Training for the West Highland Way: Backpacking the Manistee River Trail
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I only had one chance for a shakedown backpacking trip before walking the West Highland Way in Scotland. See how my very rainy weekend prepared me for the WHW.
I planned a trip to hike the West Highland Way in Scotland only a month before I would leave, which meant I only had time for one backpacking trip before I left. I needed to get in shape and sort out any gear issues. My shakedown trip on the Manistee River Trail in Michigan turned out to be a VERY rainy weekend – which is really great training for Scotland.
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Planning a walk on the West Highland Way
I wanted to hike the West Highland Way in Scotland for a while, but wasn’t sure when. I hadn’t taken a vacation from work in nearly a year and my schedule cleared up enough it suddenly became possible. Unfortunately it only gave me a month to plan and train. I bought the plane ticket and arranged lodging on the trail, but now I only had time to squeeze in one backpacking trip to train and test my gear.
I’m a regular backpacker so I have all the gear I need. I was already familiar with my tent, sleeping bag, and cooking system. The one new piece of gear I really wanted to test out was my new GoPro camera. Getting good video of the Scotland trip was important to me, so I wanted to be sure I knew how to use the camera and was able to get good footage. I assembled my gear and headed out to the Manistee River Trail near Harrietta, MI.
The Manistee River Trail in Michigan
The Manistee River Trail (MRT) is about a 20 mile loop trail. Half of it is on the North Country Trail (NCT), a 4,800 mile trail that runs through 8 states. It’s a beautiful place and is VERY popular. A few campsites can be reached by vehicle, so there’s often a mix of car campers and backpackers.
It’s one of my favorite places. The trailhead is only 2 hours from where I live, so I can head up on a Friday after work. I tend to go here in shoulder seasons to avoid the worst of the crowds and I do my best to avoid the most popular campsites.
When I got to the parking lot on Friday evening, there were a fair amount of cars. The trail would be pretty crowded and finding an empty campsite would be more difficult. On the MRT side of the trail (east of the river – the west side is the NCT), there are designated campsites. You can also disperse camp (what they call wild camping in Scotland) as long as you are 200 feet from water and 100 feet from the trail.
A beautiful evening on the Manistee River Trail
I parked at the Red Bridge parking area and hit the trail. Before I went 1/2 mile, I saw a tent set up just off the trail. The more popular spots would definitely be taken. I have a spot a like that’s just over 1/2 mile in and decided if it was empty I would stay there. I’d have a longer hiking day on Saturday, but I was training to do longer mileage days anyway.
My spot was empty so I set up my tent there. The campsite is a good distance from the trail which I like. There is no water access nearby, but I had planned for that and had enough water for the first night. I set up my tent and walked to the nearby bluff to watch the sun set. As the sun disappeared behind the trees, bats flitted through the air. I couldn’t see or hear any other people and it was a very peaceful and beautiful evening.
The rain begins
Some time overnight the rain started. I awoke to hear it pounding on my tent, but I was dry and comfortable so I went back to sleep. Around 6 am I woke up to hear the rain still beating on my tent. I had cell signal and used it to check the weather – the rain would not be ending anytime soon. I ate breakfast in my tent, packed up in the rain, and started out on the trail.
Before I’d hiked too far, I had to stop and get water from a stream. My campsite was high on a bluff over the river so I didn’t have any water access that night. It was time for a refill – which isn’t much fun in the pouring rain. I set up my GoPro – remember I was trying to test it out – and the battery died. I had charged up the spare batteries at home before I left, and apparently forgot them at home. There was the first item on my prep list for the West Highland Way – have a good packing list and make sure I don’t forget anything.
I had no GoPro for the rest of the trip – which was a bummer since it was the one thing I really wanted to try out. I also have a still camera, a regular video camera, and my phone. The problem with the rest of these is that they can’t handle rain the way the GoPro can.
