Here are some of my notes on the Arizona Trail for other hikers…
Hiker references Being quite a popular walk, there is a lot of planning information already out there….
Arizona Trail Association A great first stop and worthwhile joining the Association to support the trail.
Average Hiker, Ellie Thomas has a good website setting out the logistics.
The Trek has a guide to trail towns for resupply and resting. A web search will find many more…
Facebook There is lots of info and a place for hikers each year to ask questions on Facebook- really helpful- just search with this text for your planned year ie Arizona Trail Class of 2023
Maps and guides I love maps, I love imagining what it represents on the ground and then actually travelling through the territory displayed. For hiking, call me ‘old skool’, but paper topographic maps are my first choice. Easy to use, great for navigation, but also showing the surrounding countryside and a reasonably large area of land to provide context on distant features. I fold the current pages in the pocket of my shorts so I can easily refer to them whilst walking.
I do also download maps to my phone as a backup and to utilise the GPS.
It adds a lot to my enjoyment to have something on say the local geology, flora, fauna and history. I often take extracts from paper books or electronic documents on my phone for this- really nice to read overnight in the tent.
On this trail I cut out map pages from the Arizona Trail guidebook, which to be honest in this case didn’t offer much useful information except a rough overview and were limited value for either navigation or wider context.
In addition I had the FarOut app on my phone which has the trail marked against a low definition background map. The best use for me though was the ability to view comments from others against features (and add my own). This was superb for getting up to date info on water sources in particular and was worth paying for the app just for that alone. On the downside, I found FarOut rather reduced the trail to a line ahead with a series of waypoints of gates, fences and water tanks! Its a pity it doesn’t offer any other interesting information such as on the flora/fauna.
If hiking the trail again I would prepare my own topo maps using online mapping software such as Caltopo, add a GPS track and my comments, then print out colour map sheets in advance. I would also still take FarOut app on my phone, mostly for water and trail updates and find some more flora/fauna background reading for along the way.
After the Arizona Trail… I had a few days spare before flying out of Las Vegas back to Scotland and made good use of these for some shorter hikes near Sedona then Red Rocks Canyon, Nevada and Death Valley National Park, California.
Section 7 Molino Basin Trailhead to Gabe Zimmerman Trailhead 12th November 48 miles Oh that was a great stop in Tucson, and feeling refreshed I got an Uber back out to Molino Basin via Safeway for a food restock, bagels and coffee. I sat outside the supermarket at the trolley bay charging my phone at a mains socket, sifting food and munching bagels. It was wonderful and I had 3 people come up to me and chat asking about the Arizona Trail, maybe they felt sorry for me looking a bit trashy!
At the trailhead I was restarting where I left off following a well made undulating path southward with ever closer views of the next ‘sky island’, Mica Mountain. It was pleasant coolish hiking at between 18-22C and I made quick time to camp in the dark at the edge of Rincon Wilderness Boundary a little of the way up the climb. Away by 6am next morning in the dark I enjoyed the steady climb into Saguaro National Park and up to the top at about 8,600 feet. I had seen a torch light a few miles below me to the north and it was nice to know another hiker was out there too.
Boy but it was cold up there, it felt well below freezing and I happily headed downhill through the trees and out below into open saguaro cactus country.
Section 8 Gabe Zimmerman Trailhead to Patagonia 15th November 67 miles After a stopover with Josh and Suzanne, two kind people who let me stay with them near Colossal Cave, I kept going across I10, the last of the east-west highways, and onto lower flatter terrain again. I made good miles from here to Patagonia, assisted by some weather including clouds overhead and even the odd thunderstorm to cool things down.
Highlights included spotting a bobcat, 2 bikepackers and some pretty good water sources along the way. Hitching into Patagonia turned out to be easy and rather inevitably I headed straight to a diner for an extended brunch!
PatagoniaHiking pre-dawnI10 tunnel
Section 9 Patagonia to Mexican Border 19th November 53 miles Well refreshed again after another welcoming town of Patagonia, I left for the final push to Mexico with Swig and Firecracker, hitching a lift back to the road crossing.
Swig, Brian, Firecracker
Conditions got cold and windy once we climbed up to about 8,000 feet on the flanks of Miller Peak for one bitterly cold last camp. On the last day 20th November, I nipped up to the top of Miller Peak which was covered in frost before the steady descent to the border. Finishing there with other hikers Swig, Firecracker and Cheese Curd was fun, but it felt a little anti climatic with the weird section of high metal fencing and the super high winds…… But 800 miles of Arizona was a really great experience overall and it was superb to share it off and on with so many cool people!
