Fochabers to Craigellachie 13 MILES / 21 KM
Yesterday after I settled into my hotel I went for a walk around Fochabers with the desire to locate the Speyside Way. I eventually found the community paths on the Fochabers Burn (a small stream or river) known as the Intake Path which did lead me past many wild flowers as well as the river Spey and the Speyside Way. i ended up walking 3 miles

Today stared off cool and overcast so i was wearing legging and a tshirt with my mid-layer shirt and the puffy jacket.

i headed out to the Speyside Way which was road waking and soon found myself in a cul-d-sac so i checked the map and had to backtrack a half mile to where the blue GPS said the trail was; the way marker was hidden by bushes and was not easy to loacate -ok, moving on!

After about an hour i was on a dirt track and heading into woodland and passed a field of sheep and gathered some wool caught on the fences. Two women caught up with me and we walked together to Boat-o-Brig and we turned right; I was following them. After passing cows they stopped at a road junction and realized we missed the turn off A MILE back so that was 2 miles added to the day. We found the trail marker and headed up into the woods, and up we kept going for almost 6 miles. Some where in here it started raining and never.stopped; it wasn't heavy but a good drizzle with no end in sight and i got a little we trying to get my rain gear on.

​As we went into the forest there were lots of downed trees from Storm Arwn and many were being cut up fot lumber, it was stacked everywhere. The greenery and birdsong was wonderful but the muddy track was not and in my attempt to avoid i slipped and went down wrenching my leg at the groin. Eventually i had to apply a lidocaine patch buut my pace really slowed down since it was painful to walk - i may have strained my groin muscle since it hurts to lift my left leg.

Eventually I made it to my B&B but what should have taken 6 hours in good conditions turned into 7 hours of actual walking but i was out there 9 hours and walked 14.9 miles.

Time for a hot bath and aspirin
​

​Arrive at Fochabers
​Today i arrive at my starting point and to get there or here, as i am now on Fochabers, we drove north and turned west when we.got to the coast of the North Sea. Along the way we saw lots of gore, a yellow flowering bush with nasty thorns, fields of rape seed, baby new born lambs, cows, horses and wind turbines
​Then it was on to Portsoy where we had ice cream and walked around a small pond which is still called a loch watching the ducks and looking at more 100 year old trees that were blown over in Storm Arwen which had 100+ mph winds and took out whole groves of trees.

Next up was Cullen and a walk along the beach followed by a Fish and Chip supper and more walking and picture taking.

Here is a video of the bay. https://youtu.be/6YYWqtMz2C8

Then it was on to Fochaber and to check into my hotel.
Now i am off to gwt dinner and a relaxing night.

​Tomorrow i expect to be out on the trail by 8 am.

Today I did a beta-test of packing everything; my pack and the overnight bag.

I started by pulling everything out of my suit case, pack (which was in the suitcase), and the bags o'food I assembled for each day and placed everything on the floor of the living room.

Next I piled like things - stove, fuel, lighter/matches, sit-pad, and food; clothing - rain gear, base layer, mid layer, underwear/bra, going to dinner clothing and shoes, wearing on the trail; first aid, bug spray, bug net, anti-itch cream; toiletries; electronics; trail hygiene,  etc..

Then I proceeded to divide the clothing for what I need for the trail and will wear vs. what will go into the overnight bag. 

I did the same with the food - one bag for the pack the rest into the overnight bag.

Having the majority of the items for the overnight bag I packed that up - food on bottom, extra hygiene and first aide supplies in the middle, clothing on top.

Next I packed up the dry/stuff sacks - rain gear, mid layer with hat and gloves, base layer, puffy jacket, backup clothing (socks, undies) in case I get soaked, stove, 1 days food and a few extra supplies, first aid, electronics and laptop, etc.

I was now ready to assemble the pack - in went the water system with sip tube; the thermos and silicone water bottle went into the side pockets; the collapsible cup and my SPOT GPS tracker were hung on carabineers on some of the pack loops; BBH and the days food put in the stretchy outside pocket; trail hygiene, head lamp, anti-bug spray, itch relief, electronic accessories, and bug net in the brain pocket on top; then the laptop and all of the other dry sacks went into the main compartment. 

It took two tries to get it pack so I was happy where everything was placed but it's done. I grabbed the scale and weighed me then me and the pack and it come to (wait for it...) 21 pounds without the water bladder being filled and it will be lighten up as the day goes on due to the food and water being consumed. When I entered my gear into the LighterPack website it came out to 35 pounds thus proving that the changes I made to what I was planning to carry were correct in reducing my load.

