Mike Knipe aka Northern Pies – Meet the outdoor bloggers
The second in the instalment of meet the bloggers comes from a good friend and fellow FC Hiker the leg end Mr Mike Knipe, one of the UK’s most active bloggers/hikers.
Name – Mike Knipe aka The Pieman
Blog – Northern Pies – www.northernpies.blogspot.com
Twitter profile – None
Age – Don’t be so cheeky, young man
Home Town – Earby in the West Riding of Yorkshire
Where do you spend most of your time outdoors? In the Pennines, mainly North Pennines.
Where did outdoor passion come from? She was a nurse from Halifax. Ooooooer… Family picnics on the moors – what’s that hill over there Dad? “That’s Ingleborough, son….”
Favourite spot to camp? Upper Glen Feshie amongst the scots pines and the wild thyme.
Favourite hill? Don’t be silly
Biggest achievement in the outdoors? TGO Challenge Leg End +
Any burning desires? Did I mention the nurse from Halifax?
Boots or trainers? Boots
Down or synthetic? Mainly down
Ale or lager ? As long as it’s in liquid form….
Going up or down? Up
Trail or TGO? TGO
Compass or GPS ? Neither, either or both
Other blogs you like to read? Loads – I specially like blogs from people just starting to explore.
Funniest thing you’ve seen on the hills? Blowing up an ancient rambler with some flash gun powder whilst trying to make a new foothold in a rock step in Buckden Gill – he started climbing down just as the fuse….. And the odd thing was that there was a big flash and a white cloud and he didn’t seem to notice. It seems that this kind of thing happens to him all the time.
Favourite bit of kit? me old akto….
Favourite tipple? malt scotch (any…)
What do you like about blogging? I like to write stuff….
Best rant? There’s very little point in asking me to just rant, straight off without any actual reason. I mean ter say, you can’t just switch a rant on and off like a..er.. like an on and off switch at will. They have to come naturally. They have to have a trigger. Like a bad experience on the A1 involving an old lady in a Ford Ca and a Pikie’s Truck full of borrowed scrap metal or somebody nicking into that parking spot that you’ve waited ages for that lass with the pram and all the shopping to finally get her fucking arse in gear and get home to make her man’s tea. And then you find that the bloke who’s nicked your spot has “HATE” tattooed on his knuckles and supports Hartlepool United. And he calls you “Bonny Lad”.
Nope, sorry, I can’t just turn it on.
Something good about the outdoors? Its outside. Not inside. It’s windy and there’s birds singing and stuff….
Best joke? I had a crazy dream that I weighed less than a thousandth of a gram. I was like, 0mg!
How do you kill a circus? Go for the juggler! (Christmas cracker joke)
Cheers Mike, full of wit as ever from the man who classes crossing Scotland like popping out for a pint of milk. More in the series of Meet the Outdoor bloggers can be found here.
Lyke Wake Walk
I’ve always wanted to do this walk since my dad hiked it for charity many years ago when I was just a wee lad. The walk itself is a 40mile slog starting in Osmotherly and ending in Ravenscar via a high moorland route across the North York Moors.
When Paddy rang me up to see if I fancied it my reply was “when”?, and so a plan was hatched and without a thought it was upon us. Now as you may of noticed I’ve been a little lapse with my blog for sometime, mainly due to the fact it’s hard to write an outdoor blog when your not actually doing anything in the outdoors. With my new job now going extremely well I can announce the return of the adventures of ukmase.
We used Cote Ghyll campsite in Osmotherly as our base and I brought along the Outwell Nevada tent for some luxury, it easily fit 3 people and 2 dogs. We hampered down for an early nights sleep but I was hardly slept thanks to Pepper being a little excitable.
We set off on the stroke of midnight in true dirging tradition and headed of into the dark, cold moors that lay before us. The first part of the walk follows the Cleveland way for some 12 miles, the ground underfoot is great but there is a lot of ascent involved. It was quite breezy on the escarpment of the NY moors but the sky was lit with a perfect array of stars.
After a quick hot brew stop near clay bank we were soon at Bloworth Crossing, from here we struck off into the heart of the moors following an old railway track. The mist rolled in the second we left Bloworth Crossing and it was the thickest mist I have ever seen, I was struggling to make out the puddles in the track, I must admit I was glad to have Paddy with me, manly because my head torch battery ran out and secondly because I would of been shitting myself if id been walking solo.
By the time we had reached the road which the lion inn sits on it was just getting light, however the mist was that thick we missed the lion Inn which was our meet up point with Gill and the chance to pick up some food. This was the low point of the walk, Pepper was hungry and I only had jelly babies to give her. Anyway we struck off out into the moors again with empty bellies.
The path now turned into ruin and we were soon splodging through bogs, I would recommend changing into wellies for this section. The going was really difficult and sapped a lot of my energy, at some point we crossed the North York Moors railway and Ella Beck just before our last check point for a very well deserved rest break and some hot soup. Pepper looked knackered and I covered her with my coat but she soon jumped up when we headed back out for the last stretch towards Ravenscar.
