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I'm having a go at doing a winter round of the Highland Trail leaving Sunday 1st of Dec.
More info and trackleaders below.
Cheers
Rich
Trackleaders Winter HT550 page.
In case you run into problems within driving distance of Dingwall, PM me and I'll give you my phone number.
As you know conditions can change really fast, but that's what makes it fun. 🙂
Thanks Brian.
..... the lengths people will go to in order to avoid the midges... 😂
Should be fine weather for some fantastic pictures via your IG please.
Enjoy 👍
Buck, me it's cold enough in the Shire right now, no wonder he has a beard. I hope he has a warm sleeping mat!
Like button.
If only Rapha could film it for us.
Best of luck .
I wonder if he's aiming for Ben Alder cottage tonight?
How many hours of daylight in December?
How many hours of daylight in December?
Just under 7!
Officially 7 hours between sunrise and sunset but there's quite a bit of leeway depending on the weather/sky. It was "light" fairly late this afternoon/evening as it was so clear.
Can't believe it's officially 7 hours! Years ago when regularly staying in the Glasgow area during Winter, it wasn't unusual for it to take until 10.00 am to see daylight. Is there likely to be snow over much of the route?
Talking of light, there must be some logistics involved with what to use as well as getting it/them charged. Presumably there's reduced opening times for cafes and shops, if they open at all?
What a bonkers challenge!
I wonder if he’s aiming for Ben Alder cottage tonight?
He's just about to get to the end of the track by Loch Ericht, maybe an hour to the cottage. My daylight times from there to Culra vary from 1hr40 to 3hrs40, the latter was in winter. I think he'll stop at the cottage.
I think he’ll stop at the cottage.
That's his plan - bothies rather than wild camping just because it's less kit to carry. he set off later than planned today due to various trains being cancelled last night on his way up there and the journey taking much longer than anticipated. He was originally planning a 7am start today but it got shifted back to 9am.
Talking of light, there must be some logistics involved with what to use as well as getting it/them charged.
He reckoned he had just over 100hrs of lighting power with him plus whatever he can top up with charging en-route. Not sure if the bike he's on has dynamo lights or not TBH.
Looking at that shot above it would appear no dynamo - you can see the front hub.
His dot has done quite well in the last couple of hours.
Hard, hard bastard! Good luck.
I think he's turned around, the dot seems to be further back than it was yesterday....
if you click show full history hes definitely going backwards .... i wonder if hes dropped something essential on trail ? here's hoping hes not just going back to the start
I guess on the good side a lot of the ground will be frosty with a bit of luck. And it just takes a bit of a warmer sleeping bag! I might have gone for spiked tyres, too.
Still, a bit of a big ask. Good luck, I hope the apparent reversal is just a temporary blip!
Possible that yesterday's fall has caused a niggly injury, or maybe just that conditions are too difficult. If he is heading back to Tyndrum then Rannoch Station might be an option.
I guess on the good side a lot of the ground will be frosty with a bit of luck
Temperatures "soared" overnight (5C here) so it's more likely to be wet now.
Does look odd, but definitley looks like he's retracing his steps. but even if he was scratching you'd expect an early start to get back to Tyndrum in daylight?
It was -3 riding into work this morning in Sub Tropical Berkshire, must be cold where he is!
Looking at the trail and the map,. he's either heading to the road to get the train at Corrour, or retracing to picke something up. As above, he did have a fall yesterday so something cound have dropped out or he could have hurt himself more than he realsied at the time
The weather forecast isn't great now, especially Thursday. Even now it's warmed up a lot and there's bands of rain sweeping across - I think a bit further north than where is is right now but carrying on into bad weather potentially with an injury from yesterday wouldn't be a good plan.
Looking at the trail and the map,. he’s either heading to the road to get the train at Corrour,
There are two trains from Rannoch he can get today, he's not far off there.
From where he is, it's easiest to get to Rannoch station, basically retrace back to Bridge of Gaur then up the road.
Rannoch it is then
Yeah, he's on the road to Rannoch now. About 6 miles to the station from Bridge of Gaur.
The next train south isn't until 18:38 so he has a bit of hanging around. There does seem to be a bike space on the train though 🙂
The next train south isn’t until 18:38 so he has a bit of hanging around.
There's one at 15.12 to Fort William according to Trainline...?
That would be north then?
Still, it might be warmer sitting on the train to FW then back to Tyndrum than hanging around at Rannoch for 5 hours.
That would be north then?
Ah that minor detail...?
I was assuming he'd head to FW for some food and then back. Save him hanging around Rannoch, the cafe there is closed now, there's nothing else there!
Yeah. If I was sure of getting on the train back south, that's what I would do.
