What a long and wet day! I've busted through the 200 mile mark already with a 67 mile effort today. Unfortunately it's not all good news as I am having problems with my left Achilles tendon. It seems my Achilles heel may literally be my Achilles heel.
It rained much of the night, and I woke very early in my wild camp this morning and decided to get underway. The first stretch was a long flattish ride down the Strath (valley) to the tiny villages of croick and The Craigs. I was mostly in cloud. From a distance clouds may look nice and fluffy, but when you are in them you realise they are just stationary drizzle.
Next I passed through the very posh Allerdale Estate and up Glen Mor. Right at the top is Deanich Lodge, apparently the most remote house available to hire.
A stiff climb on a rough track took me to Loch Vaich followed by a pleasant run along its shore in mixed weather.
The old bothies here are in a poor state, one room is just about useable but I would not fancy it myself.
I dropped down Strath Vaich past may Highland cattle to meet the main road at Black Bridge, then got a massive soaking in the ten minutes to Inchbae Lodge which was thankfully open for an early lunch.
Partially dried out, I followed forest tracks to Garve, yet another one of the stations I passed through on the way up.
Soon I was at Contin, via a lovely tree lined trail. This is where I had intended to stop for the day, but it was barely 2pm. The shop furnished me with a massive coffee and a huge helping of stovies (beef and potatoes cooked into mush - another Scottish thing).
The next leg was all or nothing - a long route over high ground and the Orrin dam finally dropping down to Struy in Glen Glass.
I decided to go for it. The initial climb through Fairburn was steep but sheltered, but after an hour of effort I was dismayed to see a sign saying the dam was closed for public access.
How closed is closed? I decided to find out and pushed on up the steep but good track to the ugly looming dam, about 1000' of climbing by this point.
The Orrin dam. Should be called the Orrid dam.
It was open, no sign of any work going on at all! Still it was another 500' up over the hump into Glen Goibhre. Here an increasingly rough track contours the hill for miles and miles, particularly hard going as every dip was flooded and I constantly had to get off and walk.
My ankle was giving me some serious gip by this point, but at long last the track made a descent through forest to Struy.
The Struy Inn was not open, but just another seven miles on an easy and quiet backroad took me to Cannich and a B&B to dry out and get a good night sleep.
Tomorrow should be a short but quite tough day to reach Fort Augustus, where the really challenging Highland sections start.
Miles today: 67! Total so far: 227.
Feet climbed today: 6280!!! Total so far: 14730.
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