I store my cameras in a belt bag (also known as a waist pack and formerly known as a fanny pack) so they are easily accessible while hiking. Well, except for my phone which I keep in a thigh pocket in my pants. I kept my rain gear over them, but even then the waist pack eventually got wet, threatening my cameras. Second item on my prep list for the West Highland Way was to get a waterproof bag that could protect my cameras inside the fanny pack when needed.
Best camera gear for hiking
Interested in getting a good camera or video camera for hiking photos and video? Read this post about what camera gear I use for hiking and why I like it.
The rain continues
The rain was relentless. It wasn’t just sprinkling; it was pouring. Parts of the trail looked like a river with water flowing down them. Water soaked right through my boots. It was fortunate the weather was warm. I was only wet, not wet and cold, so that was my silver lining in a day filled with rain clouds. I was hoping the rain would at least clear up before lunch so I could be a little more comfortable while eating. My pant legs were soaking wet and sticking to my legs which I HATE. I have gaiters which I like to wear in the rain, but I’d forgotten them at home. That was a third item on my West Highland Way prep list – be sure to bring my gaiters for rainy days in Scotland.
A break in the clouds
Around noon the rain finally began to let up. It stopped by the time I sat down to eat lunch, which I was happy about. But after about 30 seconds into eating my lunch, it started sprinkling again. Oh well, at least it wasn’t pouring. I hiked 12.4 miles for the day, then made camp up on a bluff. The rain stopped while I set up but my tent was already soaked, inside and out. Fortunately I had accidentally packed two camp towels with me, and I was able to use one to wipe up the inside of my tent while keeping the other one clean to use to dry myself off. That was the fourth item on my West Highland Way prep list – I would bring two towels with me, just in case.
Day 3 on the Manistee River Trail was a fresh start
I awoke on day 3 to find the rain had stopped and things were clearing up. I only had about 7 miles to go. There was no rush to hit the trail, so I spent a leisurely morning trying to dry things out before packing up. I hit the trail about 11 a.m. and hiked until 12:30 when I decided to stop for lunch. There were blisters on the bottom of my feet – a tough spot to bandage – and I also had some knee pain. I didn’t give myself much time to train for Scotland and the pain was a result of trying to do too much, too fast. It was annoying but bearable. I ate my lunch, patched up my feet as best I could and hit the trail, hiking the last few miles to the end.
My phone had been acting up for much of the day – I think it was mad about how wet it got on day 2. Near the end of my hike I pulled it out of my pocket to check the mileage only to discover it was locked for 15 minutes. It was in my pocket so I’m not sure what happened to it. The fifth item on my West Highland Way prep list was to be sure and get a paper map so I didn’t have to rely on having a phone.
Lessons for Scotland
My training hike turned out to be really good training for Scotland because it turns out it can rain A LOT in Scotland. And I knew I could handle that. The terrain in Scotland would be much more difficult than what I faced on the Manistee River Trail, but I wouldn’t be carrying my full pack in Scotland. I’d hired a luggage service to transport my big bag to my lodgings every day. That meant I would hike with only a day pack. So the trail would be more difficult, but I would be carrying less weight. The mileage in Scotland on many of the days will be quite a bit higher than I’m used to, so I’ll also have that to deal with.
The biggest thing I learned from my shakedown hike was that I needed to be very meticulous about creating a packing list and making sure I had everything on it. I had forgotten so many things for this weekend trip. The blisters and knee pain were concerns, but there wasn’t much I could do about them. I’m very blister prone, so I expected that to be a problem no matter what, but I hoped my knees wouldn’t continue to give me problems.
My one training hike before I left for Scotland was done. I had gotten some miles in, and figured out a few things I wanted to do or bring. Only 3 weeks until Scotland!
My prep list summary after the shakedown hike:
- Have a good packing list and make sure I pack everything on it
- Get a waterproof bag to protect my cameras
- Bring gaiters to make rainy weather more comfortable
- Bring two towels
- Bring a paper map so I don’t have to rely on my phone