And that folks is it - come Monday morning I will choose my clothing for the day, put my electronics in the brain pouch, fill my water bladder and head off down the trail. Stay tuned as there will be pictures and video!!

Speaking of Video, here is a link to the YouTube Playlist I created which is where you will find them, when I post them. There are 2 short ones there now of the area where Mike & Elisa live.

It is now Wednesday and I start the walk on Monday morning and there are still things to do.

This morning Mike and I went to the local Tesco, a 20 minute drive, so I could purchase the last few things I did not carry over, ship a head, nor did I purchase them via Amazon.co.uk and have delivered to the house for my arrival.

I needed to purchase a few extra items for my lunches; in a few towns I will be able to purchase items the night before IF there is a shop or even a restaurant but it will be hit and miss as to what I could find so I felt it best to have 9 days of food in my suitcase and IF I can find some that is local and different (like the pub known for their pork pies) I will get that to each on the trail. 

After we got back, I proceeded to divvy up the nuts and assemble piles for each day - Nugo protein bar, Cup o'Soup ix, dry sausage, cappuccino mix, an instant pasta/noodle/rice, a salmon/tuna package to add to the pasta/noodle/rice, a Propel electrolyte mix, and the solid fuel for the stove to make the coffee, soup, or main course of my lunch.   Each day is in it's own bag so I only have to grab it out of the suitcase and put it in my backpack.

I then found a highlighter and I marked the route on the OS maps that cover the area; so I don't have to wonder where the route is as it is a bit hard to see and there are side spurs to avoid. I don't think I will need them as I have my phone which will be my GPS but in the strange instance where the phone dies and my battery bank does not work a paper map is the safest tech to have as a backup backup plan.

Now that this is done I can actually repack the backpack and the suitcase which I will do tomorrow.

After 29 hours and 4 countries I am Finally in Scotland!
Grab a wee dram of Scotch, put your feet up and enjoy my travel adventures.

It all began at 3:00 am as the alarm went off and rose from the bed to depart to the airport. Because my plane left at 6:30 am AND I was flying internationally I had to check in at the airport 2 hours before said departure which meant that I had to leave the house by 3:30 am to get there in time. The shop elf and I were out the door at 3:25 am and we arrived by 4:25 am and the place was busy!  I got my suitcase up on the curb, kissed my sweetie good by and went inside to check my bag and the shop elf drove off into the pending sunrise.

The flight to Chicago was uneventful though the plane was full; I was able to nap midway through the 2 hour flight. After deplaning, I went to the international lounge and was able to rest there for my 4+ hour layover; I partook of the free food: coffee, breakfast sandwich, fruit, juice, and pastries. At the appointed time I headed to the gate for boarding the Boeing 787-10 Dreamliner with Polaris Business class.   I chose a window seat (3L) so I could be a bit more isolated for the hop across the pond. Now I loving flying and on one trip eons ago I specifically planned a layover in Washington D.C just to get onto the new 777! The Polaris is configured without a First Class cabin, which is fine by me as the newer configurations are pretty good BUT I didn't like this mini-cabin setup as I felt claustrophobic! There is a little entryway you have to go through to get past the side "table" to get to the actual seat and under the foot platform there is a place to put a small bag and your shoes but with the sleeping pad, blanket, and pillow I found it was hard to organize where everything was. Then there are all the seat controls - recline, upright, flat; lumbar support, and leg support which are on the wall of the plane with very small markings of up/down arrows or plus/minus that I found hard to read AND there is no instruction in the magazine or in the seat pocket telling what everything was - very poor user interface if you ask me. 

But once I was settled and we took off, I had a nice Scotch and warms nuts to start. Found a movie to watch and had dinner.  Soon afterwards I went to sleep as I try to get my body to adjust to the destination time zone as soon as possible; I dozed for a small bit but never really slept so I read an e-book instead. 

We landed in Frankfurt 5 minutes early and I headed, like everyone else, to passport control

The German passport control is very picky - despite having sent my COVID vaccine info to the airline and they said I was "travel" ready I had to show the proof to the officer and I found out, if your passport is not signed (why wouldn't you but there are people who don't; maybe for nefarious reasons??) then you can't get into the country or the EU AND you are fined upwards of 2,000 EU and NO you can not sign it then and there!  Once I go the passport stamped I wound my way through the airport and went to the gate for my connection to Norway. I was officially in Germany a grand total of 55 minutes and had no qualms about leaving it. After boarding the plane to Norway I did fall asleep in my seat soon after take off and woke up in time to get some great views of the Norwegian coastline.  Upon landing I had a 6 hour layover before departing to Aberdeen and unlike Germany where you went through passport control before you could go the gate, in Norway you do that just before you go to the gate so I had six hours of being in Norway and in limbo; I found the international lounge and went in so I could relax, get some more food and COFFEE, and even take another nap as I felt loopy; to be safe I set an alarm to make sure I did not miss the flight.  At the appointed time I headed off to the gate, went through passport control and boarded the flight to Aberdeen technically arriving 15 minutes after we left due to flying into another time zone.  Once in Scotland, I retrieved my bags, went through passport control and found my driver for the 45 minute drive into the countryside to be deposited at the doorstep of Mike and Elisa. 

