11 - 12 November

11th November

It was a comfortable nights sleep.  I woke nice and early to finalise packing and reorganise my pack, the slightly larger sleeping bag causing me to rethink what gets stuffed in and in which order.  I still wanted to keep hoolley safely inside to protect her from thorns and other sharp objects I often had to scramble through.  The additional food darryl had sent too was causing a few headaches and although I'd done my best to devour as much as I could the night before, I was left with two chorizo sausages and a box of ambrosia custard needed stowing. I managed to get one sausage in but had to leave the other behind.

From 9am onwards various crew members popped into the station and the banter kept flowing. A barrage of questions about where I was going next and guesses about how long it would take to conquer the next peninsula. It was also mentioned that if they needed to rescue me they'd have problems finding me dressed in the camouflage. Assuring them that if I did get myself into trouble and needed rescuing the international space station would know about it I decided I'd have to leave and continue the trek. It was passed 11am and the day appeared to be turning into a perfect day for hiking.

From mallaig I had no choice but to follow the road. The tarmac was butting up to the waters edge and you couldn't really get any closer. The road took me to a bridge that crossed a river leading out to the loch running and dividing a soft white sandy beach in two. Leaving the road I dropped down on to the beach and began to hike along it. For some reason it felt like I hadn't seen lush sandy beaches for a while, recently it it always appeared that I was stumbling across stones and boulders.

My bag was feeling heavy after adding the additional 700 grams of weight the new sleeping bag weighed more than the old one. It doesn't sound a lot but it is very noticeable and certainly after a few miles hiking. It was still a lovely day and I had been given a ginger cake. Stopping for a break with lovely scenery surrounding you is a must on a long trek. Its the only way you can ever really appreciate what you're experiencing, what you're seeing or hearing or even smelling.

With one ginger cake devoured I began walking along the sands, quite firm in places and certainly as I made my way further along and towards the open waters. It was a stunning beach with a charm, leading me away from the small woodland growing up the banks behind the beach into sand dunes and finally to the rocks and heather covered peat. The beach ended at this point and I was required to climb the flat surface of a steep rocky slope. Clambering up to a small trail that was easily definable I could see that the day was going to be tough going. I would have to walk small bays, climb over and around outcrops, and finally fight my way through bursts of woodland. I'd also have to keep an eye on the tides. Currently it was receding but eventually it would turn and start coming in again.  I didn't know what time low tide was and I certainly had no idea when high tide would be which meant I had no idea how much time I had to cover an unknown distance across unfamiliar terrain, tackling obstacles as I progressed. Not wanting to hang around too long I began the physically demanding scramble hiking across wet and slippery stones and boulders, climbing either up or around, usually up, one outcrop after another. Often I would find myself having to traverse high rock faces down to the safety of the bays.

By the time I eventually reached the coast I was extremely hot and sweaty. It had been a tough journey wearing so many layers and carrying such a large and heavy pack. It was an interesting walk though and on the whole quite easy and yet suitably challenging at the same time. I had made my way to a large sandy bay with large sand dunes at its back. Time was getting on now and judging by the sun I guessed I only had about a couple of hours of light left. Standing on the top of one of the dunes and looking ahead I could see a small pine forest. It seemed like a good place to pitch up and shelter for the night.

I continued to follow the coast crossing from one small bay into another and so on. Some were lush and sandy while others grey beds of solid rock. At some point, just shy of my intended destination, I hit a river. The road with its bridge was nearby so I instead of getting wet feet or spending time unpacking hoolley I headed up and crossed over. The woodland was close by now so I stayed on the road until I arrived at the conifer woodland. It was sheltered and the ground felt soft.

The wind was beginning to pick up now and the sun was beginning to set. Spotting a fallen tree on the far side of the woods that provided natural protection I unpacked the tarp and set up camp. The temperature began to drop noticeably by now and the light quickly faded into darkness. I had my evening meal and climbed into the four season sleeping bag I'd been sent and had struggled squeezing into my pack. It didn't take long before I bag puffed up and began to warm me up. There was a noticeable difference from the moment you climbed in, in fact it was so warm for the first time in a fair few weeks possibly even months I felt the need to remove a few layers, first my fleece jacket, then my jumpers and finally one of the pairs of trousers I was wearing. Even though the wind was howling through the trees that night I slept well and woke fairly refreshed the following morning.

