty packed but rather empty afterwards. Very convenient as the scenery between Tyndrum and Fort William was simply breathtaking!!! I recognized Rannoch Moor and Glencoe again from one of my former travels and it felt strange to be driving myself this time.

Arrived in Fort William at 5pm. Phew. So far up North and still not at the end of my road.
Just had some food and will publish this post now as I don't know if I have a signal or wifi before Sunday night.

The Road to Skye Pt 1

The road to Skye is definitely a long one! Spent almost 7 hours driving yesterday, arg. Left work quite on time and since I had packed my car in the morning I just filled up with petrol and set off shortly after 4pm.
My gps sent my East first and then up north near Swindon to meet the M6. From then on it was just one queue after another. I was so glad I had just fitted my new car stereo a few days before.

Had to have a short break before Manchester and like magic queues had vanished when I hit the M6 again. Arrived in Carlisle at my hotel close to 11pm. What a ride. And this is not even halfway up. I have good hopes though that traffic will not be as mental again as last night.

My hotel was okay but surely not a recommendation. Heading into the centre now before I take on the second part of my road to Skye around mid day.

I'll be probably dark until Sunday night when I have wifi again so don't worry.

Scotland on my mind

In less than three weeks I'm packing my car again to drive all the way from Bristol to Scotland! Moving to the West Country and my Welsh adventure kept me distracted but now as I'm in the final stages of my preparations I can't wait to go back home.

I had booked the week on Skye from August 23rd on and the following week at Loch Tay earlier in the year and had left it at that for a few months only knowing that I'd drive up in my car since I can pack more stuff and public transport to and from Skye is a bit complicated.
So I thought of going as far as Glasgow on Friday 22 right after work but now booked a nice hotel room in Carlisle instead. Had never had it on my list but it seems to be a town well worth visiting.

This will not only cut an 11 hr drive in two it will also give me a few hours to explore Carlisle on Friday night.

 
Driving then all the way to Carbost on Saturday to start my attempt of bagging all 14 munros on Skye in as little as 5 days from Sunday on. As a member of a small group we'll be led by a seasoned guide. I'm particularly looking forward to some more scrambling which I enjoyed so much on the Glyders and which is mandatory for all but two of Skye's munros as far as I know.

I decided against staying at Glenbrittle campsite and will now have a bed in a hostel in Carbost. Still good budget accommodation but with better facilities for cooking and drying clothes (!!!). 

The following Friday I'll leave just after the last hike for Glencoe and cycle around Loch Leven the next day or tackle one of the fine ridges around should the weather be really good. Drive over to Loch Tay in the afternoon to spend the next week munro bagging there with another one of those lovely wandern-schottland.de groups.

Can't wait to get going although driving up and down will be awfully exhausting. But I'll get 10-20 munros under my belt plus see two areas that are high up on my list: Skye and Glencoe.
On top of that there is a good deal of scrambling experience to be gained and not to forget some good physical training!

I'll keep you posted. Will have wifi and post some pictures and tales of my adventures.