After alight meal of mushroom barley soup and a sandwich, I was asleep by 9:30 pm.

Yes, I am going say it - THIRTEEN DAYS until I leave and TWENTY-ONE days until I start the big walk. 

But this post is about my trip and why I have to be concerned about COVID. 
Yes, I know the airlines say I don't have to wear a mask, but I WILL. 

Would you risk getting it before such an amazing trip and YES, I got another booster but would you STILL RISK IT?

And there are other factors to consider.

Elisa and Mike (of Scotland, of course) are both at risk and over 70 years of age. Mike has diabetes, Elisa has Chronic Fatigue Syndrome PLUS a few other things.

Then there is that odd Frankenvariant floating around Europe and the UK, including Scotland.

So why would I risk bringing it into their house?? 

To prevent being a carrier of "the plauge" I will wear a N95 mask during the flight over and as I pass through various airports along the way. I am also carrying the home tests provided by our government so I can test when I arrive and hopefully NOT again in case I get any symptoms after I arrive during the week I will be with them before I start the walk. 

I will carry and use a mask while in pubs and restaurants while on the hike and I will use a home test again when I return to their home for the final 2 weeks of the visit.

While I am in Edinburgh I will again use my mask while I am in museums, galleries, and restaurants this will also ensure that I do not have a positive test result since I have to take a test 24 hours before I head back to the USA.

Then of course I will wear as mask on said return flight so I don't bring anything home to shop elf.

PHOTOGRAPH BY GETTY IMAGES

​FIFTEEN DAYS until I depart and yes I have started to stress

• Can I actually walk that much over 9 days?
• Will everything fit in my luggage?
• Am I taking too much or am I not taking enough?
• What if I get hurt while on the walk (I do have travel insurance)
• What if I get COVID???
  
• What if the weird variant floating around Europe causes another lockdown?

Today I tackled packing of the suit case. A week or so ago, I laid out all the clothing I will need and/or want for the trip. If you want to know what that is read all my posts regarding the various kits. 

I need a small suitcase/duffel to hold my clothing for the nights on the walk (this is being shuttled each day) and so I figured I would use this case as my carry on bag. this bag would have during the flight(s) to and fro my electronics, a change of clothing, travel papers, a home Covid test to verify I did not pick anything up during the trip as well as a mask with a N95 filter; some water and snacks. 

Then I need a suitcase for all the clothing and gear AND other present I am taking across the pond for Elisa and Mike.  I can't just shove everything into the backpack and check that as there is much historical data on packs getting destroyed due to straps getting caught in belts and/or the bag getting ripped due to mishandling. Oh,  I can't use the pack as my carry on as it exceeds those dimensions. 

​I have a large suitcase that I have used for my trips to Scotland, in the past so I was hoping that if I tightened all the straps and lessened the back panel, the pack could fit into the suitcase and maybe even have some smaller items in it. 

IT WORKED - on the right hand side of the case is the pack, my walking stick, some clothing, and other small items that fit around the pack as well as the Covid tests (CDC approved) which I have to take before I return. On the left hand side I was able to fit all the other clothing and hiking boots. What's nice is the suitcase closes easily so any last minute items will easily fit inside. 

The bonus round is that my carry on bag is also not stuffed to the brim. 

In this post I will talk about not getting lost or at least staying "on track" on the trail and letting people know where I am and to keep me safe. 

For the past few months I have been doing training walks. I have been using a free website called Plot-A-Route to not only plan my walks but to generate the gpx (GPS) file to load into my GPS map reader (more on this later). You can then share a link or print the map, to share with others so they can see your route.  This route, shown below is a 9 mile walk I planned several weeks ago and was walking it when I realized my shoes were too small so I had to be picked up 8 miles into the walk.

 Once you have a gpx file, you can load it on to your a free standing GPS (like a Garmin) or your phone as there are many apps that can read GPS files or even generate a gpx based upon where you went. Note: These are not just for walking/hiking, motosports, driving even flying can use these.  It should be noted that there are several apps out there that have the major trails as part of a library you can download and use.

