A Scottish Story – Day 32, Come on Mel. You can do this.

Distance: 30km

I feel pretty proud of myself this evening.  I put the work into a plan for today, and it feels like it paid off.  A hard day made easier.  Success. Though still very hard!

The forecast for today was a little grim.  Heavy rain throughout the night and into mid morning.  And so many rivers to cross.

The plan was simple:

1. Expect to be wet all day

2. Walk on the good track through the heaviest period of rain, aiming to arrive at a known to be tricky navigation point as the rain is expected to ease, approximately midday.

3. Hope that the forecast was correct, that the rain will ease and I have the opportunity to cross the first major river crossing (at the top of two waterfalls) following a little bit of a downpour lay period. Be prepared to camp in the area if the crossing is going to be too dangerous and wait it out.

4. Assuming I can cross, navigate slowly and carefully around the mountain contour, leaving the designated track and descending to the creek to cross again where I can find a good spot.  Follow the creek on the opposite side to meet the track again later on at the loch.

5. Maintain composure and concentration for all water crossings, making sure I secure my phone properly each time.

That was the plan.  And it worked! I split the day into little sections, aiming to complete the previous task prior to thinking about the rest.  I left the hotel in the pouring rain at 10am. It never let up for the next 12km whilst I reached the navigation point at Loch Fada, but then, a clearing. Just as had been predicted.

With the fog dissipating, I followed a series of little white cairns upwards, eventually reaching the waterfall creek crossing.  I took my time with this, following the river further upstream.  Eventually, I found a spot to cross that I was more than comfortable with. Stage 3 completed.

I navigated around the contours, the sunshine occasionally beaming out from behind the clouds.  The landscape was magnificent in it’s remoteness. I left the track early and descended down to the creek where I could see it was still narrow enough that an easy crossing was possible.  On the other side, I started a bit of a slog to walk creekside towards Loch an Nid where I would pick up the trail again.  It might have been a slog, but the relief I felt to be across the river and know that I could continue was well worth it.

And from there, all it took was a lot of resilience, physical exertion and concentration to eventually reach the Shenavell bothy.  

It takes quite a bit for me to admit when I am proud of myself, but I don’t mind saying it for this one.  I crossed countless knee high creeks, slogged through mud and had wet feet all day, but made it to the bothy without a negative thought. That’s a straight up win in my books.

This article was originally published on The Trek which can be found here