Self-Supported Trekking

Ian and I had never experienced self-guided trekking before.  Here in Montana, we typically backpack independently during the summers.  On previous trips to Peru and Chile, we have been fully supported and guided, which is Adventure Life’s typical style.  Porters or vehicles move your bags, your guide is with you and your cook makes the meals. This usually occurs in remote locations.

In Scotland, we decided on a self-guided trekking tour.  Since the West Highland Way isn’t remote, we didn’t feel the need to do a fully self-support backpacking trip.  There are villages along the way with B&Bs.  Wouldn’t it be nice to stay in a real bed and eat at restaurants/pubs along the way?

We used a fantastic local outfitter, who arranged all of the logistics, which made it extra simple for us.  They booked our lodging, transferred our bags from point to point, and provided us with an incredible map app that works offline, so we always knew where we were and where we were going. All we had to do was hike. We stayed each night in comfortable B&B’s, never cooked a meal, and were able to explore on our own, hiking several mountains that were just off the West Highland Way. Using an outfitter to do a self-guided trek gave us all the freedom and flexibility we were after, without having to do the heavy lifting of research and planning.  Now I know why people use Adventure Life to plan their trips!! It made it so much easier and I was able to delegate the planning to someone much more knowledge that me (the UK was not in my wheelhouse at the time).

Both Ian and I loved this style of travel and I foresee us opting for it again in the future.  We have already talked about the Julian Alps in Slovenia and the E5 Alpine Crossing.  We have a few bigger backpacking trips in South America on our radar, but the inn-to-inn self-guided style certainly appeals as we get older.