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<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\nOthers have more ancient origins, laid down by villagers, hunters, and deer employing the wisdom of crowds. You can be pretty sure that a well-worn path is the easiest and safest way to get from Point A to Point B.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Time and farm vehicles have turned many footpaths into two-wheel tracks and maintained gravel roads.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Because much of the Highlands is unforested and undulating, it\u2019s often possible to see a path (or bits of it) far ahead. This can be a mixed blessing if your feet are sore and the pack is heavy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sometimes, however, the path ahead can be deceiving. Here, it looks like the top is in the distance. <\/p>\n\n\n\n But when you get there there\u2019s more climbing to come. <\/p>\n\n\n\n And when you get to that crest there\u2019s even more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Eventually, however, you get to the top. <\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s surprisingly easy to lose a path, at least for me. On one of the early days I was walking in a state of insufficient situational awareness on what seemed to be a path.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When I got to the place near the tree, where I expected the path to go on, this is what I saw. No path, and a slide down into the rocky river if I slipped freelancing along the fall line. While I did have a find-my-body beacon on me, I didn\u2019t want to use it, so I got onto my hands and knees and crawled up the slope. This is the view looking back once I got to a flattish area.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I worked my way farther away from the river and found the real<\/em> path. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In the woods it\u2019s easy to lose a path if the route isn\u2019t a commonly used one and well tramped-down. This where having a map on your phone with a dot showing your location by GPS comes in handy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And then there\u2019s trackless walking, which some Challengers seek to get themselves to even more isolated places or just make things more difficult. I did a little trackless walking on this crossing, one piece unplanned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I took the wrong path out of Gelder Burn bothy on the way to Glas allt Shiel. When I realized the mistake, instead of backtracking I cut across the moor to the right path. I had GPS to guide me, but even without it I knew I\u2019d hit the right track soon enough. This a panoramic from halfway across. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Paths are often stony and wet, but because there was little rain on this Challenge the latter problem was less prevalent than in the past. Trekking poles are essential. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Even when it hasn\u2019t been raining, hillsides can be wet and boggy with sphagnum moss. This makes for hard walking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You get help along the way\u2014bridges, board ramps, stones placed to make crossing rivulets easier, and channels cut across the path to prevent it from washing out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Eventually, however, the paths dwindle and asphalt road becomes the dominant surface. This is a sign you\u2019re nearing the east coast.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Challenge\u2019s vetters now ask walkers to send GPX files of their proposed routes in addition the traditional written descriptions. (The routes have to be approved in advance, and the vetters\u2019 advice is invaluable.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n From this year\u2019s data, the coordinators created an extraordinary image\u2014all of the routes displayed on a map of the Challenge territory (with much of the rest of Scotland barely discernible around it). <\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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