Day 4: Ben Dreavie – Glendhu Bothy – Glencoul Bothy

11.8 miles -dry but cloudy

The tent did make it through the night, bless it! I slept for twelve, wonderful hours. There were more deluges of rain, more howling wind, but the tent stood up to it all.

I woke up without the sound of raindrops, and so decided to pack up quickly before it started again. The track, which comes all the way from the mountain summit was easy: a gene decent.

I remembered that I had had virtually no supper and no breakfast, and that’s when I recalled the Kendal Mint Cake I had been given – this is exactly the kind of occasion when it’s needed. It perked me up.

I was seven miles behind schedule, and wondered about taking the road to Inchnadamph to regain lost time. I was dissuaded by a well-meaning, but somewhat fitter man who was marshaling a group of runners, who were aiming to do the 200 miles from Fort William to Cape Wrath in just eight days. (I passed them all – there must have been about 50 – the leader was so intent on winning that he couldn’t manage to respond to my cheery ‘Hello’;the others were more human.

Glendhu Bothy is a beautiful and remote outpost, where I stopped for lunch, and where the horse (pictured below) tried to eat my clothes, my tin of tea, my chilli flakes, and even my trekking poles. I made for the interior of the bothy.

Glendhu Bothy – I went inside as the horse was trying to eat my chilli flakes and trekking poles!

The rest of the day was beautiful and dry. It was the only day in the first week when my feet were just ‘wet’, not ‘wringing wet’. I arrived at Glencoul Bothy at six and was persuaded to stay; hence this was a lovely and not-too-exhausting day.

Temperate rain Forrest in Gleann Dubh

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