It was all my fault! Walking in sunshine, all day between the trees and alongside the loch. Very pleasant but the same beautiful view for hours and hours. ‘What an uneventful day’ I thought. And I jinxed it. But let’s start from the beginning.
I woke up early and started my day by taking care of my blisters. Never ending battle I have never had a chance of winning. I may spare you all the details. Soon I’ve hit the trail- it was already hot at 8am. Surely not the typical Scottish weather. It didn’t take me long to reach Loch Affric, walking on my third day was easy- mostly on forest tracks without too much ascent. Yet it actually wasn’t easy. Every single step did hurt, at that point I’ve had around ten blisters, more than on any other walk I have ever done. I was eating painkillers like tictacs- the only thing that was giving me a little bit of relief.
Now- what have I done to get so many blisters? A while ago, while walking long distance trails, I have switched my hiking boots to trail running shoes- and that’s what I recommend to everyone. Why did I take my boots for TGO then and what was I actually thinking? I don’t know. I can’t even explain my thought process. So, that was my first mistake. Then- I got them wet and got first blisters even before the challenge has started. Not to mention walking through the bog on my first day. Unlike trail runners once my boots are wet- it takes forever to dry them off. To top all of that- all the heat from the day before surely didn’t help. Normally my secret weapon to combat blisters is good old vaseline- I cover my feet in vaseline each morning and never have any problems. Now it was too late even for that.
Later in the challenge we all found out that this year have seen record number of people who hasn’t finished their walks. Unusually high temperatures in May (Scottish weather, huh?) were one of the factors. The other one- problems with feet and blisters. I wasn’t alone in my struggles.
Step after step, limp after limp, I was still making progress. Loch Affric quickly changed into Loch Beinn a’ Mheadhoin but if I have to be frank- you wouldn’t even notice. It was the same landscape. Don’t get me wrong- absolutely beautiful- vast waters to my left, forest track in front of me, mountains in the background, blue skies above me. Both of the lochs close enough to give you a promise of a quick deep for your feet, but not too close so you could get there without leaving your path. Same view for hours on end. A little bit too monotonous for when you are tired, a little bit too dull for when you need to take your mind off the pain. And knowing one day I’m gonna write about that day what could I exactly write about? Day 3- it was hot, there was a loch, there were some trees, easy forest tracks, my feet did hurt, I made it to the campsite? What an uneventful day, I thought.
When I reached Dog Falls on River Affric, I sat down on the rock and once again, took care of my blisters, I mean I was doing the best I could (mostly draining them but I will spare you those details once again) From there it wasn’t far to Cannich, I knew I could make it. Forestry works, no shade and the water scarcity made it harder than I thought. But it wasn’t far to Cannich, I knew I could make it. And as I was approaching the village, my phone signal was back- was catching up on all the messages and friends posts. That was when I found out the night before we had the biggest aurora in years, even my friends in Birmingham were able to see it. And me? I slept right through it, unaware. I’m pretty sure I screamed in disbelief.
Checked in to the campsite excited I would finally be able to have a shower. Snacking on spicy crisps I got in a local Spar (civilisation!) I promptly started pitching my tent. Everything around seemed just ideal. Calm and peaceful, the whole world clearly getting for the night. And then, all of a sudden, the pole hub on my trusty HubbaHubba snapped. I’m pretty sure I did swear loudly, grabbed duct tape and cable ties. This got everyone’s attention. Other campers, Challengers and non- challengers tried to help me fix the tent but to no avail. I had tears in my eyes. I didn’t want to go home and abandon the Challenge on my third day but how could I continue without the tent.
Someone offered me a cup of tea, someone gave me a much-needed hug (thank you Carol, still remember how good that felt!), someone even offered me to sleep in their tent awning in case of rain overnight. And then someone saved my Challenge. Fellow camper, Col, gave me his tarp so I could sleep underneath it. As soon as I started taking it out of the bag, Campsite’s owner, Seth, spotted one of the parts and skilfully inserted tarp’s pole into a pole hub. My tent was erect, at least for as long as I’ve had the parts- until the morning to be exact. As I showered I knew that would be the next day’s problem. Would I find something in Drumnadrochit or would I divert to Inverness to try and look for tent parts? Thankfully my tent neighbour, Steve, found a solution. ‘You know, there are tools in our pen knives that we never use. Maybe if you use this one it will work?’.
It was already late and dark. I crawled into my sleeping bag setting my alarm few times throughout the night as Aurora Forecast was showing a high activity in the later hours. I fell asleep full of hope. For the northern lights. For my tent. And for the rest of the Challenge.
Route taken: Alltbeithe- River Affric- Loch Affric- Loch Beinn a’ Mheadhoin- Cannich (34km)
Once again, massive thank you to Seth from Cannich Woodland Camping and Caravan Park– you have saved my Challenge!
Outdoors with Karolina 