Gets into FW at 16.09 so gives him just under 90 mins in FW station before the Glasgow service leaves. More than enough time to nip next door to Morrison's or McDonald's!
Let's be optimistic. He might have broken the bike so could get to Nevis Cycles, get it fixed, train to Tyndrum and start again...
cinnamon_girl
Subscriber
Can’t believe it’s officially 7 hours! Years ago when regularly staying in the Glasgow area during Winter, it wasn’t unusual for it to take until 10.00 am to see daylight.
It think your memory is playing tricks on you, you'll always be daylight before 9am. Might be dull, but that's still daylight! 😆
Lastest sunrise in the glasgow area is 8:47. Earliest sunset is 15:42.
1968 to 1971 we stayed on BST during the winter, so it was definitely darker later in the mornings.
Of course, I'd never ask a lady her age.
It think your memory is playing tricks on you, you’ll always be daylight before 9am. Might be dull, but that’s still daylight! 😆
Lastest sunrise in the glasgow area is 8:47. Earliest sunset is 15:42.
"Daylight" being how one interprets it!
Anyway, very bad luck to Richpips and hope you heal well. Well done nevertheless!
That's a shame.
There's next year though. 🙂
There’s next year though.
Winter has barely started..
1968 to 1971 we stayed on BST during the winter, so it was definitely darker later in the mornings.
Of course, I’d never ask a lady her age.
No, would have been later than that scotroutes.
Whilst on the topic of Scotland, I've been enjoying the Grand Tour series on the islands via i-player. Was surprised at the population of some of the little islands and a shame that buildings, together with some contents, were just left abandoned. Also the film about the Skye bridge charges was an eyeopener with a sterling effort by the protesting islanders. Some real characters amongst them!
I htink someone else is planning a winter HT550 attempt and Richpips was hoping to be first in - but, yes, there's a few months of winter left
He's in Fort William, stopping the night there which was always going to be more realistic than trying to head south overnight - or ending up in Glasgow at nearly 10pm trying to find somewhere to stay.
At least now he's got accommodation, plentiful re-supplies, hot food and a night's rest.
I guess he'll update this thread at some point.
Was fun watching his dot today though, trying to second guess where he was going!
Whilst on the topic of Scotland, I’ve been enjoying the Grand Tour series on the islands via i-player. Was surprised at the population of some of the little islands and a shame that buildings, together with some contents, were just left abandoned.
I'm reading a book called The Frayed Atlantic Edge at the moment - it's about a guy doing a kayak trip all the way down the Atlantic coast from Shetland, down through Orkney and then along the top of Scotland and down the Western Isles. He writes a lot about the histories of the islands as he goes, some amazing and poignant stories. I do love Scotland although not enough to attempt a HT550 at any time of year!
On my way home today. Super icy conditions on Sunday. I took a number of falls. Bruising I can cope with, but one of my knees took a proper whack making it painful to push hard on the pedals or walk.
It was great while it lasted.
Respect, and thank you for boggling my mind. I'm a bit of a local but wouldn't have considered a winter packing route quite so complex, lengthy & exposed! Enjoy the recovery and pleased to see that you extracted yourself safely.
Oh, @cinnamon_girl, I checked out the sunrise this morning it was 9:32 before it rose over the Cairngorms.
It's going to get interesting up here.
Inverness and the Highlands could be under snow as deep as 10 inches by the end of next week according to our local paper.
Anyone thinking of doing a winter HT550 better check before leaving.
Of course, some would say that Winter hasn't actually started yet... 😉
We haven't had a proper winter for a few years now.
If we're getting 10" of snow, it could be about to get more interesting.
Inverness and the Highlands could be under snow as deep as 10 inches by the end of next week according to our local paper.
Have you been reading the Daily Express weather pages? The ones that quite routinely shout doom-laden warnings about the WORST winter in 100 YEARS! to hit? Which means it'll be mild and damp.
It's nowhere close to cold enough for snow to settle, never mind 10" of the stuff; it's up in double figures across the UK, maybe high single figures for Scotland for the reasonably forecastable future.
Accuweather has daily highs of 2-4C for next week around Aviemore. Not much precipitation though.
Metcheck has daily highs of -6 to -3C for the same period. Likely it'll fall between the two.
crazy-legs
...Have you been reading the Daily Express weather pages?
No, the Inverness Courier.
This is what can happen very quickly https://phased.co.uk/the-highland-trail-first-winter-attempt/
DavidB
This is what can happen very quickly https://phased.co.uk/the-highland-trail-first-winter-attempt//a >
I've been overnighted near the top of the Corrieyairack by a blizzard in August. I hate to think what it could be like in proper winter snow.