Glenfinnan to Cape Wrath Part 3: Strathcarron to Gairloch via Torridon and Opinan

Continuing the epic struggle north from Strathcarron onwards to Torridon.

With special guest star Rob, and some goats.

Inspiration, or copying other people's bad ideas.

I have already stressed the importance, and the fun, of planning your own routes, but where should you get your ideas from?

Merely wishing to subject your expensive and fragile pride and joy to that special blend of acidic gritty mud that makes up most Highland singletrack is not enough, you need something to ride TO (unless you're also a building services engineer, in which case you already have sufficient FROM).

Here I provide a handy reference guide to some of the inspirations for my best or most misguided forays into the hills.

Glenfinnan to Cape Wrath Part 2: Glen Shiel, The Falls of Glomach and Torridon

The second installment of my 2011 attempt to ride an adapted version of the Cape Wrath trail. Already struggling after two days I headed into some famous riding territory between Glen Shiel and Glen Affric

The joy of Maps

If several long, painful, soggy wet misadventures in the Highlands has taught me anything, it has taught me that the two best bits of any trip are typically:

1. Planning the trip (ideally over several nights and glasses of wine) and
2. Talking about the trip endlessly once you've finished.

Since you have to earn Number 2 via all that tedious mucking about outside in the rain, it is all the more important to savour Number 1.

Glenfinnan to Cape Wrath Part 1: The Rough Bounds

So this was it, this was the trip that all my other trips had merely been practice for.

Meticulously planned, thoroughly researched, and endlessly talked about (by me, to anyone who would listen).

Glenfinnan to Cape Wrath via as many of Northwest Scotland's best trails, most exciting hills and bothies as possible.

Or so I'd hoped.

You will need... Pt.1

Salaries are annoying. They clutter up your bank account and raise the expectations of friends and loved ones alike. Your best bet is to treat your salary as a sort of financial 'hot potato' and move it along as fast as possible, to let someone else worry about.

What better way to do this than to invest in some high tech backpacking and camping gear? Don't let the protests of your significant other put you off, after all, these aren't just expensive toys, this stuff is bona-fide 'survival equipment' and as such no expense should be spared.

(For a handy guide to further excuses, check out the excellent 'Fat Cyclist')

Part 1. The tent(s).

Panoramas!

This is not a photography blog, my photos exist despite my photography skills, not because of them.

However, a happy combination of the photo stitch mode on my old Canon SX200 (shows the edge of the previous photo to allow you to line up your next photo) Microsoft's free ICE software (image composite editor) and the free online photo editor pixlr.com allowed me to produce a few pleasing panoramic photos in about 2 minutes per photo.