TGO Challenge 2012 - The Route

Thursday 10th May - Day Zero

Actually day minus one will involve us driving from Yorkshire up to Glasgow and stopping with some pals for the night, day zero will be the real start to our adventure.

I’ll probably get no sleep at all from being so excited, I know that for a fact, but we have to be up fairly early and get a lift with Stuart to Queen Street station in time for our 10:10 train to the wild west. Here I expect to meet a good number of fellow Challengers and we’ll soon be hearing tales of previous crossings no doubt, the train journey is a bit of a slog but there should be some great views along the way.

We’ll switch trains at Inverness and then head south west towards our start point at Shiel Bridge, to be more accurate we’ll be getting off at Kyle of Lochalsh and then figuring out the last bit for ourselves. Hopefully there’ll be a bus or taxi, failing that it’s thumbing and praying for a lift, worst case scenario we’ll pitch up the tents somewhere and wait for a bus to come by the next morning.






Friday 11th May - Day One

Shiel Bridge to Glen Affric

14.53 miles

775 metres of ascent

Shiel Bridge campsite NG938186 – Glenlicht House NH006173 – Camban NH053184 Alltbeithe NH080202 – Glen Affric ruin NH110207




Saturday 12th May - Day Two

Glen Affric to Coille an Tuathanaich

14.76 miles

559 metres of ascent

Glen Affric ruin NH110207 – Athnamulloch NH133206 – Allt Garbh – Cougie - Coille an Tuathanaich NH289230

Sunday 13th May - Day Three

Coille an Tuathanaich to Fort Augustus

17.09 miles

737 metres of ascent

Coille an Tuathanaich NH289230 – Lochan Seogh NH294189 – Dundreggan – Fort Augustus campsite NH372085






Monday 14th May - Day Four
Fort Augustus to Melgarve

12.38 miles

913 metres of ascent

Fort Augustus campsite NH372085 – Blackburn bothy NH382029 – Corrieyairack Pass – Melgarve bothy NN468951

Tuesday 15th May - Day Five

Melgarve to Glentruim

15.78 miles

372 metres of ascent

Melgarve bothy NN468951 – Garva Bridge – Sherrabeg NN568930 – Laggan – Glentruim campsite NN688951

Wednesday 16th May - Day Six

Glentruim to Ruigh-aiteachain bothy

16.77 miles

546 metres of ascent

Glentruim campsite NN688951 – General Wades Road – Ruthven barracks – Woods of Glentromie – Killiehuntly – Baileguish NN824981 – Stronetoper – Ruigh-aiteachain bothy NN846 928

Thursday 17th May - Day Seven

Ruigh-aiteachain to White Bridge

13.96 miles

588 metres of ascent

Ruigh-aiteachain bothy NN846 928 – Geldie Lodge NN957870 – Geldie Burn – White Bridge NO019885

Friday 18th May - Day Eight

White Bridge to Braemar

9.94 miles

248 metres of ascent

White Bridge NO019885 – Lin of Dee – Inverey – Braemar campsite NO154909

Saturday 19th May - Day Nine

Rest day (pub)

0.00 miles

0 metres of ascent

Sunday 20th May - Day Ten
Braemar to Glas-allt-Shiel

14.91 miles

865 metres of ascent

Braemar campsite NO154909 – Bridge of Dee – Garbh Allt Shiel NO197908 – Feith an Laoigh NO230897 – Gelder Shiel – Coire na Ciche NO273869 – Glas-allt-Shiel NO277825

Monday 21st May - Day Eleven
Glas-allt-Shiel to Tarfside

16.97 miles

755 metres of ascent

Glas-allt-Shiel NO277825 – Spittal of Glenmuick – Shielin of Mark – Muckle Cairn – Glen Lee – Tarfside NO494796

Tuesday 22nd May - Day Twelve

Tarfside to North Water Bridge

16.64 miles

318 metres of ascent

Tarfside NO494796 – Corharncross NO513782 – Holmhead NO563775 – Gannochy – North Water Bridge campsite NO649664

Wednesday 23rd May - Day Thirteen

Tarfside to North Water Bridge

16.64 miles

318 metres of ascent

North Water Bridge campsite NO649664 – Broomley – Morphie – St Cyrus

Thursday 24th May – Day Fourteen

Bus from St Cyrus to Montrose – checkout and then grab the train back to Glasgow

TGO Challenge 2012

The TGO Challenge 2012

About The Challenge

The TGO Challenge is an annual self-supported walking event across the Highlands of Scotland, west coast to east coast. It started in 1980 and was the brainchild of the well-known writer and mountaineer, Hamish Brown.

