Day 5 - Drumnadrochit To Glen Mazeran

We had an easy night last night laying around, updating the blog, and eating fresh fruit and veggies - yum!! We turned in around 11:00 and set our alarm for 6:15 so that we could be at the ferry (about 3.5 km away) for 8:00. We were super-excited because we thought we would get to see our friend Peter and his two boys, Cody and Tyrell there.

The weather looked promising when we got up, and we were away from the B&B (without breakfast because it was too early 😢), by 6:50. We made it to the ferry at Temple Pier at 7:35 for the 8:00 crossing which turned out to be the 8:30 crossing. We waited around with a couple of ducks who befriended us.

Our New Friends!!

Gordon, the ferry operator showed up around 8:20 to get things ready. His commute is about a 20 meter walk - not bad!! We had a good chat. Gordon plays a vital role in the TGOC crossing. If you look at a map of Scotland you will see that Loch Ness is a huge obstacle to walking across the country west to east, since it runs about 36 km in a north-south direction. Gordon’s ferry trip from Drumnadrochit on the West banks to Inverfairigang on the East banks is one of only a few approved mechanical assists for challengers. He told us he has taken about 105 challengers across Loch Ness this year with us being the last trip. He is a legend in the TGOC circle, and it was an honour for us to meet him!

A few minutes later Peter and his boys came strolling down to the pier. Amanda didn’t miss a beat and stood up to sing Oh, Canada! at the top of her lungs to bring them in. Everybody had a good laugh! 🤣 It was so nice to see Peter again, and to see our first Challengers so far this crossing - we were the last five to leave Torridon, so we likely won’t see too many more.

The Ferry

Gordon And The Five Canadian Challengers

As we pulled out of the pier, Gordon pointed out that one of our duck friends was coming along for the ride, standing on the back platform of the boat. We then noticed that our other duck friend was in hot pursuit! She caught up and landed right beside the other duck. They were both rewarded by Gordon with a piece of bread to split. It was a pretty amazing sight!!

The 20-minute ride flew by because we were all catching up on each-others route so far. We were relieved to hear that Peter and the boys have had some of the same struggles we have so far. Unfortunately for them they are struggling with bad blisters. They may modify their route a bit to help themselves deal with their feet. Unfortunately we were not able to walk with them today, as they had a shorter day and were going to take some time in Inverfairigang to cook breakfast and tend to their wounds. We may see them again in a few days because our routes will cross in Glen Avon. It was so nice to see them and catch up, and I really hope to see them again in Glen Avon.
Today was going to be one of our bigger days of walking - 30 km, 975m ascent. The first 12 km was on the road through Errogie (birth place of the perogy, Joyce?? 😆) to Aberarder House, and did not feel that great. We were not sure if 30 km was going to happen at that point. We did have a good laugh when the call of nature had Amanda stop in a less than ideal stretch of road. Wouldn’t you know it, after seeing nobody for the longest time two cyclists came by at the worst moment!! We all had a good laugh, and they were both gentlemen about it. Some times you just can’t win!! 🤷🏻‍♀️
As we turned off the road on to trail we decided to take a break and get our boots off for a little bit. We made our second salami and cheese flatbread of the day, and enjoyed the sun, and the lack of cars zooming by. This must have helped because we couldn’t be stopped after that. We had a sizeable climb into the Monadhliath Mountains alongside Allt Mor.  We had a quick FaceTime with our good friend Sarah half way up - she gave us a good pep talk that kept us going. There was a stone dining hut near the top where we stopped for a quick snack and water refill.

Stone Hut

Snack/Break Time

From there we had a 2 km off trail peat hag and heather bashing session. As far as that type of waking goes it was in amazingly dry condition for this time of year, but it definitely took a lot out of us. It took us an hour and a half to complete it, but then we were back on track for the rest of the way into Glen Mazeran. Mandy’s thoughts - BRUTAL!!!🤬 JM’s thoughts - that went pretty well. 🤣

We were a little disappointed to find the glen where we are staying full of sheep, but we have made the best of it. We are pitched up in a small type of gravel pit on the side of the trail. We are protected from the wind but have noticed a sheep on the top rim of the pit, who has been kicking small gravel down towards us. I think there might be a boulder or two sent our way in the night if we are not careful!🤣

Tonight’s Camp Site

We are planning to go an extra 6 or 7 km again tomorrow into Aviemore, and May stay at the campground - will keep everybody posted.

Amanda is asleep already and I’m headed there too.  Goodnight everybody, and thanks for reading!!

Nighty-Night!!!

Dinner: Rice pilaf with curry mango chicken skewers. JM dessert - Belvita chocolate chip bar.

Heath update:
Mandy - mentally disturbed 🤪, blisters stable but not yet improved
JM - blisters improving, knee good today

Highlight of day: Another RAF Typhoon flyby over the Monadhliath mountains - hope it wasn’t another Russian bogie!!😳

Mandy future crossing update: Still not happening.🤣 Mandy thinks being on vacay with our friend Jay Hotte sounds better - she is currently exploring Italy, enjoying the culture and food.
Future route-vetter if Mandy does do another crossing will be our good friend Howard - his pre-crossing assessment of the current route was WHOA, EPIC SQUARED!!! Right on the money, Howard!!

Day 5 Route - 29.5 km, 975 m ascent