Cape Wrath Fail - Day 4

On the final two days of my Cape Wrath Fail, after climbing to a height of 878m, (Great way to start the day - not!) I pass through Barisdale Bay (where I stop for some lunch at the bothy) before making my way along Loch Beag to Kinloch Hourn.

I popped into the tearoom at Kinloch Hourn hoping to get some juice and maybe a snack but felt rather unwelcome by the owner who was quick to inform me that he only sells Tea and Fruitcake, making me feel like one!

I continued on past Kinloch Hourn, climbing a very steep hill towards the Coire Reidh but idiotically, I turned off the main track too early and ended up climbing the wrong hill.  This is where it all went wrong. I wasted over an hour here, realising I'd gone wrong I descended to the Coire Reidh, directly down the steep heathery slopes to get back onto the main track, tripping up over myself and almost breaking my leg.

Back on track, I thought I could still make it over the hills to Shiel Bridge to meet Thomas but due to my mistakes, I was way behind schedule.  I followed the track crossing the Coire Reidh passing a tent pitched up near a wooden hut and continued for a short distance until the track disappeared at the next river crossing.  This is the point where I became confused as the map indicates that you need to work out your own path in order to navigate over the hills to Shiel Bridge. 

By this time it was getting dark, I knew I was doomed until the morning so I threw up my tent in the most flattest place I could find, which wasn't actually flat, I think it was beside the Coire Mhalagain.  I was exhausted and dehydated and for some reason craved a Chocolate Milkshake, the best I had was a Hot Chocolate sachet so I mixed it up in cold water and drank it (the thought of it is quite rank now) before falling asleep and ending my absolute nightmare of a day!  :?
Day 5

I woke up to a stunning morning as I quickly packed up at 5:30am and began to drag myself up the pathless hill. 
I must have been slightly off route as I ended up bagging some random munros, taking in some fantastic views as I made my way towards Glen Shiel.  By lunchtime the main road into Shiel Bridge eventually came into view, I was still very high and off route and just decided to descend to the road as quickly as possible.  It took me about 3 hours to get down there and I was still 5 miles from Shiel Bridge.  I had to hobble along the side of the road with sore feet in my damp boots and nobody offered me a lift.  The time I finally got to Shiel Bridge it was about 4pm, my hiking buddy Thomas had already left and I decided I was going home on the next bus. 

I could have caught up with Thomas and continued the trail if my feet had stayed in good condition but my boots had become saturated on the second day of the trip and I had been unable to get them dried out, causing my feet to severely blister.  I think my boots were also about half a size too small.

So anyway that's the story of my second "Cape Wrath Fail". 
I'm going to try again, start to finish sometime between May and September 2018. 

Thanks for reading/watching.

You can view the photo collection here:
https://www.flickr.com/gp/156143109@N02/2N936i