Challengers are responsible for planning their own routes; all routes are checked by experienced vetters, who offer comments which may assist in final planning. Routes can be high or low level or a mixture of both. This flexibility in the route you take, combined with the large geographical area available, is one of the unique features of the Challenge.

There are 12 permitted start points on the west coast. They are:

Ardrishaig, Oban, Acharacle, Lochailort, Arisaig,Mallaig, Glenelg, Shiel Bridge, Dornie, Strathcarron, Plockton, Torridon. You can finish anywhere between Fraserburgh and Arbroath in the east, all participants have to report to the control centre in Montrose once they have finished.

The TGO Challenge is entirely non-competitive (although, on finishing, Challengers receive a special badge, certificate and T-shirt). A maximum of 15 days is allowed for the crossing. Most people take between 12 and 14 days to cross, and the average length for a crossing is about 180 miles.

Our Challenge

As this is our first attempt we’ve opted for a fairly steady route, starting at Shiel Bridge we won’t be alone for the first few days. Our path will take us through some true gems of the Scottish Highlands, Glen Affric, the Monadhliath mountains, Glen Feshie and The Cairngorms. Terrain will be a mixture of high heather moorland and low lying bogs with a few nice tracks for good measure, some will be horrific too.

We’ll be camping every night unless we’re forced to seek something warm and cosy if the weather turns, wild camping all the way with proper campsites at three day intervals, these will be our resupply pickups and also a chance to get a shower and wash some stinky clothes.

Our days will average at around fifteen miles, some will be shorter and some will be torture.

More TGO Training in the Lakes

Monday 19^th March

This was to be another practice for our fast approaching TGO Challenge in May, I had a few days holiday at work to use up so hatched a rough plan with Mick to head for the Lakes. We hadn’t plotted a route at all for this one, we were just going to get some miles in with plenty of ascents and descents and test some new gear in the process.

The drive across the Dales was pleasant and we made good time arriving at the car park at lunchtime, we were loaded up and away shortly after. Ten minutes down the trail and we had to stop to remove some layers, although it wasn’t exactly sunny it was very mild when out of the wind.

We checked out a camp spot we’d noticed on the walk out the last time we were here, although it was fairly level and dryish under foot the wind was cutting straight through the clearing, we pushed on for another half a mile ending up at a site we’d used before. We got the shelters up and spent the rest of the evening sampling the dehydrated meals we’d made and generally lolly gagging around camp. We gathered a few bits of firewood from the forestry works left overs and built a little fire in the lee of a root system of a windblown pine. Pretty much as soon as the kindling had taken the wind picked up and the heavens opened, we retreated to my Trailstar to look at some maps and plan a route for the next day, we called it a night after the rain didn’t look to be easing.

Camp for night one

Tuesday 20^th March

I didn’t get much sleep through the night, I seemed to be constantly fighting with my Elite AC as it made its way into a hollow at the foot end of my bivvy bag, more silicon stripes required I think. We packed up in the mist and cold and made our way up the valley to our path.

Packed up and doing the final checks before we left

On our way

Looking back to where we’d camped, pretty much in the centre of the shot

Our path went up

.. and up

We crested the hill and began to drop down into the next valley

As luck would have it and totally unplanned (honest) we passed a pub, a pub which happened to serve food all day and had a nice wood fire burning inside, we felt obliged to stop

Leaving the pub a short while later after consuming beef and onion sarnies with chips and salad, we headed down the valley and checked ourselves into the NT campsite (all part of the TGO training of course). Shelters up we took a walk down to the nearby lake

Looking back to camp, just right of centre in the pines

My Trailstar pitched on a proper campsite, it got a few looks as folk walked by

We spent the evening enjoying more homemade dehydrated meals and making use of the facilities, namely the shower, water on tap and washing up.

