Scotland: Photos of 7-week trip

Some of you may remember this thread from last Spring, in which I asked for advice about my early-summer 2011 seven-week backpacking trip to Scotland:
http://www.vftt.org/forums/showthread.php?t=39716&highlight=scotland

I have finally posted photos of that trip. They're on this website:

http://werdigo49.com/

Don't be put off by the primitive "Homepage"; I'm just learning about WordPress and "home" just serves as an access point to the photo albums anyway.

Under "Scotland, 2011" there are 4 albums: A: West Highland Way, B: Great Glen Way, etc., C: Speyside Way, Ben Nevis, and D: Cairngorm Mountains. Each album has 40 to 50 photos. (The earlier thread had a lot about the Cape Wrath Trail; my start on it is at the beginning of the Great Glen Way album.) Each album covers about 1/4 of my trip.

My suggestion is to use PicLens, and to use the Options that appear when the cursor is placed on the rectangular graphic at the left of the "3D" option to set the slide-show speed to its slowest (10 seconds) and Looping to "On." Some of the captions may be a little long for 10 seconds but one can always click on a particular photo again.

These look great when set to "full screen"! That little Sony was terrific.

I can offer a few more observations about the trip if anyone in the group wishes: money spent, recharging batteries, etc.

Brilliant!

Werdigo,
Please permit me to be the first to congratulate you on your safe return home and the absolutely stunning photos. I have paid particular attention to those from the Cairngorms, as I love walking that area. It looks like I will soon have to take early retirement from my career, and a few months there begins to look as feasible as it is attractive.
Praise is due the Mountain Bothies Association for all they do to keep those shelters on the hills. Good to see that have added an indoor bog at Corrour, the outdoor one was getting well used. If you want to give back to these splendid hills, volunteering with them for a weekend is a good way to do it. Fun and caring people too, like mountain vols everywhere.
I also note that some of the paths I walked have been stabilized and graded. It used to be that the people of Strathspey would clear the winter's piles of avalanche stones from the Lairig Ghru each Spring so they could walk goods to Braemar...
Your slideshow gives an excellent intro to the risks and thrills of walking in that country. I am glad you enjoyed it so much.
Yours ay,
Creag nan drochaid

Nice memories

Ah to be back in the land of Single Malts and Midgies. I really enjoyed the photo gallery from your trip. It's fun to recognize the scenes from some of my trips to Scotland. Interesting that you turned around in Glen Dessary and hiked back out, because we did the same in 2009. Equipment failure and winter weather contributed to our decision. We skipped over that section due to time lost and started again at Sheil Bridge. I fully understand the feeling of remoteness that one experiences in the wild parts of Scotland. I think that the lack of trees and the ability to see nothing but isolation for miles and miles brings with it a tiny sense of dread. I heard Scotland's wild moorland and mountains once described as possessing a "terrible beauty"

Last May I intended to go back and finish that 40 mile section, but just after finishing the Great Glen Way, my bad cold turned into early stages of pneumonia, so I returned to the States about 10 days early.

Are you ready to go back? I've got reservations at the Kinlochewe Hotel/Bunkhouse from May 16th to 24th do do some peak bagging in the Fisherfield Forest. (Google "Images Fisherfield Forest" to see why)

This time I will be renting a car whereas on my last dozen or so trips over I have relied solely on public transportation or "shanks mare".

On my 2009 "Walk to the Cape" http://www.samohtw.blogspot.com/ we hiked through Kinlochewe and I made a promise to myself that I would come back and walk the "heights" instead of following the footpaths through the valleys that the Cape Wrath Trail generally follows.

I will be bringing my Tarptent and minimal gear for some nights wild camping due to the distance of some of these hikes, but mostly I am going to spend my nights in the hotel bar, in comfort and conviviality.

Anybody want to come too?

What fantastic pics. Such a different landscape than what we are accustomed to. Very beautiful. Thanks for posting.

Thanks for your comments! I'm especially grateful to those who offered advice when this trip was being planned.

If it seems as if I'm in a lot of the photos, that was at my wife's request. She says she prefers those shots to my many landscape pictures, and since I was leaving her alone for a couple of months it seemed wise to oblige.

Creag and HW, I'd love to return to Scotland. It's a wonderful place for walkers. Now that I have a little experience I think maybe the Cape Wrath Trail deserves another shot. BUT... I'm not getting any younger, and there are many other things on the bucket list, such as end-to-end'ing the AT. So I'm not envisioning another Scotland trip in the near future.

Meanwhile... looking forward to a January at the Adirondack camp. My W46 list is pretty pitiful.