3 Days and 2 Nights Distance: 5.1 Miles Elevation Gain/Loss: 780 feet/810 feet Trail Map Russian Ridge is the northern end of several uninterrupted segments of the Ridge Trail which are in close proximity to a couple of the rare backpacking camps in the area. So I thought I would try to string them together into…Read more
Highlands of Scotland
Our seven day loop through Scotland began and ended in Edinburgh. It includes a short visit to Glasgow and Inverness, as well as several castles, the famous Loch Ness, two national parks, and the stunning Highlands. We combined this trip with a visit to London, so our driving route begins and ends at the rental…Read more
Day 1 – Edinburgh to Glasgow
The overnight train from London departs at 11:45pm and arrives at 7:30 am. So, between the late night excitement and early morning packing, we probably managed 5 hours of sleep. Upon arrival, you have 30 minutes to vacate your room before the train continues on its way to Glasgow. I had expected a conductor to…Read more
Day 2 – Glasgow to Fort William
Edinburgh, Stirling and Glasgow are in the Scottish Lowlands. Todays route would bring us into the Highlands, where we would stay for most of the week. It’s only about 3 hours of driving, but with a lot of photo stops along the way. The map is here: Route Overview I have a few suggested stops…Read more
Day 3 – Fort William to Portree
Another early start out of Fort William put us into a light rain storm. The plan for today was to drive to the Isle of Skye, where we would spend two nights in Portree, and use it as a base for exploring the island. It is not a big town, but is the largest and…Read more
Day 4 – The Isle of Skye
After a quick breakfast, we were in the car by 8:15am, and, in spite of less than 4 hours of driving today, we arrived back in Portree by 6pm. It was a long day with several amazing sights. We started out by heading north beyond the Old Man of Storr, where we had hiked the…Read more
Day 5 – Portree to Inverness
Todays route is under 3 hours of driving, crosses Scotland from west to east, includes some iconic stops and terminates in Inverness. Map The rain hit us again this morning as we started our way south on the A87 toward Skye Bridge. Low clouds accompanied the rain which limited our view as we exited the…Read more
Day 6 – Inverness to Grantown-On-Spey
The route for today goes north to Dunrobin Castle, then retraces the route south back through Inverness before terminating in Grantown-on-Spey. The map can be found here. The morning began heading north along the A9 in eastern Scotland, past a few of the coastal towns on the way to Dunrobin. Our morning plan was to…Read more
Day 7 – Grantown-On-Spey to Edinburgh
The final days drive is a long one. It begins by following the snow roads through the Cairngorms National Park and ends in Edinburgh. Spending the night in Tomintoul instead of Grantown-On-Spey will cut a half hour off the drive and may make it easier to reach Blair Castle before the 4pm cutoff. Once you…Read more
Bay Area Ridge Trail
Over the years, while hiking, I’ve passed many signs letting me know I was following the route of the Bay Area Ridge Trail. I’ve always been fascinated by the concept of long distance trails like this one, but the thought of attempting circumnavigation through section hiking only recently occurred to me. I suppose I was…Read more