Affric Kintail Way – Day 2

Hello again people and pooches. Joe the Cocker here after a really cosy night in the tent on the Affric Kintail Way. We woke up at daybreak after a very cold night. It rained and then sleated through the night. The tent was frozen when my human unzipped it. I stayed snuggled up while the big feller made himself a coffee. He uses coffee bags when we are backpacking because they are almost as good as a freshly brewed cuppa.

After he had changed into his hiking clothes, he fed me. I have kibble mixed with Weetabix and a tray of wet food when we are hiking. I normally have raw beef with my kibble at home, but he worries that the raw food might go off while we hike.

His breakfast usually consists of porridge with dried fruit and cinnamon or honey. A large portion of finely ground oats in a ziploc bag, add 350ml of boiling water and place inside an insulated pouch, leave to hydrate for 10 minutes. Eaten using a long handled titanium spoon straight from the bag. Job’s a good one! He fuels himself with a large portion for two reasons. One reason being that he needs a lot of fuel to get himself and his rucksack up the hills. The other reason is that he is a greedy pig!

In the car park, my human found a toilet block. The normal toilets were locked for the winter, but the composting toilet was open. This gave him the opportunity to change his clothes, etc, in a dry area. It was clean and well maintained. He says thank you to those responsible for its upkeep.

We took our time packing everything away. The tent needed the coating of ice breaking up and shaking off. My human hung the inner and outer on a tree branch to try to dry them slightly. He soon gave up on this idea as it was still -5⁰C.

We had planned to take it easy on that day with plenty of time allocated to breaks and just soaking up the atmosphere of the area. We were about to enter the more scenic sections of the trail. We had no contact with the rest of the world from this point. There is no mobile phone signal or internet signal. In case of an emergency, my human does carry a Garmin InReach, which allows him to send an SOS via a satellite signal. He can also communicate with a named contact if needed. It is an expensive piece of kit but a lifeline to the emergency services if we get into difficulties.

Eventually, we were packed up and ready to go. The first obstacle of the day was the bridge over the river. It was covered in ice. I managed to walk across it easily with a few slips and slides. The big feller nearly came a cropper. I thought that he was practicing kung fu as his leg shot sideways as he struggled to maintain his dignity. The first thing that came to mind was the name of the area. Perhaps it should be renamed as Man Falls rather than Dog Falls. 😀

It was a bit of a slog uphill along the track as we left Dog Falls. We were enveloped in woodland as we climbed. The air was filled with the odour of the pines. It was a crisp, dry morning with plenty of blue sky ahead. As we climbed into Glen Affric our first views of what was ahead were glimpsed through the odd gap in the trees. Overnight a fresh layer of snow had coated the hills and mountains ahead.

We reached Glen Affric Viewpoint before the sun had risen over the mountains to our left. The view was stunning with Beinn a’ Mheadhoin bathed in the suns rays to our right. The viewpoint mountain map was frozen solid as were the benches.

My human lay my sleeping mat out for me to rest on while he brewed a coffee in his Jetboil. I had a good mooch around while he sipped his coffee and enjoyed the view.

Sadly, photographs and videos don’t do this view it’s full justice. Our first glimpse of the high mountains of Kintail and of Loch Bienn a’ Mheadhoin were magnificent.

We stayed in that spot for a while, but the cold temperature eventually forced us to move on. ‘In a Big Country’ was Mr. Tone-Deaf’s ditty of the day. I decided to scoot ahead to escape his massacring of a perfectly good song.

It was noticeable that the tree trunks were heavily clad in lichen and the branches draped in Old Man’s Beard. This is a good indication of air quality in the area. This also meant that every stick I picked up had a furry coating. So, as we hiked, my human was concentrating on the scenery while I focused on rearranging all the fallen furry branches in the area. Each to their own, as the saying goes.

