West Highland Way
The first team with a wheelchair user to complete the West Highland Way (Scotland)
My story
Dan and Rachael met on the 2017 Back Up Colorado ski course.
Dan as a participant to introduce him to the world of wheelchair sports, and Rachael as a member of the care team.
Since then, they've had many adventures together and Dan has taken on many challenges in support of Back Up, including climbing Snowdon, Hellvellyn and Skiddaw.
This year, they are going to take on the 96 mile challenge that is the West Highland Way.
We've also recruited the lovely Will and Kelly, all the way from the USA.
Some lovely Scots have also joined our team!
Craig, Sue and Lou, who will also be taking the challenge on for the first time; Jessie, up from Brighton taking on the Way for the second time; Gary, who has completed the Way before and we have some great advice coming from Matt, who has done the Way over 30 times!!
The goal is to complete it in around 9 days, starting April 28th.
To our knowledge, no one has ever finished the challenge as a manual wheelchair user.
There is one inaccessible leg around Loch Lomond that will have to be missed (or detoured over the water), but the rest is accessible to horses and bicycles, so why not a wheelchair!
Activity Totals
10.00 miles coveredDay 8 - done and dusted!
May 5, 2024, 9:20:05 PMDONE!!!! It's been an epic 8 days and the team had been absolutely amazing! Today was Kinlochleven to Fort William, and the first hill out was a challenge! After that it was pretty much a doddle, and our lovely Dutch friends took a turn on the poles. There was a bit more heavy lifting just before the descent, and the descent into FW was long and got boring as it's a tarmacked road into the town. No serious injuries, and only 3 falls (2 of which were Dan).
Day 7 - Kingshouse to Kinlochleven - evening
May 4, 2024, 7:25:39 PMYesterday (Inveroran to Kingshouse) over Rannoch Moor was just beautiful! We had a clear, warm day and got into Kingshouse mid afternoon. We met a Bristol Viking named Paddy who had seen the chair previously and was trying to catch us up to help out. He did a big stint on the back of the chair for a few miles before heading on his way. Today we tackled the dreaded Devil's Staircase. After a refueling of a hot breakfast at the Way Inn we were ready! We had good, dry weather for it and absolutely smashed it! We had an extra pair of hands from our new Israeli friend Wasn't long before we reached the top, had some lunch and a sock change and started the descent down. The descent into Kinlochleven was an adventure, and once we reached the hydro access road, it was a straight run into the village. Blackwater very kindly upgraded Dan to a pod, of which had a second bed that I am taking advantage of to rest the sore back, knees, and feet and my blister's blisters for the final day. See you in Fort William anywhere between 4 and 8 😂
Day 6 - morning - Inveroran to Kingshouse today
May 3, 2024, 4:45:23 AMDay 3 was the tough one! Lochside from Cashel to Beinglas. Took us 10 hours or so but we made it! 99.9% done in the chair except for one little (and narrow!) rock that required a piggy back! Thanks to Lucy at Ben's Bakes for a few goodies to fuel us on! Grateful to get into Beinglas campsite and be offered a free team dinner from the guys there. Day 4 was a bit of a easier day, Beinglas to Tyndrum and this marked the halfway point for the whole Way. Day 5, Tyndrum to Inveroran was a nice walk, a few hairy bits but nothing like lochside! We settled into our wild camp with a fire and some music accompanied by a beautiful sunset.
Day 3 - morning
Apr 30, 2024, 6:27:36 AMWe've reached Cashel and today's our big 18 mile trek to Beinglas! We're all up and fueled with breakfast and hot drinks.. The rain is joining us again today, hopefully no slippery rocks. Yesterday was an introduction to a few of the obstacle challenges along the Way.
3 sleeps to go!
Apr 25, 2024, 11:20:21 AMWith 3 sleeps to go, we're all doing last minute preparations to make sure we have everything packed. I've had last minute panics that I may have misjudged accommodation needs, but I'm pretty sure no one will be roof-less over our trek. We will post updates on here and on social media - I will be uploading on Tiktok (@rachaelleek26) and Instagram (@rattlesramblings).