Survivorman’s last night cowboy camping to the endSwig and Firecracker at camp
Section 3 Flagstaff to Pine 20th October Another long fairly flat walk of 115 miles on the next stretch to the tiny town of Pine was again going to be tough on my feet!
Leaving Flagstaff after crossing Route 66 on the ‘Urban Route’ variation of the AZT, I was back into the countryside surprisingly quickly. Ponderosa pines again dominated but then gave way to more sparse pinyon juniper. I chatted with ‘Fliss(?)’, ‘Mo’ and ‘Firecracker’ heading out of town but ended up camping solo at Horse Lake that night. Sunset here was stunning across the flat grasslands and lake, with noisy geese, elk and coyote adding to the ambience.
Arriving at Mormon Lake!Golden cottonwoodSmoldering firesSmoke hazeBack north to Humphreys PeakHorse Lake sunset
On the 2nd day out from Flagstaff I hiked round a prescribed fire set off by the Forestry Service which filled the air with thick smoke for an hour or two, before cutting off trail to the small settlement of Mormon Lake for lunch at the bar and a food top up. I came across a few of these 8 legged wonders along the way….
After another 3 days I eventually hit the pleasant Highline Trail and dropped off the ‘Mogollon Rim’, an escarpment descending from the Colorado Plateau with some welcome streams, red rock and (a rarity so far) clouds! The trail took me into the tiny town of Pine- arriving at 8.30am and diving into the Early Bird Cafe to meet a few other hikers for second breakfast. 330 miles or so hiked- hoorah
Camp above PineWater filtering break at ‘Foot in Tree’ TankBelow the Mogollon Rim
Section 4 Pine to Roosevelt Lake Marina 26th October 115 miles again to my next food resupply at Roosevelt Lake Marina. This one involved some more rugged up and down over the Mazatzal and Four Peaks Wilderness’s. A bit of rocky trail and scratchy shuffling through spikey bushes kept me on my toes. I think this was my favourite stage so far however as the variety was interesting and I saw my first javelinas (small boar that live in groups called squadrons!) ……and stunning saguaro cactus…yipee.
Saguaro cactus at dawn
Section 5 Roosevelt Lake Marina to Kearny 1st November80 miles Hikers seemed to coalesce at the lake marina with about 10 of us at one point- resting weary legs, eating, sifting gear and sharing tales from the trail.
South from the marina I entered the Superstitions Wilderness, crisscrossing and chatting with fellow hikers Grandpa, Firecracker and Survivorman. It was another fine rocky area but one that dropped in elevation meaning that, despite now in November, the temperature really ramped up in the middle of the day. I took the opportunity for a cooling dip as we traversed alongside the Gila River, the trail’s lowest point at about 1,600 feet, before reaching the mining town of Kearny the next day.
L-R Brian, Grandpa, Firecracker, Survivorman
Section 6 Kearny to Molino Basin Trailhead and Tucson 6th November 100 miles Kearny was a super friendly small town; from the offer of a place to stay by ‘Q’, easy hitching in and out, diner, pizza place, supermarket with free coffee for hikers, helpful post office staff etc…. it was just great.
With fellow hikers and ‘Q’, middle right, at her house in Kearny
Setting out from Kearny, the terrain continued as low desert scrub and the temperatures were hot- maybe 30C in the afternoon. I got into a pattern of waking about 5am and hiking by 6 in the dark for a bit to enjoy sunrise and the cool early temperatures. These were my favourite times of the day with hiking into dusk at about 17.30 to 18.00 being a close second. The disadvantage was that I spent most, if not all, of my camping time in the dark!
I met up with Carrie/Firecracker along the way and we hiked together after applying some plasters to patch Carrie up as a result of an argument with a barbed wire fence!
Preying mantis Rare shade at a water tankMount Lemmon, granite country
I was glad when the trail climbed up high to about 7.800 feet at Summerhaven (amazingly this far south, a winter ski resort) and Mount Lemmon. A veggie burger with Survivorman was a rare treat here and the granite hills and pine clad slopes were really nice. Leaving early morning was a bit harder with the sub-zero overnight temperatures but the trail remained interesting all the way down to Molino Basin trailhead road crossing. I decided to hitch from here into the city of Tucson for a full day off of luxury; real food, showers, a swim in the motel outside pool(!) and some gear fixing.
