TGOC'26 Day 2 Maol-Bhuidhe Bothy to Loch Affric Jetty

 I had a good night sleep in the Bothy, despite a bit of snoring from my bothy mates, but it beats sleeping outside in the rain and putting away a wet tent.😁 When I looked at my plans, today was going to be a bigger day. It will not be particularly long, around 15 miles, but it turned out to be 21 miles! There will also be a couple of good elevation gains beginning right at the beginning of the day. 

I was up, packed and breakfast done, walking out the door just before 8 am. I was well before anyone else was ready, but at the moment it wasn't raining and I had a morning constitutional to get too, so I wanted to put some distance between me and any hikers coming after me! 

Just as I walked out the bothy and crossed the little steam right next to the bothy, it started to rain. It was drizzle then rain hard and hail, then stop and wait 20 minutes and the whole thing would repeat. You could tell when it was starting up again as the wind would start to blow much stronger as the wave approached. 

It was a steady climb all the way up the hill toward the bealach. 

The sky tried to console me with another rainbow, but I wasn't falling for it as another wave of rain and hail hit just as I reached the top. 

At the top was a long stone wall, then remnants of a structure

Over the bealach and great views for a long way. 

It was all downhill to reach Glen Eichaig, which is a really lovely glen. The stand of trees you see in the distance surrounds an abandoned home called Iron Lodge 

Reaching Iron Lodge, Vicky and I walked from Dornie to Iron Lodge, on our first day, in 2015. 

The switchbacks you see on the hill is the climb behind Iron Lodge to the Bealach Coire Ghaidheil, which takes you over the big hills into Glen Affric. 

Where I came from

Glen Eichaig

Lot of sheep with new lambs 

playing around 

Reaching the turn off, at Carnach, to reach the Falls. This is the bridge over Loch na Leitreach

Crossing the bridge looking up to that cleft on the left, that hides the Falls.

The Falls

My route up the Falls was directly next to the Falls. I would go up a little further and then cut over and you can see my route up the side below in yellow. 

Looking back down to the bridge I crossed at the loch. There was a much easier way (that is clearly marked on the map) you will see toward the end. Did I mentioned this route was two years in the making? Already, I could have made two changes that would have made life a bit easier. Not more adventurous or scenic, but just easier! 🤣

I was grateful that I seem to be climbing well with no issues in the first couple of days, which potentially were going to be the most strenuous, so all in all, I was feeling pleased. 

That feeling didn't last long. I gained Glenn Gniomhaidh. I would not even try to pronounce this Glen, but it turns out to be simple Gniomhaidh (YOH-wee).

It was not simple to walk however! The map shows a path, but in many cases a path on the OS maps means a path might have been there 50-100 years ago to drive sheep or cattle, but no longer exists on the ground. This is one of those glens. 

If it would have been hot, I would have taken a swim here.

You can however forgive the lack of track with the wonderful scenery and complete feeling of aloneness. I did not see another person for my entire trip down this glen. I could have been the only person to ever walk here. The views of the surrounding hills, most still with snow and the lochs and lochans were spectacular. 

I walked down this glen was about 5 miles with no sign anyone had ever been here, until you reach this point and suddenly there is a path that looks like it came straight from a National Park in the US.  Flat, compacted, engineered for comfort, and a sign that says heavy machinery in use. What? here? where? As far as I can see there is nothing. 

I am thinking,  if this path continues all the way to the bottom of the glen, this will be heaven. Then I turned a corner and WHAM, heavy machinery and the path just vanishes in mud, almost as fast as it had appeared. 

Picking my way past the "construction" site. There is about 3 miles left in this glen, but there is now a thin gravely path that appears and leads the rest of the way. 

The closer I get to Glen Affric that better the path becomes. 

Entering Glen Affric you arrive at the YHA (youth hostel association) bothy called Alltbeithe (meaning Birch Stream). You will find many Alltbeithe's on a map of Scotland... It can all be very confusing.

It was now around 4:30 pm. A long day for sure as I was walking at 8am and had covered around 16 miles (20km). I had arranged to meet Andy and Carl here and camp somewhere near by for the night. However,  they were no where to be found. I waited around for a bit, figuring that at 4:30 I could not have beaten them here, they were just coming from Shiel Bridge, as this was their first day, at the head of Glen Affric. 

I concluded that they must be up ahead as there are several very nice camping spots close to the YHA Bothy. So I started down the Glen. 

Glen Affric is considered by many to be of the most beautiful glens in Scotland, sharing the title with Glen Feshie. I would however include Glen Quoich, which I walked in 2024

So the conclusion of this day is I never found Andy and Carl. I just kept walking the additional 4 miles to the Jetty at the mouth of Loch Affric

Passing over the River Affric as it reaches the Loch. Another rainbow looking to make up for the rainy cold day. 

