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- Just a girl and her dog and an unofficial unmarked 80-mile trail across the Isle of Skye. (pensive, dramatic music) And you really need to be able to read a map well. Over the next six days, Vilk and I are going to be crossing this most epic of all islands in Scotland via bogs, glens, exposed mountain ridges, cliffs and rugged terrain. There's something really incredibly rugged and kind of like romantically brutal about Scotland. Look, we all live in a world that rushes ahead at full speed, filled with distractions and comforts. But this, this here, this is our way to rebel.
I can't wait to wild camp in my tent, not shower for days. I am wet. Feel the cold and the heat on my skin and be a feral little wild limb. I guess this is day one on the Skye Trail. Hey buddy, if you are ready, you wanna go on the trail? You wanna go have some fun? You wanna go hike? I am packed. I've got my backpack here. Got my little fanny pack, Vilk's backpack. I'm gonna put on him right now. I am ready, I am ready.
What am I waiting for? I'm ready. There's nothing more to do. (lighthearted music) So let's go. (chuckles) In case you're wondering what he's carrying in his little backpack, it's his food and his sleeping bag. So it's a pretty light load. It just takes up a lot of space. My plan is to cross the Isle of Skye on foot south to north. Unofficially it's known as the Skye Trail, though there is no formal or marked trail for this route.
Over the course of around 120 kilometers and 5,000 meters of elevation gain, you have to self navigate over glens, valleys, ridges, mountains, and cliffs. It's a pretty challenging route. Okay, so I have a feeling like most of the hikers that share their hikes online, I get a feeling somehow that they're all very well organized. And I get that feeling because I see them putting together these like beautiful flat lays and everything is nice and neat. And I am nothing like them because I am so messy.
Everything is always last minute. So it makes me feel a little bit, you know, inadequate like an imposter or something. Just because I can never get my shit together. (chuckles) But somehow it always works out, so. (dramatic music) I like to think that the measure of a good hiker is not in her gear or even organizational skills, but in the willingness of her feet. Vilk is just completely hypnotized by the sheep. Completely hypnotized. (lighthearted music) He doesn't chase them, he just stares at them.
He's like, "Who are you?" (chuckles) What is it? 24 kilometers and about eight hours of hiking into day one, it was time to find a spot for the night. You gonna get through with your backpack? Yep. Good boy. Yes. (gentle music) Good boy, yes. Somewhere away from the road and the trail and the sheep and far from prying eyes. (chuckles) There's a faint little path that leads through here towards, oh my god, this is amazing. Check this out. Yeah, definitely staying here tonight. Oh yeah. (chuckles) Oh my God. This is so beautiful.
Like little pools. This area as beautiful as it is, it's quite marshy, but I think the other side looks a bit more dry. So I'm gonna see if I can cross over to the other side and set up camp on the other side of the river. Yeah, this spot is pretty amazing. It's by the river. You've got water. There's no sheep, there's no wind. The only downside is that it's quite lumpy. Like yeah, this is quite lumpy. The ground is not the most comfortable, but clearly someone has slept here 'cause you can see that this area has been flattened out. And that's nice because it means that I won't be treading on any new foliage.
That's not to say it's gonna be a comfortable night. (dramatic music) Controversial opinion, I believe that the right to wild camp should be a human right. There are so many countries, including Poland, my own, where wild camping is almost completely illegal. And I find that absolutely heartbreaking. These restrictions create an even greater disconnect between us and the nature around us. And how are you supposed to give a damn about something if you can't even get to know it?
It's levitating. This gives you an idea of how uneven the ground is. Vilk decided that this is the right spot, haven't you? Good boy. (chuckles) You ready to eat? Mm. Haha, here's dinner. (chuckles) He went into the tent 'cause he knows that whenever he's about to eat, he has to go place, and then he gets his food. Sits. (gentle pensive music)
Of course, it goes without saying that certain areas need to be protected and private property respected. But the Scottish and Scandinavian spirit of the right to roam is something more countries could learn from. So yes, wild camping is very much legal out here as long as you leave no trace, do not disturb wildlife and come as a respectful visitor. Spicy pasta arrabbiata tonight. I think one of my favorite things about hiking is that all the normal things feel so incredibly amazing.
Like a very standard freeze dried meal tastes so good (chuckles) when you're hungry and when there was nothing else. (chuckles) So good. (pensive music) Well, as soon as I had dinner, I felt this irresistible urge to get inside my sleeping bag and lay down. That's so that's what I did. All my stuff is here.
