Sunday, July 3, 2022 - Wild Camp Spot to Ba Cottage Ruin Wild Camp around mile 68.5, 11.5 miles
I slept so good! The sound of the stream was very soothing. I finally got up to pee around 7:00am and since I was up decided to filter some water since I was out. The midges were also up and I got about 50 bites on my legs. Luckily they don't hurt or itch, they are just red. I heated up some water using my new MSR pocket rocket. It is so fast! I ate a protein bar to lessen the weight of my pack and the rest of my chips from yesterday. We packed up as soon as the rain stopped.
We used our pink towels to get rain off the rain fly, we let it dry in the wind and it was dry when we packed up. We hit the trail about 9:20am.
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| packing up |
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| we camped in those trees |
There were far fewer hikers now on the trail. We probably saw less than 20. We got to the Bridge of Orchy Hotel who let us take our packs into the bar and use the toilets. I had a latte and scone and charged my phone. I bought a postcard and we also got a stamp for our passports. The staff were really nice there.
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| Bridge of Orchy Hotel |
Once my phone was charged we continued on our way, crossing the famous Bridge of Orchy.
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| Pounce crosses the Bridge of Orchy |
The trail ascended a hill, eventually reaching a rock cairn with beautiful views of Loch Tulla and the Moors ahead.
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| We opened and closed so many gates on this trail |
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| Up we go! |
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| Loch Tulla |
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| Rock Cairn |
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| Mam Carraigh |
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| Inveroran ahead |
We descended to Inveroran Hotel which was all by itself in the middle of nowhere. No wonder they can not find people to work here. The sign said food only for hotel guests but another sign pointed to the back to a bar so we went back and found a shed with shelves to store our packs. We went in the back and used the restrooms and then sat in the bar to warm up. I ordered a wonderful hard cider that tasted like apple juice and some chips. Then the waitress asked us if we wanted a bowl of soup! Well, yes, hot veggie soup sounded wonderful, especially since we were not expecting anything warm to eat. It also came with bread and butter. We chatted in the bar with a hiker from Switzerland who explained about the Swiss hiking hut system they have there. It sounded quite cushy.
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| Inveroran Hotel |
We left there around 1:15pm and headed out to the Scottish Moors! Finally! I have wanted to visit a Scottish moor since reading about them as a child. We were headed into the wildest and most remote part of the West Highland Way.
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| Looking toward the Moors |
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| Dover Road to Glencoe over Rannoch Moor |
It rained off and on but I'm getting very fast at putting on and removing my rain gear. Compared to the torrential rain of the third day this is very manageable. This dover road was rocky because it helped the hooves of the cattle and sheep that travelled on it to market.
Rannoch Moor was windy and felt desolate but in the distance we could occasionally see cars on the A82. I was surprised that there was almost no wildlife to be seen and then I rounded a corner and saw a doe. The scenery reminded me a bit of Alaska.
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| a single deer |
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| gazing out across the moor |
After six miles we came to the ruins of a stone house called Ba Cottage Ruins just off mile 68.5. We crowded into a small spot behind a stone wall for wind protection and it was a great camping spot. It stopped raining long enough to pitch our tents. A stream rushed down the hill near us where we filtered water for dinner and breakfast as it began to rain again.
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| Ba Cottage Ruins |
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| Only stones remain in this lonely place |
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| The view from our tents |
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| hunkered down for the night on the windy moors |
It was extremely windy and I piled some rocks on top of my tent stakes to keep my tent taut. I ate some cheese and peanuts for dinner to lower my pack weight and snuggled into my sleeping bag. I felt surprisingly good today. No pain although my feet ached a bit. My cold seemed much better, too.
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