The last section seemed to take forever and we were moving quite fast, it was dark for the last 15 minutes of the walk and by the end i was pretty weary. It took 18 hours and a lot of hard graft on some of the sections. I swore never to do it again but I’m starting to think a few weeks on that a summer crossing would be nice and a lot quicker. Well done to Paddy and Pepper and thanks to Gill for supporting our crossing.
I did this walk in non waterproof innov8 trainers, no issues really but it did mean on some sections I had very cold and wet feet mainly due the continuous bogs which never gave my feet the chance to warm up and dry out but on the plus side I wasn’t having to lug big heavy boots for 40 miles.
Its good to be back in the thick of it.
Buttermere Marathon
I camped at Skye Farm campsite, £8 per night, basic but in a great location and two pubs within 5 mins walk. Very uneven pitching ground for larger tents so beware.
My plan for the day was a route called the Buttermere marathon and what a great route this is. Highly recommended to anyone willing to go a little bit further to secure a few more hills. We had lucked out on the weather but a cool breeze made the going a lot easier.
The walk starts by taking a high path alongside the lake, it’s a long slog over boggy ground to reach Great Borne but the summit is easy enough and has great views to take in. After Great Bourne head to Starling Dodd, the wind on top of this hill was incredible considering how low the wind throughout the rest of the day. The climb to Red Pike gives you a chance to see the whole route laid out and we took the opportunity to shelter from the wind and eat lunch. We had covered quite a bit of ground but the best was still to come.
From High Crag you get amazing views of the ridge that leads to High Crag which beholds an amazing vantage point for viewing Haystacks, Wainwrights favourite hill. The only downside to the full day was the scree slope that descended High Crag but once past this annoying feature it was pure joy heading towards Haystacks.
Haystacks itself is a hill I had read plenty about and the Innominate Tarn was just special, I must come back here for a wild camp, quite literally stunning. We spent half and hour just taking in the surroundings in the warm sun.
There was one more Wainwright left to bag but Woodstock was looking a but tired so Paddy & Gill headed on down. It was a fair old slog up to Fleetwith Pike but again I was rewarded with an amazing view over the valley. I had plenty left in the tank so I jogged down to the valley and to head back to the campsite via a lakeside path rather than the road.
Trust me this walk is so great you must try it, 17 miles, 7 Wainwrights, 9 hours, job done.
Before I end my blog post I would just like to draw attention to the absolute muppet of a landlord from the Fish Hotel. I will never return to this pub again after customer service that beggared belief. Instead I would advise you head to the Bridge Hotel were the food was amazing with hospitality to match. Night night.
FC Hikers 2nd Birthday
Time flies past and already its the 2nd anniversary of the FC Hikers. Its been quite a busy year for the guys and gals of Team FC which included several meet ups, a team of 4 completing the TGO Challenge , 5 National Trails being knocked off and many other mini adventures.
Quite a few people ask me about the name, Fight Club Hikers, it sounds like we are a crazy bunch of mentalists who battle it out on the hills of the UK. But the name itself came about as a wind up on the LFTO forum. The name goes against the kind of mundane stereotyping of folk who enjoy the outdoors, heck nothing winds we up more than the old adage of ramblers with wooly hats and flasks of tea.
Anyway a few people thought we were trolls stirring up trouble on an internet forum and hatched a plot the would see us all barred for the forum. To be fair we did play a few wind ups on that forum but it was all harmless and always in good humour. Mind you at the time if you dared to share a differing opinion from the all-wise and powerful Trail magazine team you were instantly labelled a trouble maker and we actually ended being barred from the LFTO forum. We took a lot of shit from others but it kind of bonded our friendships and actually motivated us to get out there and let our feet do the talking instead of sitting around glued to our PC’s arguing about whose got the best tent or which waterproof is the best.
Were not a secret club more a group of mates who enjoy getting out into the hills and having a good drink afterwards. We don’t take ourselves seriously and always try to have a laugh along the way. We bounce ideas off each other and more than often then lead to little adventures in the outdoors. That’s it really – FC Hikers, take us or leave us.
ANYWAY less of the history and more of the present. We met up at the Lakes over the weekend for our 2nd anniversary bash (any excuse to hit a pub). In attendance were Titanium Dude, Buzzingirly, Peter Crawford, Wibble69, Darksy, Pieman, Der Alte plus the 3 dogs Woodstock, Millie and Pepper.
The Swirral camping barn was our base camp for the weekend and we started to arrive at 3pm on the Friday and the beers were flowing by the time Paddy and Gill turned up at 8pm. It was good to see Darksy again who I met on my first ever forray into the hills about 4 years ago. Wibble arrived in style by getting his car stuck in a ditch, it took a few recruits from the Travellers Rest pub to free it. Pieman turned up clutching a box of red wine which made him an instant hit with Gill. We spent a cold night in the barn plotting our route and basically sharing banter into the small hours of the morning.
Waking up we were greeted to a snow-covered lakeland, brews and breakfast was consumed and we headed into the hills wrapped up well in winter gear. The walk itself took us up to Sticks Pass, Stybarrow Dodd ,Raise, Helvellyn, Nethermost Pike, Dollywagon Pike and back to The Travllers Rest pub via Grisedale. Darksy took an alternative route via Swirral edge. It was a prefect day for winter lakeland walking and we were treat to some amazing scenery from the uppermost slopes.