I started with one app that just read the gpx file and I was using another app to track - both were free and I was learning to use them but then I found an app called A-GPS Tracker that not only did both had a nice feature where you can load a gpx and then tell it to alert you when you go "off track". This is good for when you are walking but not constantly looking at your phone; it is a rather large alarm!

The app can display different types of maps so you can see elevation, satellite, and the statistics as shown below; it is by checking that Monitor box that it will alert you to when you go off trail.

The next bit of tech to use is a GPS emergency monitor. Several types exist but I went with the SPOT system because I was able to pick up a used one. I have the SPOT Gen3 which allows me to send 2 messages (txt or email), an SOS or I need help but it's not a major emergency; there are newer version that allow 2-way live texting. 

​Here is a sample text message I sent yesterday morning before my 9 mile walk.

 And to finish off, here are some pictures from yesterday's walk with my support animal - Bunny Bravehart. 

I made my original plans for the Big Walk back in August of 2021 using 119,000 United Frequent Flyer miles I had acquired while a road warrior in the 90's and 00's. Due to the pandemic and reduced flights, despite it being 9 months away, the route selections were not good.
Note: I have over 160,00 miles left with a life time accrual of 505,047 miles to date.

In the past when flying from California I had several standard routes to choose from 

• San Diego-Denver-London-Aberdeen
• San Diego-San Francisco-Frankfurt-Aberdeen
• San Diego-Chicago-Amsterdam-Aberdeen
• Or some combination of these.

I learned to avoid London because going through customs there was a zoo and then usually I had to hang out for 6+ hours for the flight to Aberdeen. 

When I went to United to search I could not see these routes. Using the planning calendar and selecting business class for the "over the pond" leg, I was able to book the following flight path:

• Flights out: San Antonio to Chicago to Zurich to Oslo to Aberdeen
• Flights back: Aberdeen to Oslo to Frankfurt to Washington D.C to San Antonio.

I would land in D.C at 10 pm and my flight to San Antonio would be the next morning BUT because my sister lives in D.C. we made arrangements for me to spend the night with her and have a quick visit.

In December I got notice that my departing flight from San Antonio would be an hour later, but everything else was the same, no big deal.

Then yesterday I received another email form United about a flight change. When I looked the new flight paths going and returning had a new stop AND I was departing from Stavenger, on this new leg, BEFORE I ARRIVED - WTF!!!!

• Flights out: San Antonio to Chicago to Zurich to Oslo to Stavenger (Norway) to Aberdeen on the way over.
• Flights Back: it would be Aberdeen to Stavenger (Norway) to Oslo to Frankfurt to Washington D.C to San Antonio.

​I called United and the first agent I spoke to said that if these connections did not work for me, I could cancel. Now, lets be honest that's not good customer service at all. I asked about changing the connections out of Stavenger so I could catch the next flight. Well there were none those days so I would have to stay over night on the way to Aberdeen and then on the way back stay TWO nights and rebook the rest of the flight. So I was put on hold so she could investigate and I hung up after 30 minutes since I had been on the phone for over an hour already and had work to do.

Later, I called back and explained the situation to the (new) agent and got her to agree with me that the new flight plans were rather impossible to do. I then explained that I can't cancel the trip but I could, with her help shift departure and return dates only one or two days as there were things that would happen while in Scotland that could NOT be changed.  So she started looking at options and she even got a supervisor on the line to authorize a few things that I assume I the agent could not do nor would I have been able to do via the website. 
The result was new flight plan leaving a day later and with less connections. Then we moved on to the return flight which caused more issues but a flight was found out of Edinburgh - which would mean I would have to take a train from Inverurie, which is the closest station to where Elisa lives. 

I said "Book it Dano!" and I was put on hold so the agent could first confirm the new flights and connections. THEN she canceled the other flights; she didn't do that first JUST IN CASE. 

• Flights out: San Antonio to Chicago to Frankfurt to Stavenger (Norway) to Aberdeen on the way over.
• Flights Back: it would be Endinburgh to Washington D.C to San Antonio.

I will have 5+ hour layover in Stavenger but they do have a nice lounge I can get into and I think I will raid the duty free shop and get some Aquavit to try.

For the return flight I depart of Edinburgh around noon so I decided to take the train down two days early, arriving in the afternoon. My hotel is near the train station so I can easily get back to the train station (Waverley) to get the tram to the airport. my first afternoon will be wandering the city and visting the Weaving Center as well as DoveCot Studios to see an exhibition on William Morris. Then on my full day there I will visit the Scottish National Museum. 

