solo hiking

East Highland Way – Part 1: Before the First Step

East Highland Way Journal • Day 1

3–4 minutes

The East Highland Way is a 137 km (82 mile) long-distance trail stretching from Fort William to Aviemore through the Scottish Highlands. Over the next few posts, I’m sharing my journey one day at a time. Not as a guide to ticking off miles, but as an honest journal of the landscapes, challenges and quiet moments that stayed with me along the way.

This first chapter follows my walk from Fort William to Spean Bridge, where the adventure began with heavy rain, broken gear and a reminder that the trail had its own plans for me.

I’m sitting on a train right now, pressed against the train window not only to see rainy views of never ending greenery of Scottish highlands but as well because my backpack leaning on me is probably the biggest and heaviest I’ve ever carried.

Leaving

It weights eighteen kilograms…eighteen!

Researching and planning for East Highland Way led me to believe I won’t find suitable shop and suitable food in the first village I’ll pass – Spean Bridge and so instead of carrying heavy cans I’ve decided to carry food for the longest stretch ever.

I have to have food for at least 5 days. As I find out later I carried quite a bit more than that, but we will get there.

It is raining quite heavily outside mimicking my own emotions when I was saying goodbyes. Part of me wishes my partner to be here with me but I know there is a part of me who needs to fulfil her hunger for space and freedom away from everyone and everything.

Just me and hills for a week..

Challenging weather and experiences I yet am about to discover.

As I watch country quickly pass by I feel a knot in my stomach, anxiety has been accompanying me for few days now as the date has been approaching and I have started packing.

About the East Highland Way

East Highland Way is one of less known long distance hikes in Scottish Highlands. It is not even an official path, but rather connecting one through woodland tracks between Fort William and Aviemore – well known highland village in Cairngorms National Park. The winding path follows fairly sparsely marked woodland tracks 134km until they reach their destination in the east.

This journey has been on my radar for few years now and as it connects to well known West Highland Way, I’ve always wished to walk it. Finally I got my wish fulfilled and this journey turned to be everything else than I expected it to be.

For starters let’s just say it is not similar to West Highland Way in any way even though they share similar name. This path is the most quiet one I have experienced so far, the most remote one and the most challenging one due to long stretches of remoteness and endless solitude. Yet maybe exactly because of such, it is the most surprising long distance hike I have walked so far.

Route & Resources

JOIN ME!

Come with me on unexpected spiritual journey, journey which tested my limits not only physically but as well mentally and emotionally, journey on which I became someone else, someone who was there maybe for a very long time, but I got to meet her only now.

You can join me through written word (I will update blogs here as I manage to write them), but as well through video (on later date) in which for a first time I finally am able to include drone footage. And you can even join me through upcoming paintings as this journey has inspired my yet to be discovered artistic expression about this journey.

Can’t wait to share this with you :)

Read about the walk on Day 1

July 13, 2026

July 13, 2026July 14, 2026 by evach1988 Categories: AdventuresTags: aviemore, backpacking, cairngorms, east highland way, europe, exploring scotland, fort william, hiking, hiking gear, hiking scotland, landscape inspiration, long distance hikes, nature, nature journaling, scotland, scottish highlands, solo female hiker, solo hiking, travel, travelling scotland, visiting scotland, walking highlands 1 Comment

Solo hiking West Highland Way in Scotland

This trip was one of the most important things I have done in my entire life. I took me a while to process it and even longer to actually make this memory. I still haven’t even write a post here about it. It’s all coming it’s all in me waiting to be put out into the world, remember the amazing moments on this journey. But for now here is a video where I tried to capture the experience.

January 7, 2025June 29, 2026 by evach1988 Categories: AdventuresTags: exploring scotland, scotland, solo camping, solo hiking, solo woman hiking, travelling, travelling scotland, visiting scotland, west highland way Leave a comment

Exploring Trossachs National Park – Scotland

Last year I made myself a promise that I will explore nature of Scotland much more than I have been doing until now. There have been few years when I just didn´t get much out of Edinburgh for various reasons from luck of money to studies responsibilities or work commitments. Last year was a turning point for me where I realised that nature is the place where I feel the most home. I did few trips either with friends or on my own to highlands, bought some hiking gear and at least few times tried it out.

This year was meant to be year of long distance hikes.

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2020 had a different plan though, first half of the year we were stuck home in our neighbourhoods and when finally, was hiking and wild camping allowed I was coming back to work. So I have started exploring Pentlands close by mountains where I have been so many times since I moved here that they feel as my second home. It is amazing that just half an hour away is whole new world far away from the city.

Pentlands story is for another time though as today I would like to come back in memories when I had a chance to visit Trossachs National Park. Come along with me on the journey…

I was so excited to take my big backpack and just spend few days in Highlands. I didn´t gain enough courage to do wild camping so I thought taking it slowly and just stay in a hostel and do some one day trips around to get to know the area a little because one day I would like to hike 4 days long distance hiking road around here. What I tried was my kitchen equipment if it is actually working and if I am able to get it working.

What I love about solo hiking is that there is an opportunity to take everything in undistracted by other people.

I love nature trips with friends who have a similar way of hiking, but sometimes probably from artistic and inspirational influence I just need to be alone and listen carefully to the silent voice of nature which can get lost in conversations with others.

Very often I am most lucky to get inspiration keep it inside and be able to take it out later when I hike and observe nature on my own. I guess these are two polarities which need to be balanced. Experience nature with others on outside level and then experience it alone on inside level. For me at least one doesn´t go without the other.

Trossachs welcomed me greatly.

It was nice and sunny most of days just when I was leaving and had no more hikes planed it started raining. There is something special about this area.

Mystical forests and plain bold mountains creates just the right contrast.

I love the feeling entering mountains where all you see are mountains for kilometres and kilometres in distance. It makes me feel free and all I would love to do is just run and never stop. Sometimes it almost feels as the body is a limit which gets tired, cold and hungry but deep inside there is this free spirit which longs for freedom of the mountains.

I was stunned by the beauty around here. Not only the village Callendar where I was staying was the most beautiful tiny village with river crossing through and mountains on its backdoor but the whole area resembled something very special.

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As I walked through the forests nature showed me beautiful places and moments where light just played with the colours of trees and I happened to be in the right moment in the right place to enjoy it.

Few seconds later the moment passed and I stood there grateful for being showed such a beauty.

I guess that´s where is the believe in forest creatures who protect and guard the land is coming from, because this kind of moments and encounters are way too special to be merely coincidence. And I do love keeping this child like part full of imagination present inside of me.

Trossachs and Callander are on my future bucket list once again because this time I got a tiny glimpse of the beauty of this Mountain range. On the way back I have visited Doune Castle which is very special place as well. Maybe you got to know it from Outlander series or Monty Python and Holy Grale. Castle was under reconstruction so I didn´t get to see it in its full beauty yet still the magnificence of the place and secretes hidden in the castle walls were still present.

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I loved creating the collage once I got back home where I used my sketches from the trip and kept the feeling these mountains gave me forever – to see how it worked out watch the video above.

Have you ever visited Trossachs National Park in Scotland or would you like to? What was your experience? Is nature your inspiration as well?