Vilk is in the corner sleeping. Honestly, it's been a pretty amazing day. Beautiful weather. But I think the thing that I loved the most was the fact that there was like nobody else here. (chuckles) There's like a few other hikers and that's it. Which is kind of crazy because Skye is one of the most popular attractions in Scotland. There's like a million visitors every year to the island. Anyway, it is like 8:00 PM, but I'm gonna go to bed because I'm exhausted.
I'm going to bed early is not only allowed, but also encouraged on long distance hikes. So good night. I'll see you guys tomorrow. Bye-bye. Well good morning. (keys clacking) I had an amazing night of sleep. Nine hours in his little tent. Vilk kept me company, of course. And now he's guarding over our dominion. This is where we slept. Can you believe it? Also, I have noticed something really funny. Vilk is the exact color of the Scottish highlands in spring.
Check him out. He camouflages so well. Come here. (laughs) You're the exact color (laughs) of your surroundings, Vilk. (dramatic music) (chuckles) I've also just realized that, by the time that this video comes out, my book will have been published in the UK. Can you believe it? It's, I can't believe it. It's gone by so quickly. So you can get this exact copy, well, a copy that looks exactly like this, in your hands right now. I'm gonna post the links somewhere here. And by the way, Noraly from Itchy Boots and Brianna Madia, they both say that this is a great book. So you better believe them. So while you get your copy, I'm gonna keep packing.
So I'm gonna give you a moment to get it (gentle music) while I pack. Yeah. (keys clacking) Haha, all done. Have you ordered your copy yet? It's about time. (dramatic music) The plan for today is to cross a mountain pass and then hike along a very long glen, the local name for a valley. My goal is around 25 kilometers, as long as my and Vilk's feet permit. The morning started out so beautiful, but today I wouldn't be able to escape the wrath of Scottish weather.
Don't knock over the tripod. (laughs) (soothing music) I think I'm finally in Scotland now because it's just started raining. Little drizzling, but still getting a little bit wet. And I'm just about to get over this really gorgeous mountain pass called the Am Mam Pass. I think that's what it's called. And as I'm kind of trudging along, feeling the weight of my backpack, you know, feeling all kinds of little aches and pains, it's made me wonder like, why do we do these things?
Why do we embark on these long walks? There's like such a massive hiking community, it's only becoming more and more popular. And I think I have a theory. I think we go on these long walks because when you go walking, you can't easily check your phone, you can't easily check your emails. It's kind of like an escape from the things that don't feel human and natural, like most of our everyday lives, you know, which are designed to keep us indoors, in front of desks. But this feels human. This feels very human.
Humans have been walking for as long as we've been around, chasing animals and herding animals. Walking is such a human thing to do that I think when we walk we reconnect to that humanity. Look at this goober. He is about to ambush me. That's an ambush in waiting. That's an ambush. I can see it. You can't fool me. (laughs) Whoo. Is that an ambush? (laughs) It is getting very wet and cold and just a little bit miserable now. And also, it's approximately lunchtime now. Normally I would just kind of sit down by the side of the trail and have some food, but not in this weather. As luck would have it though, we are very close to a bothy.
It's just over there in the distance. I don't know if you'll be able to see it there. And a bothy is basically like a shelter here in Scotland, and they're accessible to anyone. You can sleep there, you can seek shelter there, you can just have lunch there if that's what you want. So that's exactly what we're gonna do. God, I really hope it doesn't stay like this for the rest of the week. It is raining now, properly raining. (stones crunching) And I am wet. Vilk is wet. And I think we are both in need of a little break, right?
(pensive music) Now, I kind of wish I had brought those waterproof trousers. It was very arrogant of me not to have brought them. Yeah, good boy. That bothy couldn't have appeared at a better time, honestly. It was so nice to just be able to shelter from the rain for an hour or so.
I made myself lunch, made myself some coffee. Vilk had a fantastic nap. So we keep going. (gentle music) I'm gonna throw another controversial opinion at you. For this track, I decided not to bring my earphones at all. And there's one very specific reason for this. On some previous hikes and runs, I've used music and audiobooks to help me get through the challenging times on the trail, listening to something was a tool to distract myself. But I'm realizing that it's actually at odds with why I am out here in the first place. I don't need more distraction. In fact, I want this connection. And the tough moments, I need to be able to tap into them fully and get through them on my own terms
while appreciating every single difficult step along the way. So for every outdoor adventure going forward, I'm gonna aim to be fully present with no music, no audio books, no transporting myself elsewhere, just me and the trail. It's the start of day three. And over the last two days, we've covered 50 kilometers, which is honestly quite a lot with backpacks, especially for Vilk carrying his own little backpack and obviously running ahead and running around. So he's probably done more distance than 50k. And he's feeling a little bit tired. He's a sleepy boy. (chuckles) No surprises. So I thought we'd do things a little bit differently since he is so sleepy today.
