Today: 53km | Total: 236km
Before we left Comrie on day 6, we did a little planning and figured the next 50km or so are a two-day hike without option to resupply (unless begging farmers). So we did some late night shopping and downloaded relevant offline maps (I use the ViewRanger app, stages for the trail are here) before hitting the sleeping bags somewhere outside the town.
Laura’s comments
Día 6: Un día para recordar. Sólo lee el blog Scottish National Trail: Novia Perdida (day 6). 😔😂
Día 7 y 8: El día 7 fue un gran día, mucho sol, muy caliente y paisaje increíble, perfecto, similar a mi ciudad, una noche increíble y con mucho tiempo para descansar.
Para el día 8 hubo mucha lluvia, mi chaqueta no es a prueba de agua, por lo cual caminé todo el tiempo con la ropa muy húmeda, afortunadamente Ronny tenía (hand warmers) y obtuve un poco de calor, el frío en Escocia es muy fuerte para mí. Afortunadamente unos kilómetros después encontramos una pareja qué muy amablemente se ofrecieron a darnos un chance hasta nuestro destino, el pueblo de Aberfeldy. 😁
THROUGH THE 200KM MARK (1/3rd DONE) 😀 🏕
Day 7 started a bit slow. We either missed a path for it was overgrown and invisible or for lack of map reading skills on my side. Time went by, but the mileage didn’t budge much. It also involved fighting our way (literally) through spaces with loads of plants… Just like in the jungle. Hello Jane & Tarzan!
Well, we got ourselves sorted eventually and enjoyed a beautiful day out. A lot of uphill again (700m ascent) crossing over from one valley into another on our way to Loch Freuchie.
With so much delay we called it a day much earlier than usual after only 19km, took our time to wash in the cold but clean river water, had egg & cheese omelette as well as soup and just a little more time with sunlight than usual. A little luxury.
Scottish readers of the blog might have missed comments on midges. Well, they were not worth mentioning so far. They are now. Nasty little things. Thankfully the repellent (40% deet) works and the tent has a good insect cover.
Our second day was the exact opposite of the previous day. We woke up with rain banging on our tent. I just managed to rescue Laura’s shirt, which she washed the night before. We were tempted to stay in the tent all day. But then, we only had food for a day and don’t have much time to spare.
So we packed up in rain and got going by 10am. It was not too bad and to our surprise busier than usual. First up a group of scouts, then a group of mainly german tourists. So far, so good.
The rain was non-stop. It didn’t take long for the gloves to get wet, our pants, then Laura’s Decathlon jacket. Just not made for Scottish summer. By lunchtime we reached Loch Freuchie… In hope of a warm meal. Laura was soaked and now the gas canister empty. Shit!
So back to emergency supplies like HUEL (meal in powder form… Today with pineapple & coconut flavour), crackers and a bit of leftover red wine. We had a few spare clothes too and handwarmers to get going in good spirits again.
And so we trodded on. After some 24km we were on the final stretch into the town of Aberfeldy when we met two other hikers. They spent the weekend in a bothy with their dogs and offered a lift into town. How could we say no? ☺️🙄
Fun ride with these two – a Scot and his Slovakian partner. Turns out he has been extensively in South America including Colombia. What a coincidence!
Anyway, we enjoyed a great pub dinner at ‘The Fountain’, booked a room for the night and were happy ever after 😴😴😴
Tomorrow a bit of shopping to get done before hitting a three-day trek across the Cairngorms. Can’t wait!
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