After the walk we headed into the Travellers Rest pub and spent the night filling ourselves with ale and fine food, Der Alte turned up after making a perilous journey from down South. Plans were hatched for new adventures and last orders were soon being called. We trudged back to the barn and I drifted off to sleep to sounds of others snoring.
Hope you enjoy the pictures.
A report on Piemans blog http://northernpies.blogspot.com/2010/11/helvellyn-weekend-with-fight-club.html
Great Glen Way Day 5 – Drumnadrochit to Inverness 18 miles
We pooled all our food and made a hearty breakfast, Paddy had the thankless task of raising Gill from her pit. I decided to head it Drumnadrochit and track down Nessie. A local shop owner told me to try the Loch Ness Exhibition Centre and I have got to say it was really interesting, plenty of actual facts disproving the myth rather than pandering on a legend. However escaping the gift shop was another story all together.
Paddy & Gill hooked up with me after the Nessie visit but I decided to push onto Inverness alone as I wanted a bit of solitude and to really motor along the track. The guys didn’t take offence, they have been hiking with me long enough now to understand I need my own space every now and again.
The hike out of Drumnadrochit was a slog uphill through a pine forest, which then turned into open moorland with great views of the surrounding areas. This is without doubt the best part of the whole Great Glen Way and even the Old Drovers road was good underfoot. I reached the outskirts of Inverness around 5pm and finished my walk at Inverness Castle at 6pm. Inverness was just starting to get lit up for the night so i waited in a real ale house and ate Haggis for the first time.
Paddy & Gill joined me at 8pm and we celebrated the end of another long distance trail before heading back to the hostel. Mental note – never let Gill book a hostel ever again. I got stalked by a homeless bag lady and it looked like a homicide had taken place on my bunk bed the previous night. The Highlander Hostel gets 1/10 for me.
Final thoughts on the Great Glen Way
- Its a perfect winter long distance trail and even the harshest weather would struggle to hanper your efforts
- The last section to Inverness is without doubt the best days for hiking.
- Take your time to explore Inverness, Fort Augustus and Drumnadroichit.
- Morags Lodge in Fort Augustus is a really great hostel to stay in.
- 4-5 days is the best option for a crossing, although i might try a 2 day attempt nextyear.
Hope you enjoyed my little report, now what shall i do next, any ideas ?
Great Glen Way Day 4 –Invermoriston to Drumnadrochit 14 miles
A great night’s sleep in the hobbit village meant I couldn’t wait to get started and a crisp morning’s frost was the first I had seen for a while. Invermoriston’s local post office provided me with breakfast and we spent some time chatting to the owner of the Clog & Craft shop. The falls of Moriston and the old Telord Bridge were the main points of interest in this sleepy little village.
Today’s hike actually involved some ascent, a huge 1970ft, please ignore my sarcasm here, but the Great Glen Way is as flat as a pancake. It did mean though that we enjoyed the best views of the trip so far and we actually bumped into a few fellow hikers who were hiking the full trail but in the opposite direction.
We took our time today and enjoyed the views, we even stopped for a hot soup break at lunchtime and basically chillaxed. Some days it’s just nice to swanker along the trail without a care in the world leaving all your troubles behind you. By the time we reached Borlum Farm Caravan Park it was just starting to get dark. We pitched up and made a hearty meal before heading into town.
The Loch Ness Inn provided us with a few pints and the Poachers Inn was our last stop before heading home. Unfortunately Gill in the space on 15 minutes became inebriated and it took a huge amount of effort and patience to get her back to the campsite in one piece. The last two photos tell there own story. Gill has now been demoted to the B-team of drinkers whose ranks include lightweight Larry, Shirley Shandy and Peter Pissedabed.
Great Glen Way Day 3 – Fort Augustus to Invermoriston 8 miles
A well planned short day meant even the worst hangover would struggle to knock us off course with our schedule for hiking. As it turned out a few headache tablets and a shower were enough to shake off the previous nights excesses. Morag’s Lodge is well worth a look for hikers, one of the best hostels I have ever stayed in.
Today’s hike was pathetic in distance terms and we laughed at the thought of people tracking us on the social hiking web site. The walk itself followed Loch Ness although we rarely had a good view because of the conifer forest blocking our view.
After the gruelling slog (hangs his head in shame at the distance) we reached am excellent Loch Ness Holiday Park that had a new addition to its accommodation that we took an instant like to – Hobbit Village. The Hobbits are little log structures and offer a fridge and kettle and enough space to sleep four comfortably on built-in-beds. Each lodge is named after a character from the Lord of the Rings trilogy, ours was named Shelob though thankfully it was free from spiders.
I spent the evening learning to fish on the Loch but only managed to catch a rock, still it was a great way to finish the day.
Great Glen Way – Day 2 Gairlochy to Fort Augustus 23 miles
I woke about 6am quite chilly and decided to get up and about rather than dwell in my tent. I made brews for everyone to kick start the day. After breakfast we packed up and headed out back onto the trail for what would be our longest day of walking on the whole trip.
