TGO Challenge 2017: Day 1

Day 1: Friday, May 12
Planned: Mallaig to Sourlies bothy
Actual: as planned

Distance: 15 km
Ascent: 700 m

Greg and I in Mallaig

To get walking, a ferry had to be taken from Mallaig to Inverie (cost 10 GBP). I embarked with an old friend I  had never met before, Greg, who is part of my international Fjällräven Polar family.

On board, we met Anna from Germany and the three of us walked together for the rest of the day.

Home for the day was Sourlies bothy, where we arrived after a bit of rock scrambling (due to missed low tide and a possibility to walk around the last of foreland before the bothy). We didn't sleep in the bothy, but pitched our tents outside to enjoy fresh air and magnificent scenery.

Gorgeous night at the bothy with the joyous Manchester gang (Lindsay, Paula, Rob, Rebecca, Tim, Carl, Andy and Faz - if I remember correctly).

What I liked:

• company
• scenery
• walking
• weather (just a little bit of rain, not too warm, not too cold)

What I disliked:

• my Smartwool X-heavy mountaineering socks that looked like they came from Pippi Longstockin's closet after wearing them for five or six hours, completely lost their shape and fit
• forgetting to buy any snacks in Mallaig (thanks for being such a great walking companion, Greg, and special thanks for your supply of trail mix)
• my too-heavy pack

TGO Challenge 2017 in pictures (Flickr)

Mallaig. It will be Mallaig.

After tossing and turning for several nights in agony over deciding where to start my big adventure, I have finally come to the conclusion that I will take a train/bus/train combination from Edinburgh  to Mallaig via Fort William. Why is that, you ask (well I doubt that anyone really asks but I'm telling you anyway). Because having already planned that I might do that (or choose from the dozen other plans I had schemed out), I came across a Challenger blog from last year and realised that travelling by train to Mallaig I will actually be crossing the River Finnan. ON TOP OF THE GLENFINNAN VIADUCT. Oh yes, the Harry Potter bridge, that is. Being the overgrown child that I am, I was thrilled to to be able to nail my starting point choice with a little help of Mr. Potter. Thanks Harry, much appreciated!

So far my itinerary is as follows:

Tuesday May 11th: Fly into Edinburgh from Finland with the kind help of British Airways. Spend a day and a half out and about Edinburgh.
Thursday 11th: Travel to Mallaig for a night at the Mission Bunkhouse.
Friday 12th: hop on a ferry to Inverie. Recover from possible seasickness . Start walking towards the East coast. Over the hills and far away. The actual route is still being plotted reverently.
Thursday 25th: arrive somewhere in between Stonehaven and Kinnaber Links. Bus to Montrose, a Challenge party and a night in Montrose. Flight home on Friday 26th. Arriving home in the early hours of Saturday 27th.

There! Wasn't that hard now, was it?