The West Highland Way - a 2 Day Epic

Andy Cole has sent us through this write up of his epic trip up to the Highlands, taking in scenic views, unbelievable singletrack and some top notch Whiskey.

After visiting a snowy Glencoe just a month ago , I headed up once again but this time with a few friends. There was less snow on the tops this trip, but one thing hadn`t changed.... the amazing weather. Glorious clear skies greeted us as well as some of the locals, as we parked the van in the ski centre car park.

Our packs contained everything for two days worth of riding, including sleeping bags and cooking equipment for an overnight bothy stop. We tried to keep things as light as possible to maximise the riding fun, but still managed to squeeze a few little treats to help pass the night.

To warm up and get ourselves and bikes used to the extra load, we set off along the West Highland Way. Views don`t get much better, with Stob Dearg overlooking the Kingshouse hotel as we headed down the Glen. The West Highland Way does not head down Glencoe, but cuts over the Devils Staircase down into Kinlochleven. This trail is steep and requires pushing/carrying all the way from the A82 to the summit cairn. all our hard work was worth it just for the views alone, but to a bikers eye the trail laid out in front is the dominant feature.

There are steep technical sections from the top, dropping height fast before another short climb gains more altitude. This is mostly rideable and soon has you descending again. Flowy patches are interrupted by the odd steep, rocky technical spot and in no time at all spits you out on the forest road. The road drops quickly down into Kinlochleven, where we filled up in the Ice Factor cafe, watching the ice climbers on the indoor ice wall.

 

Once fuelled up we headed away from civilisation, peeling off the West Highland Way and climbing on the steep tracks up to Mamore Lodge. After a relentless climb of 450m, we stopped at the view point overlooking Loch Leven and the Pap of Glencoe.

 

From the view point there are a number of trails leading back down to Kinlochleven. These are fast becoming very popular with mountain bikers and the now annual Dudes of Hazzard Enduro uses these trails to separate the men from the boys. Feeling pretty fresh, we decided on tackling the Grey Mares Trail. We dumped our sleeping bags and cooking equipment behind a rock, dropped our saddles and opened up the deer gate.

It turned out to be extremely challenging all the way down and seemed to get steeper and steeper the more we dropped. Loose rocks at the top, lead to rock slabs further on down the trail. You are soon spat out back in Kinlochleven with the prospect of the 450m climb to do again.

Half way up we began questioning the reasoning for loosing our height, with Simon and Stuart pointing the blame on me. Looking back it was certainly worth the challenge.

Back at our gear cache we loaded back up and headed towards Luibelt along the shores of the Loch Elides. With heads down we soon powered our way along, until our overnight accommodation came into view. All that stood in our way was the Abhainn Rath, but with the recent dry weather, it looked possible to cross without getting wet feet, well nearly...

 

Once in the bothy, we found a bed spot on the floor for the night and after a quick brew headed out in search for wood. Or as we say in Yorkshire, "Thas off art chumping". We managed to find some dry dead wood, even in the sparse location and once lit back in Meannanachs fire place, settled down for the night. The treats we carried were worth the weight, as we passed around the port and cheese sharing stories with the other occupants.

 

The next morning again the sun shone down and filled us with optimism for the ride ahead. Our packs were feeling that little bit lighter missing the food and drink, so we set off with spirits high.

There was a lot of pushing as the path picked its way over peat bog and after a fair few miles started to take its toll on morale. Once at Loch Trieg we hit a Landrover track where we tried to catch up on time. The track was brief as we turned south down Gleann Iolairean, where once again we pushed over bog this time climbing towards Blackwater Reservoir. Heads began to hang trudging up the so called path and not many words were spoken between us.

After crossing the bealach a rideable trail did appear, which offered interest in keeping momentum over the rocky sections. We lunched at the bothy on Loch Charian where we filled up on water and snacks. The trail over to the Blackwater Reservoir was more of the same, mainly rideable but with the odd patch to catch you out.

After toiling through the peat bogs, it was getting late so we weighed up our options. It was either carry on as planned, getting back to the van late, cut over the dam and retrace our tracks over the Devils Staircase or ride the Ciaran path back into Kinlochleven and try and hitch a ride to where we parked.

With tired bodies and the promise of three pints waiting for us at the Clachaig Inn, we opted for the Ciaran path. The path did not disappoint as it dropped 7km with only the odd uphill to spoil the flow. It is however very steep and rocky in places but more forgiving than the Grey Mares trail we rode the previous day. As we were all tired we rode what we could and regrouped for safety every 500 metres or so.

Once back down in Kinlochleven, we phoned the local taxi and volunteered Stuart for van collection, as he was the cleanest. Bikes were soon packed in the van and in no time at all, we were showered with tent pitched on the Red Squirrel campsite.

Three pints were indeed waiting for us in the Clachaig Inn, bought for us by Simon and Adrea who shared our cheese and port in the bothy the night before. All that was left to do was soak up the Gaelic craic and sample some of the local whiskeys.

 

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