Wednesday 21^st March

This was to be our longest day for sure, it was my turn to navigate and in usual Shewie fashion I’d chosen a route with some testing climbs along the way. We were packed up in fairly good time (we’re getting better anyway)and then headed up the valley once again to find our new path.

Climbing up

Half way up the first ascent

Viking sheep apparently

We stopped at Alfred Wainrights’ resting place for lunch

Getting a brew on

Some great views from the tops

We’d planned to camp up high for the night but after spending some time up there in the afternoon we realised our summer gear wasn’t quite up to the predicted temperature. The wind was constant too and as we sat and had lunch we were both layering up again, despite the warmth of the sun the wind was bitter cold, With the likelihood of clear skies and plummeting temps we headed back down off the tops and made our way back to our first camp. The valley was really sheltered when we dropped down and a real sun trap at camp, the mossies and midges were making a first appearance too. We spent the night sat around a small fire, really feeling the benefit once the sun had disappeared for the day. The sky was lit up with stars and satellites, we spent quite a while with our heads craned back taking it all in.

Thursday 22^nd March

It was cold that night, really cold, I woke around 07:30 to ice on the inside of my tarp. We’d spent some time levelling out the divots and clearing the rocks from our pitches so we both slept much better than the first night here. By the time I’d woken up the sun had risen over the mountain behind us and I was just starting to feel the warmth, five minutes later the ice on my tarp had completely melted. I spent ten minutes wiping the tarp down with my mini pack towel and then got up. I was in ninja mode around camp as I thought Mick might’ve had a cold night in his Softie 3 and would appreciate a lie-in in the sun, I wasn’t wrong either as it turned out.

Morning sun catching the tarp

Morning brew time

Some pics of a stunning camp

It was getting on for 10:00 by the time Mick surfaced, right enough he’d had a cold night but was pleased about the added warmth he’d got from the cotton liner he picked up the day before. Neither of us were in any kind of hurry to get away, the sun was high, the wind was nill and we rarely got to enjoy the Lakes on days like this, it was midday when we pushed on down the valley back to the car.

Magic stuff !

The Perfect Trees

Thursday 23rd February


As has become the norm lately Pete and I were heading north for some hammock time in the piney woods, rather than waste a days holiday driving up we made a plan to head off at night and crash out in the van at the destination. The journey was fairly uneventful, the road works on A1 are starting to get shorter at long last, a twelve mile detour near Darlington meant we lost that time though. The A68 through Northumberland felt very bleak in the darkness but I think we only counted a handful of other cars on the stretch.
I’m not sure what time we reached the car park but it was gone 02:00 for sure, we had a quick brew and some munchies and got our heads down for a few hours until daylight. Pete opted to empty some gear from the van and get his Exped mat down in the back, I curled up on the front seat and surprisingly got a decent kip.



Friday 24th February


Sleeping in a car is never great but I had managed to sleep straight through until the daylight started to appear, another car had parked nearby and the sound of closing doors was enough to get me up.  I made good use of the amenities to hand (composting bog in the car park) and then gave Pete a shout, I needed coffee and porridge.

Slowly getting the kit unloaded

And we’re off into the piney woods

Hand railing a river all the way up the glen until we reached a ford

Just after the ford we branched right and into an area which Pete had described as a lost world, the heather was banked above head height so it would be a while before we reached the good bits.

Stopping for a brew break next to a small stream

Finding a few trees to sling the hammocks to wasn’t a problem, finding safe pitches without 100ft dead pines leaning over was another matter. We tried one pitch on a corner just where the valley narrows, after ten minutes of fighting the wind with the tarp I spat the dummy and declared we should move while we still had some daylight. We found a great patch in a secluded area right next to the river, nicely sheltered from the winds swinging around from the west.

We spent the night eating and drinking coffee, with a few slurps of rum to keep the chill off. Pete had packed his hobo stove so we had something to keep us busy, dry firewood was easy to get and plenty of Scots pine meant it was bright and hot.

Saturday 25th February

Despite messing about with borrowed cord the night before I’d managed to get the hammock setup nicely on the two Scots pines next to the water. I was up before Pete and was on my second brew before he appeared, he’d slept like a log too he said.