The day started by walking along the banks of Loch Lochy to still winds and open skies. Just past Clunes we stumbled upon a quite magical area of woodland called The Fairy footpath that had been created by local school children over the last 3-4 years. We spent about an hour wandering around the grottos and displays made by the children, the troll prison was my favourite display. The footpath is just off the actual national trail but you can easily spot it if you keep your eyes open for the huge red spotted mushroom.
Laggan was the next stop and the Loch was perfectly still as we worked our way along the Great Glen. Laggan lochs is the berthing spot of a special pub / riverboat called ‘The Inn on the Water’, rotten luck meant it was closed on the day we passed. Just a mile further along the trail is an outdoor centre which we stopped at for a swift pint to break the day up.
We still had 9 miles to go and time was getting on, my best attempts to hire a boat to take us to Fort Augustus hade failed miserably so we pushed on along Loch Oich which is the smallest of the three lochs. Loch Oich provided a quite stunning sunset backdrop to the end of our day, looking back at the pictures I took it was a quite magical time.
When we reached Fort Augustus the chippy was just closing but we managed to refuel before heading to Morags Lodge. This hostel is a very lively place and perfect for some Saturday night revelry. Quiz nightstarted with a test of strength for one member of each team, holding a pint of water above your head for as long as possible. I saw off the competition from the fellas but an Australian girl had the beating of me, I wonder if she worked the land back in Oz because she had biceps to tame a crocodile. I introduced Paddy and Gill to a favourite drink of mine Distaronno and by the time I headed back to my room I was well quite merry to say the least. I awoke the next day with a space hopper beside my bed and no recollection of how it got there.
Great Glen Way – Day 1 Fort William to Gairlochy 11miles
Two late trains meant I arrived at Glasgow queen street with a whisker to spare. Paddy and gill joined me for the final leg up to Fort William but the cloud spoiled what should of been a very picturesque train journey.
We arrived in Fort William at 16:00 and the rain was lashing down, waterproofs on, buddy beacon set and we hit the trail. The walk out of town was uneventful except for a great view over the loch.
The area of Caol provided is with sustenance in the form of sausage and chips. Back onto the trail and darkness closed in as we wandered past neptunes staircase which is a series of eight canal lochs at Banavie.
If I had night vision I would describe the broad gravel track that flanks the Caledonian canal on the way to Gairlochy, however I skipped eating carrots at school and have paid for it ever since.
We reached Gairlochy caravan park about 20:40 and pitched up, hot chocolate and brandy capped off the days events.
Reading the twitter messages before bed made me laugh nearly as much as Paddy thinking his new toy is faulty. Hehe never leave your neo-air unattended , some tricky man might let some air out.
Great Glen Way – LIVE
On the 22/10/10 I will be setting out on the 73 miles long-distance route from Fort William to Inverness that is the Great Glen Way.
I will be attempting for the first time a new concept in blogging which will allow you to share my progress live on a map with embedded tweets, photos, blog posts and audio clips.
This has been made possible with a great new site http://new.socialhiking.org.uk/ who have developed the idea into its current form.
You can check my progress out by clicking on the link below – if you have a twitter account you can join in by leaving replies to my tweets @ukmase
http://new.socialhiking.org.uk/maps/os/ukmase/Great-Glen-Way/500
TGO Challenge Day 14 – Heatherhaugh to Stonehaven and THE END
This is the final blog post of my TGO Challenge, I hope I havent bored anyone to death but i’ve tried to keep the typing to a minimum and concentrate on the amusing bits of our crossing. So far the last time….here we go
Breaking camp for the last time we all actually managed to be ready at the same time, it only took 14 days but we were now a tight unit of super experienced hikers, erm okay.
The walk to Stonehaven was mainly through conifer plantations, finding the right route can sometimes be tricky as the tracks constantly change each year. After an amazing crossing weather wise Scotland had one final trick up its sleeve, in the middle of a lovely hot sunny day we were hit by a hail shower that took us all by surprise(see here for the weather forecast).
Freakish weather aside the walk to Stonehaven was pleasant enough and seeing the coast gave us all the energy we needed to reach our goal. When I reached the coast I broke off from the others and splashed about in the waters of Stonehaven, it’s a great place to finish and the setting couldnt have been better.
We stayed at the local campsite with a few other challengers and headed off to find some drinking establishments. Waking in the morning the real world came back with a bang, some local vagabond had stolen a persons bike from the campsite and ruined the guys weekend, it’s no fun attending a cycling event without a bike.
We caught the bus to Montrose, sitting on the top deck lets you take in all the sites of the East Coast finishing points and gives you plenty of ideas for future crossings. We headed for Challenge control and with a handshake from Roger Smith it was all over. We hung around challenge control for an hour and then our thoughts turned to the evenings events.
The local campsite at Montrose was a big let down but seeing all the other challengers more than made up for it. At the challenge dinner our table flowed with banter and wine. Our new friends Ken and Shap joined us at our table. Gill made an emotional speech to all the challengers and I had to wrestle her away from Roger after pulling the short straw with Pete and Paddy.