In October-November 2023 Brian walked the 800 mile Arizona Trail southwards from the Utah stateline down to the Mexican border. I wild camped most of the way, but also stayed at designated campsites, with ‘trail angels’ and some motels in town. Overall it was an excellent experience! Here is a short (ish) description of my hike, some pictures, my impressions and links to more info.
‘Lentil’ atRibbon Falls, Grand Canyon
Background The Arizona Trail (AZT) is a well defined and maintained trail heading north-south across the state of Arizona. It traverses a mix of desert, high plateau and mountain ranges up to about 9,000 feet (called Sky Islands), crossing two National Parks; the iconic Grand Canyon and less well known Saguaro outside the city of Tucson.
With blazingly hot summer temperatures at low levels and deep snow in winter on the higher sections, the best seasons to walk the whole way (‘thruhike’) are spring and autumn.
Reasons for hiking Martina and I have hiked many times in southern Utah which borders onto the north of Arizona. We have also been in the Grand Canyon in northern Arizona a few times before as part of our two Hayduke Trail adventures in 2014 and 2022, and as another wonderful 2018 loop hike in Kanab Creek area. From these we were aware of the Arizona Trail and have even hiked the northern 100 miles or so as it overlaps the Hayduke.
With Martina starting a new job, Brian chose the AZT as a less risky solo adventure than the cross country, scrambling Hayduke routes whilst providing the opportunity to hike in new areas to the south of our previous travels.
Hayduke in orange and Arizona Trail in blue below…
Section by section
Section 1 to South Rim Grand Canyon 3rd October 2023 I set off from the Utah -Arizona stateline with a heavy feeling backpack and slight trepidation in pleasant cool sunshine and an initial stretch of about 90 miles hiking to reach the north rim of the grand canyon. The trail was well made and I soon climbed up from scrub desert through pinyon-juniper trees to the higher Kiabab plateau dotted with tall ponderosa pines. Trying to take it easy for the first few days to look after my feet and avoid injury, I kept to a moderate pace and under 20 miles per day. Camping was pretty straightforward making use of plenty of clear flat ground under the shelter of trees.
I chatted with 3 other hikers starting that same day; ‘Lentil’, ‘Good News’ and ‘Kidnapper’ – their ‘trail names’ – I decided just to be ‘Brian from Scotland’! That number of hikers was quite typical throughout the trail where I would be aware of other hikers each day, sometimes meeting them but often hiking on my own occasionally seeing signs of others such as their footprints.
The highest plateau elevations (up to 9,000 feet) were really fun with grassy meadows and gorgeous golden aspen trees amidst fir and pines. Temperatures were cool during the day and a chilly sub-zero (Celsius) at night, coating the tent with a layer of ice in the morning. Wildlife was surprisingly good; horned toad, lynx, woodpeckers, elk, deer and the ubiquitous ravens with their croaking and gurgling vocals.
Starting offwith LentilLynx!
Reaching the north rim of the Grand Canyon felt like a minor but significant success as the first completed section of the trail and the chance to stock up on food at the small store, pick up a camping permit for the crossing of the canyon and meet a few other hikers congregating there.
The map below shows the AZT in blue taking a scenic 26 mile direct crossing of the grand canyon via the ‘corridor trail’ ….. as opposed to the orange line of the Hayduke, a 5-6 day rollercoaster of excitement from North to South Rim. The Hayduke then also has another 7-8 day adventurous and stunning section in the canyon heading west to Kanab creek and beyond.
Crossing the Grand Canyon
‘Bonus’ Grand Canyon loop 11th October I made an ‘on the spot’ decision to do an extra loop before leaving the Grand Canyon southwards on the AZT. My reasons were that it seemed a pity to depart the canyon after such a brief visit, I heard of a cool area around the Hermit Trail that I hadn’t been to before, and it gave me the chance to do some bigger climbs but shorter miles than the next couple of weeks of long, flat plateau hiking on the AZT. Fortunately I was able to pick up up a last minute permit easily at the backcountry park office and I set off…..
I had 3 1/2 days down the canyon (Bright Angel, Tonto West, Granite Falls and a bit of Boucher Trail) and in summary it was lovely, beautiful views, cool temperatures and away from the crowds.
