Good Morning Kent from a balmy southern England where the sun is shining and the temperature has reached somewhat cool 20 deg F !

Whilst each Challenger has their own preferences I'll detail my own experience.

You are correct in thinking that it does rain in Scotland where it varies from a persistent drizzle to the the full blown Noahs Ark variety.

Most days I can walk in just two merino baselayers with a Rab Kinetic jacket (old style with pertex shield+) to act as a windproof or for that drizzle

I carry a Rab Latok Event jacket for the heavy stuff as rain in Scotland is often accompanied by strong winds. Both jackets coupled with Paclite gore-tex trousers.

As for footwear I carry just three pairs of Smartwool Merino socks (one on, one off, one in the wash). At night I put on a clean dry pair with my Hi-Tec campshoes. If necessary I put the wet pair on the next morning with my trail shoes.

I also carry just a lightweight fleece for whenever I stop for a cuppa or for lunch wth with a down jacket for the evenings if necessary.

You would be very unlucky if you could not find a dry stop for the night either pitch or bothy. Distances in Scotland are such that you bump into civilisation every three or four days where you can dry out or launder clothing.

The main thng about Scotland is to have a good layering system, in May the temperature rarely drops much below freezing at night in the hills and can reach 65-70 degress during the day.

I hope the above is of use and probably others will come along and express their own preferences or comments.

Regards

I have had quite a few Challenges where overnight temperatures have been minus six or seven Celsius, so as well as thinking about clothing, consideration should be given to your sleeping system.

Very cold and snowy here in Denmark right now. I have no experience from hiking in Scotland before, but have lots from a cold and wet Scandinavia. Your thoughts on raingear and clothes echo mine a lot, even down to the neoprene socks for extended wet boggy hiking. All though, I think I will bring mine with me on the TGO, and leave the sealskinz/goretex ones at home in favor of two small plastic bags to put dry merino clad feet in for the night camp.

Hope to see you there.

/Niels

Thanks for the feedback everyone. Route sheet vetted, travel plans made, gear almost decided...only thing left is figure out our food/resupply strategy. But that's another discussion!

Kent

Hi, slightly worried now...all this talk about days walking in wet boots! To me, wet boots = wet feet = soft skin = blisters. Any hints to avoid the blisters? PS can't wait to get started!! :wink:

That's right, and that's why I don't wear boots. Trail runners drain water away and dry faster than boots, and they tend to create fewer hot spots. That and having feet conditioned for it, and using a good hydrophobic lotion, helps prevent blisters. Works for me anyway.

Wet feet doesn’t necessarily mean blisters. Non waterproof trail shoes, merino wool based sock changes and Gerwohl cream coupled with Sealskinz socks for round camp keep my feet blister free and toasty. (Its worked so far)

Wear what you are used to wearing and what works for you.
I can't wear trail shoes, I wear my Meindl Bhutans (used to wear Burmas) good socks and my feet are warm, dry and comfortable.
The two years I didn't my feet were shredded. The second year in particular the soles of my feet were blistered and my feet so swollen I could only get my Keen sandals on the the last two days.
My feet, my boots.

I agree, to each his or her own. Doesn't work for everybody, and you can't know without experience.

Hi Kent

I Googled and found this: Albuquerque, New Mexico, gets 11 inches of rain per year.

The west of Scotland gets about 90 inches.

Perhaps wellies might be the best option?

:joy:

Very good Alan. :smiley: We don't see much rain here, it is true, and most of it falls during the late summer monsoon (yes, that's what it is called here). However, I see a fair amount of the wet stuff on my various treks ranging all over the Mountain west. Enough so that I'm not in fear of melting.

Challengers new to the event and perhaps new to a very wet Scotland might like to see how bad it can get. Here are two pieces plucked from the archive for your amusement. Both feature my mate Wilky who has promised faithfully that he will NEVER EVER do the Challenge ever again...

Whoops...

TGO CHALLENGE 2011: DAY 11: “STORMY MONDAY”

TGO CHALLENGE 2012: DAY 3: A Chuil to Invermallie

Enjoy!

:joy: :joy: :joy:

By the way, 11 inches annually is a bit generous for Albuquerque. The official average is more like 9 inches, I think. Unless you count the rain that evaporates before it hits the ground (virga), which is a fairly common sight around here.

I admit, I had to look up Wellies. :laughing:

Err...WOW! :scream: Thanks for the heads up, Alan!

Just treated myself to re-reading your 2012 account. Got to day 10 when I came upon the picture of you and Jane Egg and a tear crept into my eye.

Re-reading those accounts had me laughing out loud! It was an interesting day, to say the least.

On the subject of rain: let's not forget 2011 when it managed to rain on ever day of the Challenge.

Of course, when I had to miss out on last year's Challenge the weather was particularly good.

Reading Alan’s 2011 account again was both pleasurable and painful. I loved his (sometimes :wink: ) humourous account of the trials and tribulations of a Challenger. What was painful was the Wake for the Wild and a reminder of what we have lost to these apalling wind “farms”. I walked through the Stronelairg development last year and it was the worst day of my backpacking life. It was like walking through Mordor. The fact that it has been largely at the behest of a political party whose slogan is “Stronger for Scotland” beggars belief, particularly as the designations for wild land have been gerrymandered to accommodate the power companies. :rage: :rage:

I notice that nobody mentioned an umbrella...er, brolly. What are thoughts on that? Worth taking to Scotland, or not so much?

Kent

Umbrella's have been taken.
Much depends on your route, how much you want to carry and if you use poles.
I have used an Umbrella on other walks (Golite), but not in Scotland.
If up high with iffy weather it is likely to be breezy, and I wouldn't want to be holding an umbrella too. Anyway, it would spend much of it's life inside out.
There are some who do, but not for me.

I have been carrying (and using) an umbrella for years. Generally the weather on any Challenge comes from the south west-ish direction. I know it can change and I have walked into a strong chilling easterly for three days one year. But with an umbrella you can often not wear a waterproof while heavy showers blow through. For heavy persistent rain and cold winds I use Pac-lite jacket and trousers usually with some form of thermal underneath . I also carry a down jacket to up-rate my bag which is rated down to -6 and for around camp, but as Al says it can often drop below that especially if you camp high. Pack for the worst and hope for the best and you can't go wrong.

I’ve taken a lightweight collapsible umbrella on all my Challenges. I’ve rigged up a hands free system with some shockcord. Works well if it’s not too windy. There’s a picture of me using it in this post https://blogpackinglight.wordpress.com/2017/06/14/tgo-challenge-2017-day-9/