Back at the campsite Mike Knipe joined us for the last wee-nip of the crossing and it was late, real late when I put my head down for the night. And so ends my account of the TGO Challenge 2010. I will be back, but not in 2011, other challenges beckon and I now have a more the able side kick in my son to continue the fun. I hope someone reads this and decides to sign up for the Challenge, I had an amazing time and the spirit of the event lives up to every inch of its reputation.
Whats next for me….The Great Glen Way in October then who knows !!
TGO Challenge Day 13 – Aboyne to Heatheryhaugh
Waking up to the sight of the River Dee was nice and I enjoyed cooking my breakfast and watching the world go by. My thoughts turned to home and my lovely fiancée and son who I had not seen for close to 2 weeks. The Challenge for me had been in a slow wind down ever since we walked out of Braemar, the coast and completion was the only thing left.
About midday we reached a great pub called The Feughside Inn, a very nice place indeed well suited to walkers and bikers alike. After a few swift ones we were on our way again. POP went Paddy’s Platypus bladder which had been filled with cider, important lesson to be learnt here folks, never fill a bladder with a fizzy liquid.
After quite a bit of road walking on the B974 we turned off toward Heatheryhaugh. The whole trip for Gill had built up to this point. When the route was initially decided Gill insisted we had to try the basket crossing of the river at Heatheryhaugh, this was her moment. As the lads sat smoking on a log, Gill headed off looking for the basket crossing. I remember praying it was still there, WOOF WOOF came back the call somewhere in the distance (I gave her a calling sign of barking like a dog when the basket was found).
The basket crossing itself was a laugh(see here) and we setup camp about 20 metres away and close by the river. We pooled all our food together and finished it off barring a few soups and some chocalate.In the night I heard strange animal noises and rustling but I was too tired to care ZZzzzz.
TGO Challenge Day 12 – Ballater to Aboyne
Pete’s feet were killing him so after a heated debate we choose the cycle path to Aboyne instead of a hike up to Mount Keen. The group dynamics were stretched to breaking point at this time and I just wanted to get going rather than dwell on our decision.
I needed something to take my mind off Mount Keen so the group agreed to join me in a drink fuelled ramble to Aboyne. A quick stop at the local co-op provided us with Peroni, cider and brandy which is the preferred tipples of the FC Hikers.
The cycle path took us through the Muir of Dinnet, it was similar to a walk around the local park. We stopped at a hotel for drinks and discussed our camping options for the night, the girl behind the bar told us about a camping spot close to the bridge in Aboyne so we agreed this would be our destination. Somehow Peter managed to miss this information, he seemed rather taken by the Swedish bar lady that spoke to us, maybe he was day dreaming.
Bored and wanting the coast to come as quickly as possible I pushed on by myself and located the wild camping spot which is on the banks of the River Dee close to the bridge. I quite enjoyed the location of this camp, it was directly opposite the pub across the river.
Paddy and Gill turned up but Pete, unknown to us had plodded along to the campsite at the opposite end of town, the heavens opened up and Pete was nowhere to be seen. A few hours passed and with darkness closing in I sent two local youths out on bikes to try to find Pete, who luckily bumped into them. Not the best day for Team F.C but we were moving ever closer to the East coast and our ultimate goal.
TGO Challenge Day 11 – Gelder Shiel to Ballater
A night in a bothie has the added advantage of not having to pack away the tent but the downside to this is having to endure snoring that some have taken to an olympic standard, luckily I came prepared with ear plugs. We quickly tidied up the bothie and hit the trail.
A few miles down the track I joined the lads from Edinburgh to bag the Corbett top of Conachcraig, we ditched the bags and headed through heather towards the top. Cloud had settled on the top but it didn’t spoil the magic of bagging my first Corbett with some new friends.
I spent some time boxing with a punch tree, its spongy bark was something I had not come across before. When we reached the splitting of paths at Allt-na-giubhsaich we said good-bye to the Edinburgh lads and we headed North towards Ballater.
The path to Ballater took us through Glen Muick and past the Lynn of Muick waterfall. The local campsite was easy enough to find and a few other challengers dotted the site. The evening was spent in the Alexandra, myself and Pete ended up in the restaurant enjoying a candlelit meal for two, the amazing food and the romantic atmosphere was enjoyable and but I had to draw the line when Pete started playing footsie with me.
In the bar we asked Ken Knight to pull up a stool to join us in some late night revelry, Kens a good bloke and his stories of American trails gave us plenty of banter for the night. We had the decency to make sure Ken went back to his lodgings full of merriment, it’s a service we try to roll out to all our new friends.
TGO Challenge Day 10 – Braemar to Gelder Sheil bothie
A quick shower blew away the cobwebs of yesterdays strenuous activities. We decided to use one of our 2 rest days to walk to Gelder Shiel bothie to shorten a long walk. Breakfast turned into a farce first for the veggie brigade and then for myself when I realised I had lost my mobile. It took a while but I eventually bumped in the campsite warden who had found my phone which contained all of my photos and videos.
Dont go to Gordon’s tea rooms for breakfast, the service annoyed us to no end and breakfast was eventually sourced from the Hungry Highlander . Peewiglet recorded a podcast interview with the gang, it’s quite fun meeting people like Shirley who you have gained advice and ideas from via blogs and websites.
