When I was young I used to go to the cubs. It was like scouts but for the younger kids. Beavers – for the even younger kids – hadn’t been invented yet. Yes, I’m that old.

Anyway, there are two main things I remember from my time at cubs. The first was that the jumper we had to wear for the uniform was incredibly itchy. I’m not sure if it was just me, as all the other kids seemed fine with it, but I honestly couldn’t stand it. I found the material almost unbearable on my skin. It made me not really enjoy going.

Although there were probably other reasons as well. I never really did fit in with the other kids. I spent most of my childhood thinking I was not quite right. A bit ugly. Not very sporty – always the last to be picked for games.

Thinking about it. It wasn’t just my cubs uniform. I was the same with my school uniform at high school. We had to wear shirt and ties and I remember my shirts all being really scratchy and uncomfortable. There was only one shirt I liked to wear as it was old and had been washed hundreds of times. All the others felt like I was wearing sandpaper. I didn’t enjoy high school. Don’t feel bad for me though. University was great, my 30s even better. 40s, well really getting to know and like myself. And so far, my 50s have been amazing.

I just wish I could go back in time and talk to that little boy, with his scratchy cubs jumper, and tell him it was all going to work out.

Anyway, I digress. The other thing I remember about cubs is that when we got home there was a tv series on the BBC called ‘The day of the triffids’. It was really scary. Well for an 8 year old anyway. And looking at the massive seaweed on the beach today it reminded me of that program. And then the itchy jumper. And then everything else.

It’s funny, because it didn’t really look like a triffid, but set my mind in motion for the next hour or so.

Time for a re-org

No, not the type of re-org that my last employer liked to do. This was related to my rucksack.

It’s funny because I’ve been doing these hikes now for a while. Got lots of day, and nights, under my belt. And I got really good at organising my kit on the SWCP. I had a system that worked and seemed efficient. But because I’ve changed my rucksack, it’s like I’ve had to learn it all over again.

So I was glad that I’d used the bunk house as it’d given me a chance to empty everything out, dry anything that was wet, and start again with my organisation. I wasn’t being very efficient as some items, already in dry bags, I had also within my pack liner. This meant they were hard to get to, and also taking up valuable space in the liner which they did not need. This in turn put other items that needed to stay dry and weren’t in dry bags at risk of getting wet.

There were other changes as well. For example, I can now reach my water filter and bottle without taking my pack off. Which is very handy.

I think I’ve got it all set up better now. I’m always making mistakes and learning. One day I might get it right first time.

When I left the bunk house I was feeling a lot happier. A nice organised pack, dry clothes, even a dry tent. And it wasn’t raining.

A tinge of regret

Despite my plan to now follow the cycle route instead of the walking trail I decided to just the trail one more go. I could see that it followed the coast rather than heading over hills so thought it worth a go.

And I was so pleased I did.

The first 10 miles were great. There were a few parts that were a little flooded but generally the ground was firm. I was really happy to finally be making some progress without worrying about every step. The sun even came out and I could see mountains on distant islands. This was the walk I was looking forward to.

Don’t get me wrong. I do like a challenge. But I was glad to have an easy few miles where I could enjoy the scenery and stay dry. There were moments of rain occasionally but not for long. Dark clouds did hang over the mountains to my east but they seemed stuck there – which I was pleased about.

The only slight niggle was that I did regret not going back to the start of the island. Now I knew this path was good I thought that maybe the start would have been as well. I’ll try not to dwell on it. It was only a few miles so I’ll try to fill it in on a future trip.

Yep, still boggy

Eventually my good path ended and I got back to the main road near Loch Bun an Ligidh. The path goes straight over the road and then winds round various bodies of water. Eventually heading back to the same road a few miles north.

The safe option would have been to walk the road. That’s the way the cycles go. I could see a lot of water so figured it might be boggy, but I had spoke to a nice man earlier in the day and he said there had been work on the paths. Although he said he didn’t know how effective it would be.

I decided to risk it. I was 2 hours away from having to camp so didn’t really want to be stuck on a road, although I didn’t want to be stuck in a peat bog either. But off the road seemed more likely to yield a spot. So, on balance, seemed the better option.

I don’t regret the decision. The path had broken down in a lot of places and some of it was quite hard to pass with broken walkways which were worrying. But I did appreciate the effort that had gone into the path –

many sections were perfect.

Unfortunately though it does need more work and some repair. It was good enough though and I got across it in one piece with only slightly damp feet.

I chalked it up as a success.

Another early stop

On tarmac now, after the boggy section, I was heading back to the main road. I really wanted to walk for another hour but that would have involved reaching the main road and then heading off to another path with questionable integrity. I’d done enough decisions for the day – and also the rain had been coming and going for the last hour and it looked like some more was due.

Either side of the road I was walking on were marshes so nowhere to pitch a tent but I noticed at some of the passing points (this was a very narrow road) there were small patches of grass. These seemed to be getting bigger with each point, so when I saw one big enough to pitch my tent, I went for it.

It’s a bit near to the road, but I’ve been here for 6 hours now and only a handful of cars have gone by, so I think it’s ok. I’ve got a nice view of a loch and I’ve justified the early finish because I didn’t stop for lunch.

I’m not sure that makes sense but that’s what I’m going for.