We've got this long tarmac section coming up, 15 kilometers just on asphalt, and it's the section that everybody recommends you skip if you can. Take a taxi, take a bus, whatever, but skip it 'cause it's not very nice. So that's what we're gonna do today. I've just ordered us a taxi to come and pick us up from a spot nearby. And we're gonna skip the tarmac and get to the next nice spot, which will give us a little bit more time to recover ahead of the next section, which is gonna be quite difficult. Beautiful, but a little bit difficult.
(indistinct) such a sleepy boy. Look at the sleepy boy. Yes, good boy. (soothing music) The taxi I'd ordered did not arrive. I waited for half an hour, tried calling them a number of times, nothing. But no answer. Call failed. In the end I got lucky because a bus was about to arrive and we ended up taking the bus. A good call, I think, especially if it meant more recovery time for the wolf. A couple of hours later we were back on the trail and about to embark on its most challenging section, the Trotternish Ridge, along an extremely exposed ridge
cutting across the northern section of the Isle of Skye, like the back of a sleeping dragon. Just approaching the first proper little climb of the entire trail. Here it is. May not look like much on camera, (chuckles) but trust me, it's quite steep. You know, this place is so incredibly raw and wild. There's something really incredibly rugged and kind of like romantically brutal about Scotland. I can definitely see why people flock here.
(peaceful music) For this next section, I had to collect and filter a couple of liters of water. I wasn't sure whether the streams and creeks marked on my map were currently running. And even though water is heavy, it's also not something you can take risks with. So two extra kilograms to carry, but at least I got peace of mind in exchange. God, look at it.
Right, I've come to this point where I have to get over this fence, but there is no gate, which normally wouldn't be an issue 'cause I could just step over here, on top, on the other side and keep going. But I have a dog with me who's quite heavy. (chuckles) So I'm not really sure how I'm gonna do this, but, okay, let's see. Vilk. (chuckles) (playful music) How the hell am I gonna do this? You are way too heavy. You're so heavy. Oh. Yes, good boy. (exhales) After a good deal of uphill, we made it onto the first section of that famous ridge.
My glutes were definitely starting to feel the full scale of Skye's terrain. (gentle music) Today, we skipped 15k and hiked roughly 15k, a shorter day but no less tiring. So my evening routine, normally quite simple. I set up camp, I take off my incredibly wet shoes. They just always end up wet 'cause it's just wet everywhere in Scotland. Meanwhile, Vilk is doing his best to remind me that he needs dinner, which you will get in just one moment, as soon as I take off my shoes and my wet socks, okay?
The good thing about these shoes is that they dry out very quickly. And I'd much rather have quick-drying trail running shoes than Gore-Tex that never dries out. Next up, I'm gonna try and figure out my own dinner situation. And today is a pretty special day because today I need to count how much food I have left so that I know whether I can have two dinners tonight or not. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, 10? That's a lot of food. I can have like three dinners if I want to.
Spicy pasta arrabiata, and mash and cheese for dessert. (gentle music) While I wait for the water to boil, I'm gonna do my skincare routine. It involves washing my face with water just to wash off the sweat and the saltiness. And then, using this lotion on my face. And next up, I am gonna get changed. And I think this is a pretty ritual for me every night as well. I don't get changed completely, but I do change my trousers 'cause usually they're kind of wet by the end of the day on the bottoms. So I get changed into my leggings, which are nice and dry.
My jumper. Okay, the water has boiled, so we are ready for dish number one (indistinct) dinner. (food crunches) Mm. Every time I eat this stupid, damn freeze-dried pasta, it tastes like the best pasta I've ever had in my life. Yeah, by this point in my evening routine, Vilk is generally already asleep. And at this point, I get inside my sleeping bag. And yeah, I'm still gonna have my second dinner, but I'm just gonna let myself digest the first one a little bit. And then have the second one in like an hour or so. So it was my birthday yesterday, and I completely forgot to tell you. (chuckles) I'm 35 now. And I'm so cozy inside my sleeping bag.
