Navigation and the CWT

[Uncle bob]

I can recommend the book ..." Ultimate Navigation Manual "...by Lyle Brotherton . I could use a compass and map with a basic knowledge of both , i have in the passed relied on my old Garmin 62s and now my newer Garmin 30x ..( battery life in the 62s was 18hours tops ...the 30x is 3/4 days on a set of batteries ).....I think i am now very confident with map and compass and pacing using beads ....anyhow the book is worth every penny and more....thats my biggest recommendation .

I am getting geared up for either a full CWT or a section hike if it chews me up and spits me out ...I have the Cicerone 2017 updated guide book and the harvey maps ....I'm up for any navigation advice and groung conditions ie; climbs , passes , descents, river crossings, off any one who has done any CWT sections ...i have watched all the you tube and read Walk The Highlands reports.....The Hounds of Howgate CWT was good ...But my go to reference now is .." Wandering Scotlands " his youtube 3 part CWT is a must view for ant Cape Wrathers ..he also took an alternative route to doing " The Falls of Glomach "...I am not keen on doing the falls as i will going solo.

[Milvus]

I had the Harvey Maps, compass, an old Garmin CSX60 and the Cicerone book. I have never used the compass, because with the Harvey Maps it's pretty obvious where you should go, provided that you are not walking in the fog. When in doubt, I just switched my GPS on for a few minutes and switched it off again once I had confirmed where I was. Batteries last for ages that way. The Cicerone book was a good read in the evening to have an idea what the next day had in store.

But I was lucky with the weather most of the days, so navigation was quite easy then.

[walkingpoles]

Compass in the pocket was the quickest way to reassure me that I didn't go off a tangent. I used Harveys and some print-outs from OS maps for the part I wanted to deviate from Harveys and nearby munros. I never switched on my gps. No guide book. The tricky bits were new roads due to hydrocheming. On one occasion I used a plan B (missed a path near the Falls of Glomach, but the alternative way didn't result in a detour, just some rougher ground.) I met some folks who did navigation errors on the CWT. Not using the compass and following the wrong path-type. Usually not a problem, as adding 2km to 378km is not really a biggie.
If going now, I'd leave the gps at home and use my phone with viewranger instead.

And go anti-clockwise around Ben Droneig. I hope your guide book says the same.

[Old Stag]

Both times I did the CWT I avoided the Falls of Glomach and took a half day by going from Shiel Bridge to Dornie. Then the next day I headed up through Glen Ling i think it's called. First time I came out at Attadale and road walked to Strathcarron which was...memorable. Second time I took the longer, tougher and much safer option of coming out the hills at Strathcarron itself.
If I had three tips to give for the trail they would be 1. Take your time it's worth 2-3 weeks. 2. Start at Fort William, the ferry over is a great start and the walk up Cona Glen is glorious. 3. Wild camp your last night at Sandwood Bay. Sitting on the beach when the lighthouse started to wink on and off at the Cape was an amazing moment.

There's a CWT facebook group which is very helpful.

[Uncle bob]

Thank you for the reply " walking poles ".....yes my cape wrath guide shows leaving Moel bhuidhe , East around Loch Cruoshie , heading North anti clock passed Beinn Dronaig to Loch Calavie . Think i'll still take the Garmin 30x if only for checking Grid ref ....its only light ....but the mag glass i need to read it with weighs a ton .

Thank you " Old Stag " for your reply I will check your route alts out ......The alt route i'm thinking of is .....on leaving Morvich and climbing up through "Dorusduain Woods " instead of heading North east to the falls ....I carry on going straight North to a Bealach/pass bellow the western side of " Carnan Cruithneachd "...start a descent still heading North , then North east and North descending to the " River Elchaig " ..I would then a mile or 2 below same path as if i'd come down the Falls .

[walkingpoles]

......The alt route i'm thinking of is .....on leaving Morvich and climbing up through "Dorusduain Woods " instead of heading North east to the falls ....I carry on going straight North to a Bealach/pass bellow the western side of " Carnan Cruithneachd "...start a descent still heading North , then North east and North descending to the " River Elchaig " ..I would then a mile or 2 below same path as if i'd come down the Falls .

If I understand you correctly, Viewranger even shows a path where you want to go. There are many options, simply make sure to find a bridge over the river Elchaig. It's more like a swim than hopping stepping stones to get over it. I crossed it much further upstream at the Iron Lodge where there is a bridge and fording it there would not have been a sensible idea.

Also, there is nothing wrong with checking out the Falls of Glomach if you haven't seen them before. In my books, that is. If you meet fellow CWTers they might start talking about the Falls. I skipped them on the CWT (coming from Alltbeithe) because I wasn't aware how nice they were (and due to feet and fitness issues. I checked them out on a later trip).

Enjoy

[bydand_loon]

Thank you for the reply " walking poles ".....yes my cape wrath guide shows leaving Moel bhuidhe , East around Loch Cruoshie , heading North anti clock passed Beinn Dronaig to Loch Calavie . Think i'll still take the Garmin 30x if only for checking Grid ref ....its only light ....but the mag glass i need to read it with weighs a ton .

Thank you " Old Stag " for your reply I will check your route alts out ......The alt route i'm thinking of is .....on leaving Morvich and climbing up through "Dorusduain Woods " instead of heading North east to the falls ....I carry on going straight North to a Bealach/pass bellow the western side of " Carnan Cruithneachd "...start a descent still heading North , then North east and North descending to the " River Elchaig " ..I would then a mile or 2 below same path as if i'd come down the Falls .

This is the alt route I took last April, decent enough path on top, that disappears/hard to see for about 50/100m then goes good again, advantage is that you look down into the glen and can make a decision on river crossing or divert to the bridge, I crossed the river with dry feet.

[bydand_loon]

And heading from Maol Bhuidhe to Loch Calavie, I followed this route, a lot easier than I expected, although some peat hags and mushy bits to navigate through initially. From roughly the arrow there is a very faint 4x4 track that gets better as you go, until it's a full on obvious track

[Uncle bob]

Thank you " bydand_loon ".....that is the alt route that i seen the guy do in his youtube vlog...I think its by " Wandering Scotland "....and its " Cape Wrath Trail Part 2, Barisdale to Kinlochewe April 19 ", and its from 12.20mins - 14.23mins ......I have OS premium on my laptop ...great help when plotting a route/track....fly through..3D map...elevation plot/graph ...mileage/time estimate, but no amount of looking at maps can be anywhere near as valuable as the feed back i am getting here off you guys ...it really is appreciated .....i now need a few hours to go over the help and advice and then I'll get back with my thoughts.

and yes fording the river is a biggy ... but I will be glad to be on the valley floor ...so worst case even a walk to a bridge wont bother me.

[Uncle bob]

I hav'nt worked out how to repy to PM's....I will soon .

[kenny lochaber]

Another great book if you wish to teach yourself more about Navigation - is NAVIGATION IN THE MOUNTAINS- BY CARLO FORTE- covers all the themes- in all conditions here and Abroad- Alpine and Glacial - GPS- with moon and stars etc (only briefly covered ) - great diagrams and easy to follow- suits beginners right through to experienced and anyone who wanted to re hone or refresh their knowledge- even got a section should you wish to teach others. Found it very good and well presented