Morning Pete

My new camo Superfly looking pretty damn sexy

Looking north from the camp site

Looking south from the camp site

Some pics from around camp

Saturday PM we went for a bimble up the glen to explore past the tree line

Heading back to the woods

On the way back to camp we went for a look around in the woods further up the hill, I think this was the lost world place that Pete was talking about

Saturday night was a repeat of Friday really, eating, drinking and putting wood on the hobo, I think it was around 02:00 when we called it a night.

Sunday 26th February

After the late night I think it was gone 09:00 when I woke up, I cracked on the Jetboil while I went to water the plants, just timing it nicely on the way back to a rolling boil. I dug out my ipod and stuck on some tunes while I chilled out in the hammock with my brew, I dozed off again but only for ten minutes or so, the hot coffee had gone straight through me so I was sticking my boots on again fast.

Pete got up half an hour or so after me, we had porridge for breakfast and cinnamon and caramel coffees. We lazily packed up and headed out of the woods, there was a bit of mizzle at first but we were soon into the sunshine, so much for extreme cold weather camping this year.

Looking back to where we’d been, just dodging the worst of it by the looks.

The intrepid explorers

We spent the afternoon wandering back down the six miles or so back to the van, we did a shop run reloading with supplies and stuffing our faces with cakes and milk. From the new parking spot we headed for a path we’d not explored before, looking out for the perfect trees meant we ended up at a spot we’d seen on our last outing in the snow. It took some getting to but we just made it before it got too dark. The trees were huge, my 9ft straps and 14ft whoopies were only just long enough, my 30ft tarp ridgeline needed another 6ft at each end, nice hang spot though. Pete had dragged some coal up the hill to use in the hobo but as soon as we stopped for the day the winds picked up bringing in the clouds and mizzle. We both called it a night around 22:30 I think, I was knackered but couldn’t get to sleep for ages, I was too hot in the winter quilts but too cold if I laid on top, I stuck the ipod on and listened to some War of the Worlds until I fell asleep.

Monday 27th February

It was still pretty wild when I woke up, not much chance of a doze with the tarp flapping and listening out for branches falling, I got up had a brew and took some snaps around camp

We had Soreen for breaky and more caramel coffees, packed up and headed down the river and back to the van

Kit List:

ULA Ohm 2.0 pack

WB Custom Blackbird 1.1 SL
Dynaglide Whoopies from Dutch
DIY 9ft poly tree straps with Dutch Buckles
Stein 1.8mm 30ft ridgeline with Dutch Hook and Flyz
WB Camo Superfly
UKHammocks Custom Winter top quilt with 100g overfill
Speers Snugfit under quilt
DIY sil-nylon weathershield
Snugpak pillow
10 x Alpkit Tikes

Jetboil Sol Ti

100g Primus gas cart

Alpkit Lhoon (forgot this and had to carve a spoon on day two)

MSR Ti mug

Opinel No. 8

DrinkSafe Supalite filter system

1L Source Liquitainer

750ml sports bottle

Reflectix pouch cosy

Brew kit

Pacer Poles

Zebralight H51+ spare batt

4 x Niteize Glowrings

iPod Touch

Panasonic FS35 camera

Ultrapod

Army wool headover

Berghuas Powerstretch fleece gloves

Outdoor Research Ninjaclava

Trekmates fleece beanie

Berghaus Paclite trousers

Rab Demand eVent smock

Extremities Tuff Bags mitts

Outdoor Research Transcendent down hoody

Heat Holder socks for bed

Alpkit Trekker socks

Brasher socks

Coolmax liner socks

Wearing:

Meraklon wristies

Stussy cotton cap

Paramo Velez smock

Outdoor Research Crocodile gaiters

Woolpower 200g leggings

Woolpower 200g crew zip top

Icebreaker Oasis 200 LS crew

Haglofs Rugged Mountain pants

PHD socks

Coolmax liner socks

Scarpa ZG10 with green Superfeet

Adventure Medical .5 FAK + extra meds

Small wash kit (deodorant, toothbrush/paste, mini pack towel, Dr Bronners and Gehwol foot balm)

Poop pack

Alp-poop DIY trowel

Food for four days (mixture of bought and home dehydrated meals)

Munchies

GSi hip flask containing rum

I’ll get a weight shortly when I pack for next weekend