We left Braemar via the road and passed Braemar castle which I thought looked much more impressive than the two up two down along the road that the Queen resides in most of the year. Turning off at Invercauld Bridge we headed into Ballochbuie Forest which contained some rather aggressive ants.
Leaving the forest we were treated to the impressive sights of The Princes Stone and I soon spotted the amazing Lochnagar, which I hope to return to one day to tackle the amazing horseshoe-shaped ridge walk. The bothie was literally surrounded by tents, funnily enough the bothie still had bunks and we shared with the lads from Edinburgh; Kenny, Ally and Stuart. The lads passed around a wee nip of whiskey and we shared some banter, I was especially interested in their tales of a winter climb on Lochnagar. A guy from Buffallo / USA amused me to no end due to the fact he didnt like hiking, which did beg the questions how he had come to find himself camped in the Scottish highlands on a hiking event.
TGO Challenge Day 8 – Glen Feshie to White Bridge
Awaking in Glen Feshie is something magical that all hikers should experience at some point. It didn’t take long to pass the washed out bridge that our vetter’s warned us about. For those that don’t know each TGO challenger must submit a route which is then painstakingly looked over by a vetter. A thankless task but an essential one that keeps a lot of challengers out of danger, we certainly heeded their warnings.
The bothie was empty when we arrived but the log book showed just how many challengers had passed through this amazing Glen. A member of the MBA was on site to keep tabs on the bothie and we spent a good hour chatting to him about his rather envious lifestyle.
Pushing on through the Glen the ancient trees were a real talking point, very rarely I am dumb struck by natures beauty but today I spent most of the day just gazing and taking it all in. The ancient trees became less frequent as the River Feshie bent SE then East, we made light work of a river crossing then crossed a bridge with an amazing waterfall beneath it.
The wildness of Scotland had hit me, this is what i had signed up for. We passed a flock of Atko tents over the river and pressed on, White Bridge was still about 45 minutes away when i spotted a fast approaching rain cloud. After a quick discussion we pitched the tents (here) just as the heavens opened up. We ate and drank inside Paddy&Gills lightwave tent which was has a great porch to chill in when the weather is bad. I awoke in the middle of the night and popped my head outside, we were in thick cloud, the other tents were not visible from 10 metres. Sorry about the amount of pics but I really enjoyed Day 8. Any ideas were the nearest boot shop is ?
TGO Challenge – Day 7 Newtonmore to Glen Feshie
I knew i was going to enjoy todays walk after reading countless tales of the Cairngorn mountains and especially Glen Feshie. After leaving Newtonmore we headed cross-country to Kingussie to resupply. Team FC can handle most things but once I run out of food and gorp the whole expedition falls apart.
The trail took us away from Kingussie and once we crossed the River Spey civilisation began to become a distant memory. (Mental note to ones self – when I make my millions I must come back to buy a house on the edge of Cairngorns).
The snow topped edges of the huge wall of mountains that was the Cairngorns loomed ever closer, Pieter from Rotterdam joined us as we wandered towards the magical Glen Feshie. Our plan for the night was to stop at the bothie in Glen Feshie but when we hit the bridge a few wise old heads told us of the amount of challengers heading that way. A decision was made and we camped at around the half way point between the bridge and the bothie.
Now I have read a lot of things about wild camping and grumbled about the term “wild” so I would like to describe our pitch for the night as “perfection camping” a flat pitch in one of the most beautiful glen’s in Scotland. Once the fire was lit I was in my element and we spent the night warming ourselves in front of the camp fire. Even a crafty little tick couldnt spoil my fun.
TGO Challenge Day 6 – Garva bridge to Newtonmore
Waking up early has no real advantages for team FC so it came as no surprise that we were the last challengers to leave Garva Bridge. We were treated to an amazing morning sight of 20-30 deer romping along the valley. Navigation would be easy today, basically follow the pylons to our destination never straying far from the small road/track.
A fishing lake gave us a perfect opportunity to relax alongside and fellow challenger Humphrey Weightman thought it such a good spot he decided to join us for a chat. Humphrey was a very likeable chap and helped the best he could in trying to fix Peters walking pole in exchange for a roll-up. Saying our farewells to Humphrey we pressed on along the road to the small village of Laggan.
Laggan’s local shop is amazingly well supplied for its size and a perfect spot to pick up provisions. Sitting on benches outside the shop we ate and the sun wasreally belting down, life was good. I spent the rest of the day stopping every 15 minutes to use the binoculars to track a stag that seemed to stay with us for hours.
When we reached the Mains of Glentrium we headed North alongside the A9 which eventually brought us into Newtonmore with our campsite being nicely located over the Spey bridge. £4 a night for camping and a hot showerto gett me ready for the night. We filled our empty stomachs at a very nice truckers cafe, it was now 9pm so we decided to get a drink in each of the local drinking establishments. Luckily when it comes to closing time myself and Paddy are both experts in the art of landlord persuasion and we managed to secure some late night scoops in Cameron McNeish’s local. As we walked home Gill danced like a techno viking which gave the curtain twitches something to look at and me something to laugh at.