My human was impressed with my ability to discover ideal wild camping spots. Every so often along the side of the forestry track, there is a small layby, passing, or turning point. I would find them and have a sniff around before looking at my human and ‘asking’ if he wanted to pitch there. I have learned this on previous trails, and my human always praises me before saying yes or no. I can tell if humans had camped there before by having a good sniff.

We were back on the forestry track. It was muddy and churned up by the massive tree cutting vehicles that we had seen parked up previously.

The views were really starting to open up as we plodded on through the muddy track. The day was starting to warm up. It was actually 1⁰C by late morning as the sun finally showed its face above the mountains and warmed us up a little bit. We stopped for a spell while my human filtered some water from a fast flowing stream to make himself a Mug Shot. I had a snack of come ham slices that he had stashed in his rucksack. I didn’t need a drink as I topped up by drinking from the many streams en route.

My human had taken my fleece off as the sun started to shine on us. I took this as my signal to splash in every muddy puddle, much to his disapproval. I tried to smile for him to distract him from the fact that I was now filthy and wet through. Well, he should have had me groomed before the trip, but he was more concerned about me keeping warm, so I was wearing a big fluffy coat that attracted mud and water. His fault!

By the way, I told him not to show that photograph to anyone, but he disobeyed me. What goes around comes around. Be very afraid, human!

We spent some time dawdling along the banks of Loch Bienn a’ Mheadhoin enjoying the views and the quality sniffing in the undergrowth. My human had decided to walk to Glen Affric car park and to walk a mile or so past it to look for a suitable wild camping spot.

Continuing along the side of the loch, the walking was easy as the path was flat and the weather conditions were just right. It was cold but dry and still. The mountains on the northern side of the loch looked beautiful as the sun was casting shadows on the fresh snow.

We stopped a few times to admire the ruggedness of the towering mountains that we were heading for. It was so quiet, just the sound of the birds in the trees. No wind, no rain and eerily, no people. We hadn’t seen a single person or a pooch since we left Cannich.

One thing that certainly is in good supply in this area is water. The waters of Allt an Laghair were icy cold as they headed to the loch. We, on the other paw, were rushing towards the end of the loch where there is a car park on the opposite banks. Ice cold rain started to fall. Fortunately, it wasn’t heavy and didn’t last for long. It was almost 4 pm, so we decided to miss the car park and continue for another twenty minutes or so to find a suitable wild camping spot.

We headed uphill, and I found a spot where people had left the trail. About twenty yards into the forest, my human spotted a small clearing where people had obviously camped previously. There was a fast flowing stream nearby, making this spot a promising choice. My human checked the trees for any that looked unsafe and for dodgy ‘widowmaker’ loose branches. The air was still, and the forecast on his InReach was for a cold but still night. The spot was ideal after he cleared an area from the odd twig.

His first job was to erect the tent inner because it was still a bit damp from the previous night. He found a suitable branch to drape the outer over to air a little. Meanwhile, I followed him to the stream while he filled a two litre water carrier and his water filter. I had a slurp from the stream. Wow, it was cold.

On our return, my human pitched the tent and sorted out our sleeping kits. We both settled into the comfort and warmth of our tent. The temperature had dropped to below freezing, so he gave me some snacks while he made a coffee for himself.

We both had a relaxing couple of hours lying in the tent and keeping warm. Later, my human rehydrated a barbecue pulled pork meal and a portion of custard for his evening meal. I stayed snug on my mat and in my dry fleece with his coat wrapped around me while he prepared and ate his food. Not long after he had devoured 1500 calories, or so he wrapped himself up in his sleeping bag and was snoring like a warthog!

I think that I had found us a nice little camping spot, tucked away in the woods. Anyway, that was what my human said. Tomorrow would be a totally different day. We would be swapping the woodland for more open country. We would also be swapping the forestry track for mountain paths. The scenery would be epic as we headed towards Kintail. We were excited and apprehensive as the challenge was becoming real. The area is remote with no roads, no people, no communication except for the satellite device, and no turning back as we would be halfway between inhabited areas. We couldn’t wait.

Day 3 of our hike will appear as a separate blog. Till next time!