Section 2 Grand Canyon South Rim to Flagstaff 14th October This section was always going to be tough for me as it was a long 115 miles of flattish high plateau to the next resupply in the town of Flagstaff – it wasn’t playing to my strengths as I like hills! That said the initial hiking through ponderosa pines was mellow, the water sources were sufficient and I was able to hike longer, up to 23.5 miles each day. The undulating terrain gave huge wide vistas, especially to Humphreys peak (the highest in Arizona that we walked up in 2017) and great sunsets and sunrises at camp. I was however relieved to arrive in Flagstaff to take a day off from hiking, sort out gear and food logistics, clean up and rest my battered feet.
The north coast of Scotland has wonderful scenery with white sandy beaches, remote rocky cliffs and lots of wildlife.
Work has started improving and signposting a walking route along this coast – the North Coast Trail (NCT) – which is an ambitious but superb project. It is being carried out by the charity, Association of Northern Trails Scotland (ANTS) which Brian is involved with. This route has great potential and will link up both the John O’ Groats Trail to the east and the Cape Wrath Trail on the west for even longer hiking opportunities in northern Scotland. See the North Coast Trail website for trail descriptions and developments.
At the moment hiking the north coast involves a huge range of terrain, from cross country, bog, faint trails along tussocky cliff edges, beaches and roads. So it is a bit of an adventurous hike requiring navigation and the ability to deal with wet feet! However the views are incredible and the trail will improve through time.
Brian has backpacked about 2/3rds of the north coast in two hikes:
Almost six years on from my last hike from Tongue to Thurso, I set off this time from John o’ Groats to hike back west to Thurso. This time I had the advantage of some very welcome initial work organised by Laura Gray as part of ANTS charity on the North Coast Trail; some signage has been added and route descriptions are available on the Walk Highlands website.
Day 1 April 2026John o’ Groats to Brough I started from John o’ Groats early afternoon amidst the tourists next to the sign for the terminus of the John o’ Groats Trail. Its an easy start with mostly minor road walking for about 6km to Gills Bay (one of the two ferry points to Orkney). I had a go at following the coast ‘off piste’ around Ness of Quoys but gave up at Kirkstyle church as it was slow going and instead took the easy option of grassy verges of the A836 road to Gills Bay.
I then crossed knee-deep heather moorland towards Head of Crees crossing some steep sided gullys before deciding it would simpler to drop down to the water edge and hike the lumpy grass on sheep trails. The Island of Stroma is prominant from here with the sea crazily choppy from the strong tidal currents. I had to climb back up into the heather to round the scenic bay of Scotland’s Haven- and a very welcome new NCT sign!
I was quite happy to then follow easier minor roads and tracks westwards past Castle of Mey and the smal pier of Wester Haven. An easterly breeze was at my back but it was still chilly and not tempting to stop for too long. Reaching Scarfskerry the hiking picked up as a faint grassy signposted trail above the water edge along to the bay at weirdly named Ham.
My final stretch continued nicely along the rugged coast but with pretty easy hiking on small trails to the campsite at Brough. I prefer wild camping but this has a grand setting with the sounds of both moorland and seabirds in the air and The Old Man of Hoy just visible across the Pentland Firth to the north.
Day 2 April 2026Brough to Dunnet Head to Clardon Head
I hadn’t realised that the campsite is shared with the Caithness Seal Rehab Centre and woke to loud crying sounds from the nearby pool with a couple of seal pups. It must be feeding time!
I left the seals and headed north to start the long circuit of the Dunnet Head peninsula (the most northern point of mainland Britain). This was grand coastal walking on a narrow trail above coloured cliffs with fulmars circling and the sun warming me up as it rose above the sea.
The lighthouse at Dunnet Head has panoramic views out to Hoy and Orkney and along the north coast in both directions. I could see the Hamnivoe ferry on the horizon rounding Hoy on its way to Stromness. The western side of Dunnet still has a good trail but it crosses many mossy wet seeps in the hollows and I gave up on keeping my shoes dry. It was all very grand and atmospheric though with the birds and crashing waves below.
Stopping for lunch at the old ‘Salmon Bothy’ down at the sea, I set up the stove for tea to stay warm as the sun had disappeared and the wind was now frigid. I now had an easy walk along the beautiful beach sands at Dunnet Bay with huge breakers that looked good for surfing.
Castletown was a bit out the way but I was glad to walk to the Spar grocery store for second lunch and watch a rain shower pass by.
I loved the next section hiking along the high tide level to Clardon Haven on the tilted sandstone slabs and white sea shell sands. A good grassy trail followed along the low cliff edge before I found an excellent camp spot west of Clardon Head overlooking Thurso Bay to the west and back to Dunnet Head to the east.