TGO Challenge Day 5 – Fort Augustus to Garva bridge
Refreshed, well fed and ready to rock we rolled out of Stravaigers lodge into glorious sunshine. Peter was back on form and his pack was a lot lighter due to some adjustments. The walk out of Fort Augustus gave up some brilliant views over the loch, it was shorts and t-shirts weather.
The stroll along to the base of the Corrieyairack pass was nice and gentle, Gill had to negotiate her way past a group of highland cattle which is always amusing. I headed off on my own up the Corrieyairack pass to stretch the legs, stopping at the top to chat to some fellow challengers. If the pass had been kept open as a road it would be the highest road in the UK at 2526ft. The top of the pass still held quite a bit of snow and some kind of telecom building helped shield the wind. Going up the pass was really enjoyable but coming down was not so nice, the path has seen better days and must claim several twisted ankles each year.
I reached a bothie and decided to wait for the others, a nice chap was setting up his bed for the night and we chatted about the days walk. I can t remember the guys name(see photo), maybe someone can help, retired ex-army, the guys walking pace is legendary, someone commented he always had the kettle on when you reached your destination.
I got the bushbuddy going and then chilled in the sun outside the bothie. Quite a few of the challengers were staying in and around the bothie but when the others turned up we pushed on along a track towards our camp site for the night, Garva Bridge. Around 20 challengers were pitched up for the night and I enjoyed chatting with them beside the river as the sun set on a quite glorious days hiking.
TGO Challenge Day 4 – Chilling in Fort Augustus
Yes that’s right, shock horror we took a rest day. Paddy who has bags of long distance hiking experience suggested we keep a rest day aside just in case on the unknown happening. This rest basically saved Peters TGO crossing, he caught a really nasty stomach bug(a case of the Crawford’s as it came to be known). His heavy pack had taken a toll upon his strength and the day’s rest meant he had time to recharge his batteries and sort himself out for the remainder of the trip. Any first timers should keep a rest day in the bank just in case.
While Peter was recovering we headed off for some fun on Loch Ness, we blasted around the loch looking for Nessie in a very powerful speed boat(see here for a video), hanging onto the bow and riding the waves we twisted and turned around the loch at high speeds. Very good fun and much better than the standard loch cruise.
I acquired some more gaffa tape for my boots and stripped down my kit by 3kg which travelled home thanks to Royal Mail. Jettisoned items included a down jacket, book, travel scrabble, mini umbrella( I only brought this to wind Paddy up), a cooking pot and a jetboil frying pan. No worries though as it’s all a learning curve.
Later in the evening we met fellow challenger Ken Knight (Wandering Knight) from USA and we shared our homemade veggie pasta with him. This guy is partially sighted but has made 2 crossings of Scotland, we would bump into Ken many times on the trail. Check his blog for his TGOC report.
Its worth mentioning the facilities at Stravaigers Lodge ares great for backpackers, the hot showers and comfy beds went down a treat.
Tommorrow, more walking.
TGO Challenge 2010 – Day 3 Cougie Lodge to Fort Augustus
I awoke as I did every morning to the thunderous roar of Paddy’s snoring, one of my ear plugs had fallen out in the night causing my premature awakening. Peter had recovered his wits with a solid 10 hours kip on a full stomach, later on in the trip he recalled this moment as his crux, either quit or continue. I had managed to secure the service of a triage nurse for my boots which were falling to bits at an alarming rate, some gaffa tape seemed to have fixed the problem for now.After breakfast I bumped into two fellow challengers whom I had sourced advice from for the challenge, Phil Turner and Andy Howell. Both had been passing through and had decided to stop for breakfast at the lodge. The main topic of conversation was funnily enough footwear, we shall talk more about this later.
Once back on the trail we followed Alan and Phil to Plodda falls, which turned out to be a rather cool place to visit. A wooden platform overhanging the falls gave an amazing view of the falls below, it also gave Gill a touch of vertigo which I duly took advantage of and started rocking the platform.
Today was a long day and we followed pylons all day, it was getting late in the day when I had my first outburst of the trip when I got sick of drovers roads and military roads. Paddy found this rather amusing. The last 12k of the walk I decided to storm off in front to get a bit of solitude and set my own pace, it of course meant I had to stop every 30 minutes to let the others catch up but it broke the end of the day into manageable chunks for me. Sitting on a bridge in the forests around Fort Augustus I got talking fellow challenger Shap whom we would see a few more times on the trip. He wont mind me telling you that he got lost in the forest but I saved his blushes and swore to never mention it again….until now.
When we entered Fort Augustus it was late, so I picked up breakfast on route to the campsite, Paddy described it as the biggest plate of meat he had ever seen. Anyway when we reached Stravaigers lodge it was closed, luckily Paddy knocked up the warden and we were soon relaxing inside the hostel. We headed out for fish&wips but stupidly picked the wrong chippy and got the cheap italian version that was pitiful at best. A few cold ones were sunk glad in the knowledge that we had a day’s rest tomorrow to play on the loch.
TGO Challenge 2010 – Day 2 / Camban bothy to Cougie lodge
An excellent nights sleep, overnight it had really belted down around 5 in the morning and when I looked out of the window the five sisters had a lovely dusting of snow across their peaks. I thought about Gerry from the previous day who was heading across them on a high route. I couldn’t help feel I was missing out by going low level.
