I woke just as the sun was coming up, gradually as I regained consciousness the sky turned salmon pink. After having breakfast and packing away I set off still following the same road I'd been on for days. It felt like it would never end. As I hiked I kept looking across the loch, it was getting narrower which meant I would soon be at the top, or bottom depending on how you looked at it. I'd hiked about two miles when I felt a twinge in my right leg. I kept going for a bit, limping a little but eventually decided to take a break to rest up.
During the 3000 odd miles I've hiked since starting the expedition my body has had to put up with alot of poundings, falls, sprains, cuts and bruises. I've been really quite lucky that nothing serious has happened, there have been several occasions where an injury could have ended my journey. With another 3000 miles or so to go I can only hope that my luck continues.
After taking the short break it was time to sling the pack back on and continue hiking. Passing Strontian I ceased the opportunity to grab a few packets of boiled sweets and 20 bags of green lemon tea. I'm not a big fan of green tea or any herbal teas for that matter but with only £4 in my pocket it was all I could afford.
The day was turning out lovely, the skies were still clear and the water was calm. I'd considered paddling hoolley across but I could now see the end of the loch and figured it would be just as quick for me to continue hiking round. Reaching the other side I decided to check how many meals I still had left in my pack. 4 breakfasts, 6 mains and a custard and apple desert. Not a bad tally. I was feeling hungry, I think the colder air takes it out of you a bit, so I pulled out a packet of chicken with noodles in a black bean sauce and stopped for a lunch break. This was a rare treat but one that I felt my body needed.
Whilst chomping away on my lunch I gazed out over the loch the view was supurb. Looking along it I noticed a mist had begun to roll in changing the view quite dramatically. By the time I'd finished my chicken and noodles the mist had engulfed the entire loch and the temperature dropped significantly. I packed my saucepan, which was no longer round but more egg shaped, and stove away and begun the long hike back to the coast. I was expecting it to take at least three maybe four days.
A good few miles later, Finding a junction, I left the main road. When I say main road I mean single tarmac lane. It was now heading on for 3pm which meant that the light would soon fade away into darkness. Not wanting to end up, as I did the night before, fumbling around in the dark looking for a place to camp I began keeping an eye out. Passing a river I stopped to fill up my empty water bottles not knowing where I'd next get the opportunity, which as it turns out was pretty much every couple of hundred yards.
About an hour later I found myself next to a woodland, it wasn't level by any stretch of the imagination but looking ahead was considerably more inviting than what was coming up. The slopes of the hills stretching far off into the distance were fairly steep and it looked like the woods were thinning out down near the waters edge. I made a judgement call to stop there thinking it would probably be the best I could hope to find whilst I still had light. The short days during these winter months are really quite a pain in the arse. I knew that given more daylight hours I'd be able to cover considerably more ground and maybe with a decent torch I'd have better luck in the night finding places to stop but unfortunately that wasn't a luxury I had. Choosing the levelist part of the slope next to the remains of an old tree I pitched up the coffin, which was now in quite a sorry state with small rips and holes and the poles slowly beginning to split. It wouldn't be long before the coffin would no longer be useful which on the positive side would mean less weight to carry but at the same time would mean I'd have to find more places to string up the tarp or forgo shelter altogether.
With camp made and the cold beginning to chill the sweat soaked into my tshirts I climbed into the coffin and rehydrated some chilli con carne and made a mug of hot chocolate. Then I could do very little else but wait till morning before I could continue my efforts to hike back to the coast.
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