In May 2013 I backpacked across Scotland. This is part one of the trip report which covers the days from Plockton to Fort Augustus.

I suppose it all began last year when, one bright September afternoon, I crossed the sunny concourse of Aberdeen Railway Station and bought a copy of the October issue of TGO Magazine from the newsagents. There towards the back was an application form which I dutifully filled in, laying out my recent experiences of wild camping and hillwalking in Scotland. I mailed it off and sat back, waiting hopefully like so many others for the thud of a heavy brown envelope signalling good news. In the meantime I took my big map of Scotland and started sketching out a couple of possible routes. I was already starting to dream of May 2013 and setting out on the 34th TGO Challenge.

In May 2013 I backpacked across Scotland. This is part four of the trip report which covers the final day from North Water Bridge to St Cyrus on the east coast and my reflections on the Challenge.

This is Part 4 of my TGO Challenge 2013 which picks up the story on Day 13 after a final overnight stay at North Water Bridge campsite, just a few miles from the east coast. If you missed them you can catch up on the previous parts as follows:

• Part 1 covering Days 1 to 5
• Part 2 covering Days 6 to 8
• Part 3 covering Days 9 to 12

Day 13, Thursday 23rd May

Route: North Water Bridge to St Cyrus
Distance: 13km (Total 322km)
Hills: None

Amazingly the 230g gas canister I set out with lasted up until coffee on the final morning. I had bought a 110g canister in Aviemore but it had sat unused in my pack until now. In retrospect I could have missed out on the final brew but as it was I fired up the stove on fresh fuel and enjoyed my final dose of caffeine.

A look at the kit I’ll be taking with me on my coast-to-coast route across Scotland planned for May 2013

In less than a week I’ll be setting off from Plockton on my TGO Challenge. Gear is of course a very personal thing and what I’ll be taking with me has, in most cases, proved itself over several trips over the last couple of years. There are a couple of new items but these got a reasonable outing in Ardgour last weekend and I’m confident that they’ll suit my needs. I was aiming for a baseweight of 8kg but have slightly overshot, mainly because of the addition of a pair of microspikes to deal with whatever remains of winter in the high mountains. This also details food required for the first stretch which is 4.5 days of walking to get me to Fort Augustus. Subsequent sections are shorter but I’ll be carrying store bought foods.

A varied two night trip through the wilds of Ardgour taking in a Graham, two Corbetts and camps by Loch Shiel and the River Scaddle

Date: 26th to 28th April 2013
Distance: 50.92km
Ascent: 2,020m
Hills: Meall nan Damh (Graham), Sgurr Ghiubhsachain (Corbett), Stob a'Bhealach an Sgriodain [Druim Tarsuinn] (Corbett)
Weather: Changeable
Route: View on OS Maps

With just two weeks left until the start of the TGO Challenge I decided it was about time I got out and did some backpacking. Recent weekends have been taken up by a number of interesting diversions with trips to see family in Yorkshire at Easter, a few nights in London followed by a wedding in Norfolk and then taking visitors around the delights of Royal Deeside. All of this amounted to a lot of good food, drink and travel, but very little hiking and certainly no nights spent cooped up in a tent listening to the Scottish rain hammering down.

A look at my coast-to-coast route across Scotland planned for May 2013

The TGO Challenge was first held in 1980 (the brain-child of Hamish Brown) and is now one of the largest annual organised backpacking events in the world. Come the middle of May around 300 folk will set off to cross Scotland from west to east by whatever route they choose over the course of around two weeks.

I originally applied back in October but didn’t receive a confirmed place. I was put on the standby list and happily gained a place on this year’s Challenge at the beginning of March.

A short Sunday morning stroll around Loch Kinord on Deeside

Date: 17th March 2013
Distance: 10.26km
Ascent: 65m
Hills: None
Weather: Very cold, snow and sleet.
Route: View on OS Maps

A high level route around Loch an Daimh in Highland Perthshire taking in the Munros of Stuchd and Lochain and Meall Buidhe

Date: 2nd-3rd March 2013
Distance: 34.66km
Ascent: 1,917m
Hills: Stuchd an Lochain (Munro), Sron a’ Choire Chnapanaich (Corbett), Meall Buidhe (Corbett), Meall Buidhe (Munro)
Weather: Mild air temperatures but snow underfoot, occasional breaks in high cloud.
Route: View on OS Maps

A couple of years ago Fraser put up his report of a weekend trip around Loch an Daimh in Highland Perthshire and I immediately added the round to my to-do list. From this initial idea I spread out the map and picked out a slightly extended route that, rather than dropping to the end of the loch to camp as Fraser had, stayed high so that the addition of the two Corbetts was possible without much loss of height. I had a few vague ideas for camp spots but decided to see how far I got on the day and then make a final decision as to whether to camp higher up or find a more sheltered spot lower down.

A low route in the Eastern Cairngorms with a winter wild camp in Gleann an t-Slugain

Date: 16-17th February 2013
Distance: 27.48km
Ascent: 805m
Time: 5 hrs 40 mins
Hills: None
Weather: Mild air temperatures but snow underfoot, chill wind, low clouds.
Route: View on OS Maps

I have no qualms about labelling myself as a fair-weather hiker, and perhaps even more so, a fair-weather backpacker. The thought of a spending a restless night in a tent being thrown about by gusting winds or lashed by rain really doesn’t appeal. And so it was that several weekends in January and February were dismissed for one weather-related reason or another. Eventually though there was a hint of something better in the forecast, with milder temperatures and gentler winds promised I packed up my camping gear and headed for the Cairngorms. With just an afternoon and a morning available I chose a straightforward circular route from Keiloch on the A93 a few miles east of Braemar. An overnight camp would break up the 18 miles quite nicely and would give me an opportunity to try some mild winter camping.

An aborted attempt to loop around the Mounth hills from Feughside to Glen Dye

Date: 13th January 2013
Distance: 15.39km
Ascent: 632m
Time: 5 hrs
Hills: Peter Hill
Weather: High winds, snow, incredible windchill.
Route: View on OS Maps

Breathing deeply into my pile and pertex collar tightly wrapped around my mouth and nose I trudged up the track, following a single pair of footprints up the snowy hillside. The sky was a deep, unblemished grey, like that in a black and white photograph. I paused a minute and looked back. There was no-one.

A loop of the hills around Glen Ernan including some interesting views of familiar hills in the Cairngorms

Date: 2nd January 2013
Distance: 17.48km
Ascent: 544m
Time: 4 hrs 30 mins
Hills: Cairn Vachich, Gael Charn, Carn Mor
Weather: Early rain giving way to sunshine. Very gusty wind. Mild.
Route: View on OS Maps

The first hillwalk of 2013 started amidst wind and rain as Dave and I headed down Glen Ernan from a start just off the main Strathdon road. Thirty minutes later we were peeling back sodden hoods to gaze up in amazement at the blue sky that had appeared overhead. The glen, at first wide and fertile, narrowed and started twisting about the feet of the encroaching hills. We stopped for a snack and then pressed on, following the easy track until we reached the shiel in the upper glen. This turned out to be a rather smart estate building and attendant bothy, both freshly painted but sadly locked.