Day 3 April 2026Clardon Headto Thurso Still cold overnight but I was away early for the short hop on the good trail into Thurso and the bus back to John o’ Groats.
A fine trip with lots of great scenery and mostly rough trail or hiking along above high tide. The new signposts were a cheery sight and very useful to keep on track with the many junctions. Oh, I didn’t see anyone else hiking! Hopefully this coast will become more popular for both day hikers and backpackers- it certainly deserves to be.
August 2020 Tongue to Thurso(eastbound)
This was a short backpacking trip by Brian to the north coast of Scotland during a summer of Covid-19 travel restrictions. I have seen a lot of Scotland over the years but this area in the far north is somewhere where I haven’t been to too much and I thought a coastal backpack would be a good way to explore. The downside was that August is not my favourite time to visit, mostly due to high, wet vegetation and the midge, a particularly gruesome insect!
Summary A scenic hike with stunning coastal cliffs and expanses of sand but was tough going due to a few factors. There are currently few trails on this part of the coast in between the town and road sections and the terrain above the cliffs was heather and peat, mostly not too bad for walking but at times very wet and tussocky. The midges were pretty awful at camp as feared, even when pitched on a sandy beach at high tide level. Very little sitting outside the tent with a cup of tea gazing at the scenery here! There was a bit of road walking, such as the 6 miles of busy road to get round the nuclear power station at Dounreay.
Talmine near Tongue
Having recently been backpacking in Cornwall, the towns of the north lack the ‘cuteness’ and interesting old buildings found down there. However this was balanced by the fantastic scenery and lack of crowds- hiking on the coast away from towns, I saw virtually noone else hiking- maybe for the reasons above!
So when hiking here again I would go between March and June- with maybe May being optimum depending on the weather.
Monday 17th August 2020 The weather was set fair for the next few days as I left my car near Tongue, ready to hike east following the coast as much as I could. Tongue is on the side of the ‘Kyle of Tongue’ sea inlet– which surely must rank as one of the most beautiful places in Scotland with huge expanses of white sand exposed at low tide, a jagged mountain backdrop inland and a number of islands dotting the horizon out to sea.
I headed up the east side of the inlet at first on a pebbly shore before I was forced up a steep slope above the sea by a cliff. I had to bushwhack through head high bracken for a bit before popping out at some houses and taking a gravel access road back out to the main A836 road at Rhitongue.
An overgrown trail past a river valley took me to some cottages at Skullomie and then I had a really cool stretch north on sheep trails to ruins at Sletell. The views over to Rabbit Islands and Eilean nan Ron were grand. Some more bracken bashing followed before I picked up a sequence of short trails and minor roads to Skerray and on to Torrisdale Bay. I was finding that the vegetation was really high and difficult to hike through near to houses, but away from there and on the coast it tended to much better short cropped heather.
Crossing the River Borgie via a footbridge, I then hiked round the sandy dunes of Torrisdale Bay to Invernaver- another lovely stretch. I road walked into Bettyhill town, arriving about 7pm to find the grocery store was closed, but I picked up water at the public toilets. So I headed on and dropped down to the smaller beach of Farr Bay. There was one surfer riding to waves at twilight as I stopped to pitch the tent on the beach at high tide level.
The wind died down and midges descended as I pitched, and I ended up eating whilst walking along the edge of the water to keep them at bay. Lovely spot though!
Tuesday 18th August 2020 Midges chased me off in the morning as I headed north to Farr Point. Wild cliff scenery around the point and past the ruined Borve Castle made for dramatic hiking. I struggled a bit zig zagging through the cluster of houses at Swordly, with some head high bushwhacking to get through an overgrown path.
Near Borve Castle- Farr Point
A better jeep track over the hill eastwards down to the road at Kirtomy provided some easier walking and then I had another good jeep track up the hill north of a big antenna with lovely views back west across Swordly Bay. At this point I headed cross country north east a bit inland to the ruins and trail at Poulouriscaig over quite remote feeling ground. A stop a bit further on on top of an old concrete building allowed me to dry off and carry out some minor repairs to the tent guy lines. My feet were also suffering a bit from the continuously wet underfoot conditions and sand in everything.
Easy tracks led down to Armadale road and I picked up a signposted route down to Armadale Bay- an lovely expanse of sand with no one else on it strangely. Lunch was had above the cliffs on the east side as the sun came out and a breeze kept the midges away. I was able to relax with the stove out for a couple of cups of tea with the bay as a beautiful backdrop.
