Day 7. 3rd August 2024

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Day 7.               3^rd August 2024

Meanach Bothy → random bridge on Allt na Lairige river. 10Km

Rain / sun / rain / sun / rain… 14º – 20ºC

The day started fairly slow, just making breakfast and packing up my stuff. I really enjoyed staying in the bothy but now it was time to face the rain and start hiking again.

The first task was simply trying to find the trail I wanted. Just as I was about to leave the bothy, three people came in from two different directions and no one knew of the trail I wanted. But I knew the general direction I wanted to go, so I just started slogging across the bogs, heather and moss (don’t stand on the moss, it’s like a big wet sponge. Heather is usually on firmer ground) fairly sure I would come across the track if I kept heading at right angles to where it should be.

Climbing up away from the bothy.

Trying to find a vantage point to see the trail from. Couldn't see it...

This is what I was walking across. The pink is SLIGHTLY dryer than the light green, but it's all boggy.

Sure enough, after about a kilometre of bush bashing, I hit the trail and started climbing up out of that valley. Again, the beginning was fairly steep going, and somewhere near the top, my ankle started hurting again. I took my usual Ibuprofen, rubbed some analgesic gel on the ankle and limped on.

This track is definitely not used as much.

This track was obviously not used as much, and was fairly rugged terrain. A lot of short hills and valleys with constant patches of water on the track you had to pick your way over or around. All day, the rain showers would come in short patches and my shoes were already drenched from the day before. But eventually I made it over the ridge and down into the next valley. As I walked the path became clearer and just as I started wondering where the heck the next bothy was, I came around a corner and there it was sitting below me, beside a stream in the valley below. I stopped here for a cuppa but as it was only 12pm, and the bothy, although cute, was covered in mouse droppings, I decided to keep going a bit further.

You can see puddles at the bottom of each hillock like this. Made keeping your shoes dry a fun challenge, that I lost!

This is peat. Basically bio-material made from thousands of years of moss build up. The Scots use to burn it to keep their houses dry, as there are few trees around this area for wood.

A real standing stone in the wild.

Finally made it to Lairig Leacach Bothy.

This was not the only little mouse that lived in the bothy... not by far!

I didn’t really have a goal, but at about 2:30pm I came across a cute bridge over the stream, with a single tree on the hill. I thought this would make a great place to camp. As I was pitching the tent, I realised there was a beautiful, small, almost hidden waterfall up behind me. So I took a quick climb up there, then back down to the stream for water, and now I’m sitting in my tent, listening to a fairly steady fall of rain pitter pattering on the fly of my tent. I’m fairly sure I’ll be finishing this hike in the wet tomorrow, as the forecast since the beginning has been for rain from day 3.

A lone tree on the hill looked like a great place to set up camp.

Amazing tree roots still holding on.

Camp for the night.

Down there is Spean Bridge. Possibly my finishing point.

I’m still trying to decide if I want to walk all the way into Fort William (23 kilometres) or just over to Spean Bridge (5 kilometres) and catch a bus from there. I’ll see how the weather and my ankle is I guess. Unfortunately I think the hike to Fort William will mostly be on tarmac, which would (I think) end my Achilles for good. We’ll see.

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