Highland Treks tested

laresMon 10/10/11 20:02

"SCOTLAND'S most popular long-distance path, the West Highland Way, takes walkers from Milngavie on the outskirts of Glasgow to Fort William in Lochaber.

It's a route I walked eight years ago, but since then I've discovered there are lots more options for multi-day treks right here in the Highlands and Islands.

I've done bits of just about all these trails, and one or two of them in full. Some are well-marked trails with plenty of B&Bs or campsites for accommodation; others are wilder adventures through rough terrain with little habitation for miles.
This latter type tend to only exist in the imagination of enthusiastic walkers, devised as a way of traversing this fine area of Scotland, and transferred into books or websites for others to share and enjoy.

Here we offer you a little taste of what you can expect from some of the most northerly long-distance walks on the British Isles."

http://1sq.me/ngay0j

The only overnight walks I've done were under the tutelage of someone who knew what they were doing, but I often think I'd love to do something like this in Scotland.

Has anyone done anything like this? How do you supply your water and food (I had army rations for my jaunt but we were always close to water.

(I've driven all around Tongue and I can't imagine a more cut off way to be in the UK mainland! You'd seriously have to be self-sufficient).

philnMon 10/10/11 20:38

I've done a few overnight/multi-day walks in Scotland, usually in pretty wild places like N of Kinlochewe (the so-called "Great Wilderness"). These are pretty remote places

For those kind of walks you have to carry everything with you, tent, water, food etc. This means a pretty heavy backpack. For the longer walks you can get water from streams and purify it with iodine tablets or similar

The West Highland Way is a lot less remote, I'm guessing that most days you'll pass somewhere where you can obtain food & water. Its probably a good place to start, rather than launching straight into the really wild country up North

latestarterMon 10/10/11 21:42

I did three/four day walks back in my teens in the mountains of Arran and in the Border hills as part of Duke of Edinburgh Award expeditions.

They were meticulously planned in advance, and we took our tents and food with us. We had also planned what to do in event of emergency - how we would get to the nearest habitation to raise the alarm - this was in the days before mobile phones.

As Phil notes, water was taken from streams and purified with tablets or boiled. Vesta dried ready-meals made up most of the main courses - they tasted good when you were cold and hungry.

I know friends who have continued to go on such expeditions. Some use the mountain bothys as overnight refuges, and others make use of the youth hostels.

I'd be personally wary of going off the more major paths if I was travelling on my own in the really remote areas. A sudden change in the weather can really enforce the reality of how insignificant a human being is against the forces of nature when marooned on a mountainside, especially if the mist has just descended and your map and compass skills aren't top notch.

Having said that, the rewards can be enormous, with spectacular views, an appreciation of nature, and the sense of achievement - plus cameraderie if travelling in a group.

laresTue 11/10/11 09:35

quoting > "this was in the days before mobile phones."

I think for all intents and purposes this is still a before-mobile-phone environment ;-)

quoting > "For the longer walks you can get water from streams and purify it with iodine tablets or similar"

I've always wondered about purifying water. I guess it does really work, but it always seems a bit Russian Roulette with how good the water is to drink afterwards?

latestarterTue 11/10/11 22:15

quoting > " it always seems a bit Russian Roulette with how good the water is to drink afterwards?"

... like the morning after camping, having used stream water for cooking/drinking, when we walked uphill a short way and found a dead sheep in the stream.

No one else died.