Armadale Bay
Next up was a long hike up northwards on the west coast of the peninsula of Strathy Point. I walked through heather and grass mostly above cliffs, zawns and islands. The rock mostly seemed to be ‘gneiss’ with some cool distorted and striped rock. The final couple of miles to Strathy Point lighthouse was particularly grand – natural arches and white water dashing against the cliffs. The sun also appeared again which helped!
Near Strathy Point
I took the minor road back down the east side of the peninsula to Strathy and through some rare woods to a new trailhead toilet block area above Strathy Bay where I cooked up dinner. This is a good spot for surfing and on a warm sunny evening it was grand.
A strange sight on the way was a car driving slowly down the road with the sheep leading ahead of the car – very obediently. Normally sheep would just spread out off the road back into the fields!
The roads here are quite busy with campervans with the coastal road being part of the very popular ‘North Coast 500’ driving (and cycling) route. It would be a very scenic drive but you will be sharing it with a procession of vans, RVs and cars. One benefit I did find when road walking though is that when its cold and a campervan drives past I had a refreshing blast of warm air to heat me up!
I took water at the toilet bock – water availability is a slight issue as I have been a bit wary of streams at the coast flowing through the heavily farmed areas with lots of cattle. I am carrying aquamira water purifier tablets but prefer to take water from towns and public water supplies where I can.
The hike east along the cliff tops from here in the evening with the low sun behind me was one of the highlights of the trip and I found a wild camp spot near Rubha na Cloiche. A good varied day but the feet are blistering a bit being constantly wet!
Evening sun near Rubha na Cloiche
Wednesday 19th August 2020 A few midges last night but not the apocalyptic swarms of the previous night. I had a soggy hike along the coast then headed out south to the A836 road to walk into Melvich. There is a campsite here so I stopped to dry the tent out and buy coffee and cake at the campsite store- the first open shop I had come across.
There was a bridge marked on the map over the Halladale River at the enigmatically named ‘Big House’. To get there I walked back up the road again then took a track down to the sand dunes to the bridge. But arrrgghh, the bridge had a locked gate with a sign saying no access. I looked at the river but it appeared to be swimming rather than wading depth.
[UPDATE: The Charity which I am involved with (Association of Northern Trails Scotland, ANTS) are hoping to fund a new bridge here as part of the wider ‘North Coast Trail‘ project to improve the trail and signposting. Information on the ANTS website and feel free to join volunteer projects or donate as well!]
So reluctantly I retreated back round to the campsite then along the verge of the A836 to the south over the river and picked up tracks back to Big House. Maybe only a 90 minute detour but it was frustrating that the bridge was closed to the public.
Looking across to Big House and the Halladale River bridge
I headed east again along the cliff tops over tussocky heather past more grand cliffs. The rock type changed to sedimentary here with tilted bands and some massive overhanging rock faces. Later on this section became a bit of trudge though over continuously peat haggy ground then heavily dug up areas as I passed Sandside House and into Reay on road. I had hoped for a shop here but everything seemed closed – I did at least pick up water from a hose pipe in the local cemetery….
Now I had to face up to a long road walk on the A836 to get round Dounreay nuclear power station. I hiked fast and used the rough verges when cars passed, but walked the road when it was quiet. Not my favourite hiking experience it has to be said, but the views of Dounreay were strangely fascinating, changing slowly as I passed by at hiking speed.
Dounreay
Well, all good things must pass, and I soon picked up a track heading north back to the coast across some pretty wasted cattle farming land. The coast was cool though and I had a stop and brew of tea on slabby rock strata dipping into the sea. I decided to hike on to Thurso today as I couldn’t see much in the way of decent camping up to there and my feet were blistered!
The wind farm at Hill of Lybster was fun to hike past, as was the Chapel and bridge crossing at Crosskirk. Mist and some drizzle came in as I hiked field margins past Brims Castle and then uphill to Ness of Litter. There is a Caithness Flagstone quarry there perched right at the edge of the cliff but the visibility had reduced now and it was just me and lots of sheep dodging around. I took the track into the ferry terminal of Scrabster and by now the mist was down at sea level so I put my head down to walk roads into Thurso to finish. A long day of maybe 26 miles to wrap up the trip!
Useful links
North Coast Trail website Route descriptions and maps for the eastern half of the trail and watch out for updates ….