Breakfast was served and the bothy was swept clean for the next lucky inhabitants. Today was my turn as navigator or map bitch as it came to be known. The previous day Paddy had navigated us up the wrong valley only for his blushes to be saved by a friendly farmer. Today was going to be an example of prime technical navigation using the sun, prevailing winds and ancient star charts handed down to me through generations of bush craft knowledge.
We set off through Glen Affric and slowly descended towards Loch Affric passing the youth hostel and having to cross our first river (see here), it was plain to see that our group was now split into two, the first being fearless and talented river crossers and the other being indecisive, unbalanced potamophobiacs.
With the river crossing behind us we headed into a forested area and away from Loch Affric which gave us some stunning views along the loch. As we closed in on Cougie lodge we passed a very picturesque tarn which I duly snapped. Navigating to the lodge through the deforested areas was easy for a man of my skill and before long we were trudging into the lodge to enjoy cider and beers in the warm evening sun. Peter declined the beers which worried me more than a rogue state obtaining nuclear capabilities. Several other challengers were staying at the lodge whose hospitality is second to none.
Gill had decided to get a snack but I chuckled as one of the Cougie dogs made off with her sandwich. I pitched the tent and set my Bushbuddy going, a local lad joined me and found some amusement in feeding the fire. While I was cooking Gill found the trampoline and this kept her busy while I prepared my dinner. Cooking by fire gave me great satisfaction, it chilled me out each night and made cooking fun.
Pete dined in the lodge and regained his strength that was sagging from his heavy pack. A few ciders in the warm lodge before bed capped off a great day. As I settled down for the night I couldn’t help wonder what I was going to do about a more pressing matter, the front of my hiking boot was flapping about like a Sunday league goalkeeper. Zzzzz
TGO Challenge Day 1 / Dornie to Camban bothy
The TGO Challenge was upon us and I felt anxious at the task ahead. I said my goodbyes and I was on the train hurtling towards Glasgow. My journey had me sat next to 3 other experienced challengers. I spent a lot of time chatting to Gerry Harbour and we shared a pint at Glasgow Queen Street station which was buzzing with fellow challengers. I was introduced to several people I have plenty of respect for and I felt part of something special. The famous TGO spirit had found me before I even set off !
I met up with my partners in crime, fellow FC hikers Peter Crawford, Paddy Burrows and Gillian Mott, it was great having the gang back together. We took the bus to Dornie from Glasgow Queen Street, be warned £34 for a 5 hour bus journey. When we reached Dornie dusk was upon us and myself and Peter headed for the campsite (£4) to pitch our tents. We spent the evening on the ale at the Dornie Hotel with other fellow challengers.
Morning came and the sun was shining so we headed to the Dornie Hotel to sign out and I met fellow blogger Phil Turner who was heading out into the hills with Andy Howell, I quickly estimated that Phil’s rucksack looked about 3 times lighter than mine….maybe I had packed a little too much.
After signing out we headed in a totally different direction to the other challengers South East and eventually got into the wilds. We followed the River Croe through Kintail Forest, this description amuses me because I did not see a tree all day, pretty worrying when you have to collect wood for your stove. I felt like a tramp picking up cigarette butts as I scavenged the trail for suitable wood. Fear not said Paddy a bothy is always built close to a source of wood and water.
After gaining quite a bit of height we passed a few waterfalls and it was the backdrop of the Five Sisters that kept me amused while we plodded up to Camban bothy. Low and behold the bothy had no trees to collect wood from within 10km of it. But as anybody who knows me will tell you, I am the worlds greatest fire starter and using my immense bush craft skills I managed to get a roaring fire going in the bothy using a few twigs, some cotton wool and Peters unwanted underpants(he was furiously trying to lighten his pack weight and spare clothing was being burnt).
This was my first night in a bothy and I was quite surprised, places like this in England usually get passed off as bunk houses were they charge you for the pleasure of staying a night. A few shots of whisky and the crackling of the fire saw me off to sleep despite Paddy’s claims that the beast of the glen was going to rape me in the night.
Welsh 3000 part one
This weekend saw myself, paddy, Peter and gill walk half of the welsh 3000 in bad conditions. We set off towards foel fras and the wind picked up. This was not going to be a day for views of the carneddau, luckily the rain held out but we spent the whole day locked in the clouds.
The foel grach refuge hut gave the only respite from the high gusting winds which hampered our progress. After a late start we decided to setup camp at the shores of llyn lloer at around 2000feet. The tents took a battering during the night with swirling winds meaning a perfect pitch arse end into the wind was not possible, I came away with a bent tent pole and memories of the wildest/windy night I have yet to experience.
I will be returning to Wales soon for part 2 and then again for the full challenge in due course.
Kit wise my new iPhone performed really well with the memory map app and was exactly what I was looking for, it was also cool to be able to watch a movie in the tent. My new innov8 race pro 30 pack was the real winner though, it just seemed to tick all the right boxes for me and was a pleasure to carry, plenty more trips to do before I give it the thumbs up though.
Attached are a few photos taken on the iPhone and my first blog post using the wordpress app.
A few extracts and thoughs of the trip from the Peaceful Hiker forum.
UKmase 
