Marcin Morawski

Ultralight backpacking in the Scottish Higlands

West shore of the Kyle of Durness, end of CWT

I have just finished a 2-person hike of the Cape Wrath Trail - a 220 mile trek across the north of Scotland. Here are some lessons that I've learned.

Before you read this - check out Alex Roddie's mini-guide to lightweight backpacking in the Scottish Highlands - it's a much more comprehensive resource from someone with way more experience.

Lightweight backpacking in the Highlands is totally possible #

When hiking long-distance, gear is important. Not as in having the largest amount of the most expensive gear. Having just the right gear, the skills to get by with it, and nothing else. A lightweight pack and unrestrictive clothing make a huge difference. You can cover more ground, you get fewer blisters, your back doesn't get sore.

On the CWT, however, I was worried that my minimalistic setup would not work in the Scottish weather. A couple we met along the way couldn't believe that we were carrying all of our stuff and six days of rations in those tiny little backpacks, not at this pace. But I never felt like I missed anything, and, if conversations with people we met along the way are anything to go by, we were more comfortable than most CWT hikers. So - lighweight backpacking in the Highlands is totally possible. Still, you can't pack as light as in some parts of the world, because of The Wet.

Embrace The Wet #

The tradeoff #

In Scotland, it's either cold, wet, or midgy, depending on the season. We set off in late September, fully expecting that a modicum of 1 and 2 will offset the plague that is 3. And rain it did - for 13 out of the 15 days that we spent out in the mountains.

One day, we saw 8 rainbows, because the weather changed every 15 minutes. Another, there was hail, no visibility, we went slightly off-trail, and had to scramble up a river waterfall for a few kilometers to get back on track. We still preferred those conditions to having to deal with clouds of the Highland midge - a small biting insect similar to the mosquito. Cloud is just the right word here. If you're unlucky enough to get caught in a pack of midges, run your hand through the air. You'll feel a slight resistance, some warm fuzziness, and then a lot of pain. During midge weather, you try to walk non-stop to outrun them. In a headnet, so you can't see anything. When you camp, you drop all your stuff into your tent, then jump in yourself, shut the door, and eat cold dinner because you're stuck inside with a buzzing cloud just waiting to get you. Rain and cold are much easier to deal with. All you need to do is embrace The Wet.

Tips for dealing with The Wet #

Some people try to fight wet with super waterproof clothing and shoes, but, in Scotland, they are futile. We've developed our Embrace The Wet™ philosophy as an alternative way of dealing with it. Here's how it works:

  1. Warm and dry are not the same thing. Not-warm will kill you. Not-dry is just a minor discomfort if you Embrace the Wet.
  2. Accept that you, and all your stuff, will get wet at some point.
  3. Once this happens, you're unlikely to completely dry off (the humidity is just too high). To make the most of that little bit of sunshine, only use quick-dry gear. This means no cotton. And no heavy boots with waterproof membranes.
  4. Being wet is OK, as long as the water right next to your skin is warm.
  5. Only use gear that will insulate you when wet. This means no down, for anything. Including your sleeping bag.
  6. Keep your sleeping clothes dry at all costs (this is the only exception to rule 2). Even if you need to camp in a storm, on top of a bog, you can stay comfortable, so long as your sleeping bag is synthetic, and your sleeping clothes are dry.
  7. Take good care of your feet. Your skin will absorb water, get soft and prone to blisters. Let your feet get nice and dry at camp, and apply oil to them before going to sleep. Your skin will absorb the oil instead, which will then repel water. We use cocoa butter foot balm, some people use plain Vaseline.

If you're of the Gore-Tex gaiters and leather boots mentality, give Embrace The Wet a go. Our shoes got wet on day 1 and did not dry for two weeks. And we were completely OK with it.

