Sometime ago I read Candice Millard’s book ‘The River of Doubt: Theodore Rooselvelt’s Darkest Journey’ and decided it would be a good idea to recreate this crazy adventure… in Scotland! I sent an email to River to Sea Scotland — a company that rents canoes and kayaks and offers pick up services —, packed my bag and convinced a pal of mine to accompany me on this once-in-a-lifetime adventure down the Great Glen Way.
The trip was going to last three days.
The first day went off without a ripple. After picking up our canoe in Fort William, we started our slow descent down the Caledonian Canal. We were lucky with the weather: not only was the sun shining on this lovely mid-spring day, but the wind was also blowing in our favour. I decided to take full advantage of this great weather, laid back and let the wind — and my friend — drift us closer to destination. What a mistake this ended up being!
After reaching Gairlochy, where we had a nice warm shower, we found a small beach and decided to make camp for the night. As wild camping is allowed in Scotland, we pitched our tent and pulled out a couple of cold store-bought, ready-to-eat rice pouches. As my mum likes to say: À la guerre comme à la guerre! Sometimes you have to choose between adventure and luxury.
On the second day, I was woken up with the sound of waves. A storm was brewing on Loch Lochy. Unfortunately, the wind was not blowing in the right direction, so we spent the whole day fighting against the elements… and didn’t even make progress. Wet, tired, hungry, we decided to take a mid-afternoon break. Sadly, the canoe was not properly tied, so it drifted away from the shore and towards the vast Scottish wilderness.
I shall never forget the sheer terror I felt when, stranded on a lonely beach in the Scottish Highlands, I saw the canoe — our only way out of this mad adventure I had dragged us into — being blown away. My pal jumped into the freezing water, I ran through the forest. After what felt like an eternity, we managed to get hold of the canoe and continued our journey onwards.
The wind was relentless, so we decided to cross Loch Lochy in hopes that the it would be less strong on the other side. Having no prior canoe experience, we had been been advised not to attempt such a crossing — especially during a storm — but in our desperation we decided to risk it anyway. The crossing was terrifying. The massive waves were coming sideways, meaning that the canoe could’ve toped over at any given moment.
Just when it seemed things couldn’t go more awash, we reached the shore and realised the wind was no more gentle there than it had been on the other side. After a short break, we jumped back into the canoe and paddled our way into nightfall. Our motivation? The warm shower in Laggan.
We reached Laggan at 10pm. With the storm finally behind us, we busied ourselves with finding a place to pitch the tend and had the well deserved shower. As if things couldn’t go more overboard, my body decided it would be an appropriate time to shut down. After fainting a couple of times, I had a small tea and went off to sleep. Given how crazy the day had been, I thought it would be appropriate to rename this adventure ‘The Loch of Doubt: Ever Prel’s Darkest Journey’.
The third and last day was all smooth sailing. Eager to reach our destination and get our butts off of this canoe, we paddled with great enthusiasm and reached Fort Augustus in time for a mid-afternoon meal. After gulping down a refreshing ice cream — not that we needed to be refreshed — and lovely fish and chips, we took some photies of Loch Ness and waited for the bus that would bring us back home to Edinburgh.
Now, would I recommend this adventure considering the trouble we went through? Hell yes! However, I would recommend not doing most of the things we did, e.g. crossing a loch during a storm, paddling after nightfall, not bringing a sleeping mat… The thrill of the adventure made it worth it for me, not to mention this unbelievable tale I get to tell now that it’s over!