Day 4
Monday 9th May - Invergarry to Blackburn of Corrieyairack
Having eventually ambled out along the cycle path to Bridge of Oich, I paused to don waterproofs (again - was it ever going to stop?) and was overtaken by Doug and Howard, who, with the patience of saints, were excellent company for the rest of that day. Cross-countrying to Blackburn of Corrieyairack bothy was much more pleasant, and doubtless more efficient for me, because it was shared. We joined Max and Trine from Denmark, and many other Challengers camped around the bothy, while later arrivals slept indoors. It was intriguing to find the tent's thin coating of condensation had by morning become a thin sheet of ice. Max and Trine went one better: they had a massive icicle hanging from the tent! Unfortunately they had whipped it off before I got my camera out, but even in several pieces, it's impressive!
In these temperatures, I was gratified by the amazing efficiency of this year's investment, a Rab Quantum 400 (short length) down sleeping bag at well under 1Kg. This and the Akto helped me keep my starting pack-weight at about 12.5Kg, which was a vast improvement on last year. Another major contributor was the discovery that many hotels in isolated areas will accept food parcels, and I am more than grateful to them for never having needed to carry more than 3-4 days' food, and never having to add distance to find a shop - I never saw one from Kintail to Edzell! If anyone would like any additional details of my kit and grub, please use the e mail link on the home page (make the subject "Jean Turner Walk") and Doodlecat will forward your mail to me.