Bothies are awesome #

We felt pretty comfortable during the journey, largely because we could sleep in bothies (on average) every second day. We carried a Trekkertent Stealth - an A-frame tent that pitches with trekking poles. It was great for weight-saving (450g per person is hard to beat without spending lots of money on Dyneema), and awesome if you can do most of your evening regeneration outside, but when it's raining (which is pretty much every evening), and you've only got 1.3m2 of space, it can feel cramped. You're glad when you get to stop in a bothy for the night.

Bothies are basic shelters (basic - a tiny hut with a table, wooden planks for beds, and a fire if you manage to find dry wood), free and open to all. There're over 100 of them scattered all over Scotland. They're great. Being able to stretch and cook a meal while standing under a roof is awesome. On the CWT, you can in theory stay in a bothy almost every night.

Not having a plan is awesome #

So why, then, not do away with a tent altogether, and stay in bothies and hotels? Well, because it can be dangerous. Having a place to get to by the end of the day (especially if it's one where you've paid for a booking) means you either get there earlier than you'd like to (which means you've just wasted some prime hiking time), or later than you'd like to. In the latter case, you pushed yourself harder than you should have, possibly you hiked through the night, while tired and hungry. This is when accidents happen.

When you set out without a plan, with a shelter and a little surplus food, knowing that you can stop whenever you please, you get into a mindset that can be only described as chill. In regular life, we rarely have nowhere to get to, no goals to achieve, nobody to impress. It's very liberating. Give it a go, it's hard to go back.

Vegan long-distance hiking is absolutely possible #

Many people were surprised that we hiked fully vegan. In fact, just like in all other aspects of life, it's pretty easy to be a vegan hiker. Once you give it a go, you realise that you're really not missing out on anything. Here's how we did it.

Our food schedule #

We ate luxuriously (for a hiking trip), with three proper, cooked, warm meals a day.

Breakfast #

Porridge, with powdered coconut milk, dried fruit, nuts, honey and cinnamon

Lunch #

Usually vegan cheese toasties, sometimes with sundried tomatoes, sometimes with olives, prepared using a variety of long-lasting breads (naan, chapati, roti, pita, tortilla etc.). Sometimes we just had wraps with peanut butter.

Dinner #

A rotating menu composed of:

  1. Microwave curry with microwave rice*
  2. Broccoli/pesto pasta*
  3. Tagine cous-cous
  4. Tofu scramble*
  5. Chilli and wraps
  6. Noodles with peanut sauce

* - heavy, so eaten close to resupply points

Vegan gear #

The hiking community has embraced synthetic materials for purely practical reasons - they're lighter and dry quicker than natural fibres. The two remaining ones are down and merino wool. Even if you choose to overlook the animal abuse factor, those may also be on their way out because they're not that much better.

Down #

As described above, using down when you're sure it'll get wet is a Bad Idea. However, even in dry climates, synthetic insulation is a viable alternative to down. It has improved to the point where it weighs only ~30% more. Unless you're camping in the winter, this makes little difference to your base weight, and it gives you the benefits of lower price, water resistance, and easier maintenance.

The main issue with synthetic insulation, for me, is that it doesn't compress as well as down, but this is a minor point.

For more information on the practical reasons not to use down, see this article from Ray Jardine.

Wool #

Wool is mostly used for baselayers and socks these days. I do own some that I bought years ago, and I love it. It feels better on my skin than synthetic fabric, and doesn't absorb body odor as much. But it's also a lot more expensive, and synthetics are getting better every year. As I slowly replace worn wool gear with synthetic stuff, I really can't notice the difference.

A hiking buddy is the best way to lighten up #

By hiking with a second person, you can halve the weight of your sleep, shelter, and cooking systems, and all your medical/miscellaneous stuff. But it gets better - if you share a quilt, with all that extra heat you can get away with a thinner one than you'd normally use. A hiking buddy is an underutilised source of comfort.

At the same time, with more than two people, sharing arrangements can get complicated. Individual items of gear would get uncomfortably bulky and heavy (if they even existed - I've yet to see a three-person sleeping mat). Two is the perfect number for hiking. If you find a good hiking buddy, hold on to them!