Perhaps the rainbow was not apologizing as much as promising as the evening turned out to be very fine.

A great reward for 21 miles of walking

Dinner was made while watching rainbows over the loch. 

A couple of vitamin I and a spectacular calm evening, and you are reminded why you signed up for this "challenge"

Day 2 Stats and Summary

My anticipated route is in blue, the extra mileage from the YHA to Loch Affric is in red. The yellow detour is the easier route I could have taken to reach the top of the Falls

My garmin watch died at the YHA. The distance and time only cover to the YHA, so add 4 miles to this and about 90 minutes to this.

not much additional elevation gain walking past the YHA to the Jetty. 

almost 2000' today (600m)

TGOC'26 May 7th-21st Day 0 (Travel) and Day 1

It was finally time for TGOC'26. I had to pull out of the 2025 Challenge because I was retiring in June 2025 and that was just too close to the Challenge in May, without putting everyone in a really short spot, so I deferred my place until this year. This means that my route has been in the making for 2 years! Briefly, to catch up anyone not familiar with the TGO (The Great Outdoors) Challenge. It is an annual event of about 300 participants, who enter, and if chosen, present a unique route, of their own making, from the West coast to the East coast of Scotland, to expert "vetters" for critique and approval. Once approved you make your travel and any lodging reservations you require. The Challenge begins on the Thursday and Friday of the second week of May and everyone must be finished inside 2 full weeks. During the Challenge there is a group of dedicated volunteers (Control) that keep track of your journey through a series of phone in points that are predetermined and if anyone misses their phone in points, Control is available to call out the cavalry! 

This will be my 6th time doing the Challenge. 

As it has been my habit, I get a day pass to the American Airlines Ambassador Lounge before my flight as it is a nice place, quiet and relaxing, before the 14 hours of travel to get me to Strathcarron, my starting point for this years Challenge. I should mention that British Airways restarted direct service from St Louis to London Heathrow in May 2026, but my flights had been booked way back in November of 2025. 

For the price of the day pass you do get all the food you want, in my case I got Breakfast when I arrived and was still there when the lunch service started, so I ate twice. Wifi and comfy chairs!

I only check through those items that can not fly, my hiking poles, stove, small knife, etc. I carry on everything I would need to start the challenge. This is an old habit from my working days, as if my checked bag was ever lost, it would not ruin my trip... This will become an issue at the end of my trip! 

While I was at the airport, another Challenger posted "today's" photos on the tops of the Cairngorm Mountains in Scotland. One of the hills I am scheduled to walk over in about a week is indicated by the red arrow..... maybe, maybe not! 

My first stop is Chicago O'Hare Airport, never a pleasure, but my next ride is here. This Air Lingus A330-300 is about as small as you would want for a transatlantic flight holding about 250 passengers

The flight crew was super nice on this flight and always had some food or snack for us. Flying time was about 7.5 hours from Chicago to Dublin Ireland. I got about 90 minutes of sleep.

Flying east and taking off in the late afternoon, we flew toward the Sun all the way to Dublin, losing time as we went. It never really got dark during the flight. 

We landed in Dublin around 6 am local time. I did not realize that you could go through customs for Scotland in Ireland, but I got my passport stamped so no need for any customs in Glasgow.

My next ride over to Glasgow Scotland was on a twin engine turbo prop. It had been about 12 years since I was last on a plane with a propeller! It is only about an hour over to Scotland from here.

And away we go... I had forgotten the large amount of noise these generate in the cabin. 

Smooth flight over the North Channel to Scotland,  Met by the many wind turbines dotted along the coast 

Landing in Glasgow airport, it was a simple matter to pick up my bag, get on the bus (£11 and 30 minutes) that takes you to Queen's Street Train Station, for the last leg of my journey, a 5 hour train ride to the little village of Strathcarron. 

The big train board at Queen's Street Station

The journey from Glasgow to Strathcarron by train (in Black)

I never mind this part of my journey, Vicky and I both love the trains in Scotland. The scenery from the trains as you pass through the Highlands and the West Coast of Scotland is fantastic.

About halfway through the train trip you pass through the Aviemore, the gateway to the Cairngorm Mountains, you can see them in the background of this photo. You can also see the rather large amounts of snow still on the tops! 

Arriving in Strathcarron at about 3:30 pm local time. 

The Strathcarron Hotel, my accommodation for the night before the start of the Challenge. 

First things first, after checking in, the first pint in Scotland (or 2) 

Strathcarron was a very popular starting point this year. I think about 20 Challengers would be starting from here between tomorrow (Thursday) and Friday. 

It is great to meet new friends and get reacquainted with those I have met before. 