I have been to the museum, which was just the Natural History Museum in the early 2000's with the shop elf. It's a great Victorian building with balconies and wrought iron railings, glass skylights, decorative tile floors. We went to see the Gem & Mineral collection. Then in 2004 we planned another visit as a side trip to Elisa and Mike. Unfortunately when we arrived at the museum we found it has closed THAT DAY for a massive renovation as part of the merger with the Art museum to make it the National Museum; parts of the museum where reopened in 2011 with it being fully completed in 2019. This time I will visit the Arts & Crafts, Pictish, and Mineral collections with lots of pictures to share with the shop elf. 

The other big change is that I now do not have an overnight layover in D.C. so I won't see my sister. We will plan a visit for that later in the year when the world calms down more.

Over the past several weeks I have had to make several adjustments, again. As I wrote earlier, I went to another store (not REI) in SA to get a new pack that fit me better and new shoes.

I have returned the shoes because they did not fit me well once I did an actual walk in them; my heel kept lifting and I was concerned that a blister would develop plus the toe box was too long. I had tried on a smaller size but it was tight over the ball of the foot thus the next size up was put on but not having the opportunity to walk any distance, the issues I experienced had not been apparent. I ended up buying a pair of Keen hiking shoes that are waterproof; I wear a lot of Keen shoes as the larger toe box fits me across the ball of the foot while not squishing my toes and they have a full shank which counter acts the pronation that occurs due to to being flat-footed. 

The next change was the pack - yes again. The Osprey pack that Jordan helped me select and fit was good, again, in the store but when I went for a test walk 2 weeks ago I had issues with the hip belt.  Despite that I felt the belt was small and did not wrap enough (see picture below), Jordan convinced me it was ok. I had looked at another Osprey pack the Aura AG 50 which has an adjustable belt but at 50L it was just too big to I chose the Archeron. 

So what happened on the test walk 2 weeks ago?? I loaded it up with most of my stuff, donned the pack and went to the walk. After about a mile the belt was pinching my hip flexor and it was getting painful; worried it was too low, I loosened the load stabilizers, shoulder straps, hip belt and started over in putting the pack on. Pack on shoulder straps loose; bend over and clip the hip belt; stand up and tighten the shoulder straps; tighten the load stabilizers. I walked another mile and nope - the hip belt was more on my waist and not holding the load and the weight was all on my shoulders let alone there as a gap between the top of the shoulder strap and my shoulders. Once again I repeated the process and the hip belt was putting pressure on the hip flexor.  I went home and decided this was not right.   I then went on-line (YouTube) and watched the Osprey videos on how to fit and put on the pack; just to be certain I was doing it correct.  The next day my hip flexors still hurt so this was not good.  Yesterday, I decided to give it another try and after 1 mile I was hurting again so I gave up. I started to analyze what was causing the problem and I found that the hip belt has a sewn edge binding that is semi-rigid (see picture below) and along the bottom it is tight against my body while along the top edge, it is loose that is ; so that's why there is so much pressure; the belt might be ok wrapping around my fat hips but it's not the correct shape for MY HIPS. 

Back to the web and looking for another pack that has an adjustable belt in a 40-45 liter range.  And on a whim I googled "women's back pack plus size" - it's that or go for a men's pack. SURPRISE!!! an article popped up about Gregory Packs having a line specifically for PLUS sized people men and women!  I went to the website and looked at the woman's 44L pack, watched the videos on the development of these packs and how to adjust/fit it, and then I bought it. From the pictures and video I could see that the hip belt has a soft rolled edge and this should also be better (see picture below). I will go for another "test walk" next weekend.

The other changes I have made are in a few things I will carry: I have removed the binoculars as i can always use the zoom on the camera to looks at wild life; I simplified the first aid kit I will carry; I bought a 3L water bladder with drinking tube and returned the 3L reservoir; I am also adding a quart size zip-lock freezer bag into my daily food pack so I can put the rice side and boiling water into it and seal it while the rice re-hydrates and  warms the added protein and I don't have to worry about it tipping over and spilling which it almost did yesterday during the test cook.

The last "change" is shipping some of the food items I want to Elisa next week so they arrive in time. What am I shipping? I went to the Tesco (grocery store near their house) and looked for the single serving foil packets of tuna and chicken which would be perfect to carry for each day's lunch along with a rice side.  They don't have them and when I searched Amazon UK, so I could order them; well they don't have them either.  And while I am at it I will add in some of the dry sausage (jerky) I like along with some squeeze peanut butter.