12th November

The air felt mild, there were dark clouds covering the sky. It felt like bad weather was on the horizon. As long as it didn't rain though that was all that really mattered.  Cold wasn't an issue, wearing all my wet weather gear, jackets and layers of tshirts and fleeces I found myself quite often too hot and sweaty. The wind as long as it was at my back was also not an issue,head on on worse still, side on, that was an issue though.  Strong gusts acting against you and either stopping you in your tracks or knocking you off balance. I thought I would have gotten used to it by now but I don't think anything can really prepare you for the powerful winds of the Scottish west coast.

I'd run out of cereal rations now so I munched a couple of shortbread biscuits whilst sipping a lovely hot coffee. It was soon time for me to get going so I began packing up. This is when I first discovered that my morning routine would have to now include wrestling to stuff the new sleeping bag into its tiny stuff sack. I must admit I was very impressed with small package once all the air was squeezed out.

Leaving the woods I followed the road a short way before heading back down to the water skipping from one bay to the next. It occurred to me while I was looking at the terrain ahead how much flatter it appeared. Knoydart and the numerous lochs before had all been surrounded by vast mountain ranges with impressive peaks. By comparison what I had before me was comparatively flat with its rocky hills and baron pimples.

It was an easy hike to the nearby village and its harbour, the road from here following the shore all the way round to the headland. The road, a single tarmac lane, was quite with sheep grazing on the banks and slopes. The road snaked the shores of small bays and I soon found myself looking back at the small village and harbour. The houses and boats now looking small, it somehow didn't seem real. As I turned to continue I saw a large splash out of the corner of my eye, I peered across back towards the still waters of the loch.  It could have been a bird diving for fish so I waited for the bird to surface.  Then a few moments later another splash to my right. Maybe it was an otter or seal I judged the distance between ripples and looked ahead. Splash and a moment later splash again. As I tracked the disturbances in the water I caught a glimpse of a dolphin arching its back every time it gracefully launched itself out of the loch. Its moments like these that you ever really get to experience fully when you're walking, or more precisely, not walking but stood or crouched or even sat breathing in the fresh air and listening to the silence and hearing everything.

I was sweating, it was a lovely cool day and I was wearing far too many layers of clothing. The road continued to follow the waters edge till it brought me to the top, thats where the road ended and a private track began. As with the road the track pretty much followed the coast along the top of the peninsula. Eventually the track brought me to a small farm house with a sign indicating the way to a beach. It seemed to be a reasonable place to look at spending the night. The hours of daylight I'm lucky to have during these months are short and all too quickly you can find yourself in the dark without a place to shelter.  I'm now finding myself looking at places much earlier than before. Quite often as early as 3pm.

It had just gone 3pm by the time I followed the sign to the footpath that ultimately brought me out at the beach. It was an unusual beach which stony shores and lush grassy sand dunes blended together forming two beaches back to back with rocks extruding from the putting green perfect arcs of the dunes. The sun was now already sitting low in the horizon threatening to drop out of sight. I looked along the coast ahead of me. I'd be lucky to find anywhere further up that would beat where I was and most probably not before nightfall. Scouting around the beaches I looked for some kind of water source but came up empty handed. I also looked around for a good place to set up the tarp and make camp.

There was nothing immediately suitable for tying the tarp to. I'd have to get a little more creative. So eyeing up a few possible locations I went to take a closer look. I eventually settled on a level ish pitch of grass snuggly laying between two low rock walls. With no indication of which direction the wind if any would blow from I had to guess and set up the tarp using only my instincts and gut feeling. I tied the cord between the petruding rocks and secured the tarp pegging it one end and using guy ropes the other. It looked good with a fair amount of room inside.  The light had faded fast so I decided to climb under the shelter.

Just as I got my gear inside it began to rain, the wind gradually picking up before I knew it hurricane scotty was upon me. I put my saucepan pan outside to collect the water. I had been reassured that the weather would be good for the rest of the week but by the time the storm had passed I had almost enough water collected to make myself a coffee. While I was waiting for the storm to settle I got into my wet weather gear and waited for all hell to break loose planning a hasty exit and retreat to somewhere other than where I currently lay.

The heavy pounding of the winds continued throughout the night some waves considerably more forceful than others. It was tough getting to sleep. As I lay beneath the tarp listening to the might of nature it did occur to me that if something bad happened during the night no one would know where I was. I even considered calling the coastguard just as a precaution but in the end decided not too but I'll admit it was a tempting thought.