Journal:
It was raining when I woke up, but had stopped by
the time I left the hotel around 9:30am. The
hotel was really set up for fishermen and, as well
as the breakfast buffet, there was a buffet and
plastic lunch boxes for guests to make up there own
lunches to take fishing. Once again, everybody
was very well-dressed, some of the men in plus-fours
(sp?). I think one of them was an actor I
recognized from British situation comedies, but I
can't remember the names of them. I made
myself a couple of sandwiches. When I paid the
bill before leaving, I was a bit staggered by the
prices, but there's no choice out here. Hope I
don't run out of cash.
Soon after I left, I
called the Overscaig Hotel, my target for tonight,
to let them know that I was late leaving but was
definitely coming. They said dinner finished
at 8pm and to give them a call when I got closer if
I thought I was going to be late (my mobile phone
with the Telstra [Australian] SIM Card inserted can
choose between a number of local carriers and
enables me to make calls when my British SIM from
T-Mobile doesn't have coverage, however, it's much
more expensive using the Telstra card).
Conscious that I had a
long day including some rough walking, I was pleased
that the first few hours were easy walking along a
gravel track which gradually followed the Oykel
River upstream. It was very picturesque and,
although I didn't see any fishermen, there were
fisherman's huts and facilities along the way.
My gravel track eventually ended and I had an hour
of following a difficult trail through sodden
calf-high undergrowth while still following the
river upstream. Soon my feet and socks were
sodden again but I still maintained a reasonable
pace alongside the babbling river.
My route then took me
through a forest on a track which emerged on the
shores of the picturesque Loch Ailsh. It was a
very peaceful scene with two dinghies with fisherman
way out on the calm water, backed by high hills
forested on the lower slopes. Soon after, I
left Loch Ailsh I stopped briefly for a sandwich and
then began following an old cart track which
gradually climbed higher and higher into the
moorland. It was boggy and sometimes hard to
follow, but the scenery was again dramatic and
beautiful, and I was feeling strong and enjoying
life.
After a couple of hours
and some exciting stream crossings, I reached the
point where my route left the cart track and, for
five or six kilometres went cross-country. As
usual, it was difficult, slow and tiring, with the
way frequently blocked by peat channels and bogs.
I also had to ford the River Cassley, which involved
wading calf-deep across a fast flowing and
reasonably wide river. Before entering the
water, I made sure everything valuable was
watertight, but I had no problems, apart from sodden
boots and socks again. After the river I had
to cross a low pass and then descend across very
rough country to eventually reach a road on the
shores of Loch Shin. I arrived there soon
after 6pm and calculated that I should comfortably
reach the Overscaig Hotel before 8pm. I
actually arrived at 7:30pm and they took my dinner
order before I went up and had a quick shower and
returned to eat. The manager tells me I am the
second Lands End to John O'Groats hiker they have
had following this route in a week. I did see
a few footprints out there in the wilderness.
Unfortunately, still no
T-Mobile coverage (but everything else!). I
have a short day tomorrow, and am looking forward to
it.