East Highland Way: Days 2 & 3

I slept for 10 hours, which is unusual for me. No animals were sighted last night despite staying awake as long as possible, although the camera crews on Wild Isles, the excellent new Attenborough series, have to wait for weeks on end so who am I to complain?

The sky is grey and threatening. More alarmingly, my iPhone refuses to charge from my brick. I’ve had problems with the charging socket for some time now. This limits the number of photos I can take, saving the power for communication and location checking.

Leaving my island, a long climb up through the trees offers fine views across Glen Spean, regardless of the cloudy drizzle.

Trudging up a long road to the River Treig crossing, a car passes and the driver leans out the window to offer a lift to the top of the hill. Very kind but I pass — of course.

After Fersit, the trail descends through a forest, passing various hydroelectric dam inlets, before following the shore of Loch Laggan, where I encounter my first deer bounding across the path in front of me.

This is my longest day and I’m feeling it, so it’s a relief to reach the deserted sweeping sandy beach at the eastern end of the loch.

There’s a perfect spot to pitch on the edge of the trees overlooking the loch. Two days into the trail and I’ve still not come across another hiker.

Walk distance: 22 miles.

Total distance: 40 miles.

Next day

Another 10-hour sleep despite the best efforts of the birds in the trees during the night. My body clearly needs rest.

Approaching Feagour through the woods, an intriguing sign offers a waterfall to the left and a Pictish fort up the hill to the right. I can’t resist a waterfall and heading down rather than up is always a winner. The Pattack Falls are lovely.

A pretty forest climb beneath another Pictish fort leads to a major milestone — the first bench I’ve found on the East Highland Way! This deserves serious appreciation so time to rest and take in the view.

I take a wrong turn and find myself on the A86. Rather than retrace my steps, I’m happy to dodge the sparse traffic. As a veteran of Essex verge-hopping, this is a breeze.

The power on my iPhone is now in the red zone and certain functions are shutting down. I’m saved by the Caoldair Coffee and Craft Shop (Yummy Things), a short diversion off the road heading into Laggan.

The owner appears and glances at my backpack.

“I’m hiking the East Highland Way.”

“Oh, has it started already?”

“Only fools like me.”

“Ah, I thought I recognised you. Fourth time now?”

Hmm, I clearly have a doppelganger.

I plug in my wireless charger while enjoying a tasty bowl of parsnip soup and a thick crusty wedge of bread. The rain beats against the large windows. Time for carrot cake then.

Passing through Laggan, I turn off the road at Balgowan and things start to get more interesting, heading into the mountains and Glen Banchor. I lose the path completely so have to navigate a boggy route round the edge of a wood until hitting a track that winds up the valley and leads to my destination for the night.

Dalnashallag bothie is my first bothie — a welcome shelter from the wind and rain. What a wonderfully moody spot to spend the night, surrounded on all sides by misty hills and mountains. A taste of things to come as I explore Scotland.

The visitor book has only two other entries for 2023 — not a path well-travelled — although someone has a fine sense of humour.

The bothie is cold and damp so a fire would be nice. The shed has plenty of thick tree branches, but the rusty saws fail to make much headway, or maybe it’s just my shoddy technique. The burning paper creates an illusion of warmth for the photo before the kindling briefly flares up and then fades. Something else to master.

When the rain stops, I recce the nearby river to find a crossing for tomorrow, but the water level seems too high to avoid wet feet, which is my cue to curl up on the luxury sofa.

Walk distance: 13 miles.

Total distance: 53 miles.