Thursday May 7, 2026 Day 1 Strathcarron to Maol-bhuidhe Bothy

After what I must confess was a mediocre nights sleep. My room had 2 twin beds with about 4" foam mattresses on each. I awoke and got down to what was a very good breakfast before finding out I had been charged double because my room had two beds??? Having only booked a reservation for one, I chose to chalk it up to my misunderstanding, paid my bill, and signed out at the TGO register in the hotel lobby. I set off into a chilly and rather unsettled looking day. 

Edit -Upon returning home, I double checked my reservation and in fact I had not changed the default occupancy (which is always 2) to one as I had thought. I am glad that I had let it go and will chalk it up to helping the Highland economy 😉

Leaving Strathcarron

It will be straight up into the hills 

One of my two favorite plants that remind me of Scotland (Gorse) it smells like coconut and vanilla

It is a big climb the first thing in the morning and the higher you go the more beautiful the scenery gets 

A view back to Loch Carron, which leads out to the sea. This is of course a Coast to Coast Challenge.

Once you gain the main plateau it is relatively flat walking. The day has looked like rain, but none has fallen so far. I did see several Challengers (who started earlier than me) in the distance. One was Jess. She is crossing Scotland this year using her hammock. Being a big hammock person myself, I was really interested in listening to her the previous night in the bar, discuss how she planned her route and stopping point where there would be suitable trees. I am sure this took a lot of effort and a great way to decide how and where to cross Scotland. Having a theme for your route has always been one of the best ways to plan where you will go and what you will see. 

There are parts up here that are good track and then at times it is only faint, but for the most part, I have been able to see something on the ground, which makes the walking easier. 

Easier than climbing over fences. this one was missing a few steps.

Reaching the highest point of the climb you cross over the bealach, (this is Gaelic for mountain pass). It was quite a steep downhill

Another Loch comes into view on the way down 

Great views off the other side of the bealach

There is a dam at the end of the loch. You can see Jess just about to stop for a break next to the water. 

While Jess went to the left along the Loch, my route went right, up a rise and along a track down toward the River Ling. The River Ling can be a notoriously tough river to cross when in spate (Gaelic for flooded) 

At the bottom of the road was the mechanical house for all the pumps for the hydro dam. A very beautifully built building using local stone to match the landscape. 

This was an excellent place for lunch. I used the building as a wind break. For lunches, I have been using hard salami (summer sausage) and gouda cheese, for years. I normally bring Fritos, but this year I brought cheese flavored Ritz crisps. You can not get summer sausage in Scotland, so I bring this with me and have it for the first 3-4 days as my lunch. 

After lunch it was time to cross the Black Water where it meets the River Ling. Today that wasn't a problem as I found enough aligned rocks to keep my feet dry. 

Welcome to the wild! my job now was to go the 4 miles up the left side of the River Ling to reach Maol-Bhuidhe (pronounced Mull-Booee or Mull-Buoy). 

I was hoping that this route would be popular enough to have at least some kind of path along here, but sadly no. The only thing that passes this way are the deer and thankfully they choose the path of least resistance, so I looked for that thin single file line and followed all the deer poop. 

The scenery along the river was stunning and wild

The weather tried to get a bit better, which was nice so I wasn't fighting the terrain and the weather at the same time. 

An inkling of a deer path, going up a steep drop off on my right hand side. 

great waterfalls all along this section

Leveling out a bit, but getting boggier. I can see Loch Cruoshie in the distance

First view of Maol-bhuidhe Bothy

Crossing the Ling (in the photo above) proved not a problem, as the river was low. Surprisingly, it had not actually rained all day until just after I arrived at the Bothy. 

This bothy was the first I had seen in my walks in Scotland that I would actually stay inside. It was very clean and well cared for. I decided to stay inside as it started to rain. Several other Challengers and also some hikers doing the Cape Wrath Trail where all staying in the bothy tonight

The setting is beautiful 

As if to apologize for the path up the Ling, an amazing rainbow appeared at the end of my day.

It had taken me 2 hours to go the 3 miles from my lunch spot to the Bothy.

Several people tried to get a fire going. There was some dried peat for fuel and some sticks, but they could not get it started. It would have been nice to have a warm fire, but since it really had not rained on me today, I was nice and warm in my sleeping bag. 

Day 1 route and stats 

You can see my route as the multi color line from Strathcarron and then the solid blue line along the River Ling. You can also see the route Jess took when we parted at the dam. Her route and a few others went slightly farther in miles, up and around Loch Calavie, but was all on a good track. I did not even see this way around when planning my trip, obviously I picked a much more "wild" route, but I am happy with how the day went overall. I felt good and strong on the early climbs and didn't have any difficulty navigating up the river, besides the obvious, of avoiding really boggy bits.