I think I'll just stay here forever. (chuckles) But yeah, I'm 35. And you know, I used to think that by the time that people turn 35, they'll have like their entire life figured out. They'll know all the answers to all of life's big questions. They'll be like proper adults. And I'm 35 now, and I'm realizing that it's all just an illusion. (chuckles) Nobody knows what they're doing. Nobody has their life really figured out, do they? You've just been sold a lie. It's not so bad. I don't really mind. It just means that we get to keep searching and making it up as we go along.
There's like no fixed idea of what adulthood needs to be. So as I sit here and ponder life's big questions such as should I make myself a second dinner or should I not? Do I really feel like cheese mashed potatoes and mushrooms? I don't know if I do really. It's so cozy in here. (wind howling) (gentle music) (keys clacking)
My first shock on the trail. Just as we approached the famous Old Man of Storr, I realized I was no longer alone. This was an Insta-famous place. This morning, we are climbing up here. This is probably the most iconic of all the sites on the Isle of Skye, which explains why there's so many people here, which feels a bit weird after, you know, a few days of just walking just the two of us pretty much. But I think it's well deserved fame because honestly, those rocks look pretty freaking epic. (gentle music) I totally understand the appeal of this place, but it's still jarring how the rest of Skye's hiking trails get barely any visitors.
I could count on the fingers of one hand the people I crossed paths with for the rest of that day. I don't blame the people who want to see the famous Storr. After all, I'm here as well. But I'll always say one thing, go and seek out the hidden gems too. They may not always offer the same visual drama, but they'll make you feel a certain level of wildness that most tourist attractions cannot. We finally got out of the Old Man of Storr. Beautiful, honestly. Gorgeous rocks. But just too many people, a little bit too busy for my liking. And right now, I'm back on the trail or the trail.
The thing about the Skye Trail is that it's unmarked, and sometimes there is no actual trail 'cause it's not an official trail. So for example, here you can see it's just grass. And there is no trail, just no lane to go in that direction, more or less. That's part of the challenge of doing this specific trail is that it's a little bit difficult and you really need to be able to read a map well and know your directions. And hopefully, we know how to do that. (bright music) I sometimes find myself fantasizing about just setting off somewhere without a map, packing my backpack and my dog and heading off into the mountains without a plan.
I'm sure I'm not the only one with these fantasies in my head. What would it be like to just walk for a year or two without a map, without a phone, without the internet and without any time pressure? Oh God. You're so lucky you don't have shoes. My shoes are so wet. My socks are so wet. My feet are so wet. It's just so boggy here. Ugh. (gentle music)
Approved? I am having my double dinner tonight, and I'm starting with my appetizer, which is mash and cheese. Mm. Actually really good. And this will be dinner number two. Get in there. Mm. I'm so close to finishing it, but I can't. I give up. (gentle music) This was supposed to be my last night out on the trail. But to be honest, I didn't really want it to be. It may sound ridiculous, but the fact that I was now running low on all my batteries was actually something I really enjoyed.
The idea of being a little disconnected. In a world where your phone dying is the new standard for an anxiety trigger, I do find myself caught up in all the tech, pulled in by endless scrolling and subsequently furious at myself for wasting precious time in my life. It's hard to know how to exist in this world. And honestly, I think I have more questions than answers. (bright music) (keys clacking) Little did I know this was not going to be our last day on the trail. Soon I would need to adjust all of my plans.
(Eva exhales) (laughs) Vilk. I just got ambushed. That was very good, Vilk. I did not see that coming. Well done, for once. I was gonna say that this has been I think the toughest climb so far. It doesn't even look like it. (exhales) Very steep angle. I am so out of breath. I just find it so freaking cool that, as humans, we can actually walk across landscapes like this. Isn't that just so amazing that we can, that we are actually able to see places that you just can't see from a car or a plane?
And that's why I think we should all use that skill and that ability as much as possible. (majestic music) Probably notice that I've had to carry Vilk over some gates on this trail. And gates, like this one, (chuckles) are one of like the most unique things about this trail and about Scotland. It's probably very, very ordinary to many of you living in England. But to us, this is quite special. Every single gate poses its own unique challenge.
How do I cross it with a big dog who's also wearing a backpack. Now this gate, (chuckles) it's quite small. I don't know if he's gonna fit in there. Let's see, once the gate goes in. Yeah, get in. Oh yeah, perfect. (chuckles) Wait. Hang on, I need to fit in too. Oh, oh. Okay, we're both in. And we close. All right, let's go. Good boy. (laughs) That was a good gate. Wasn't it? I can't believe this is our last day on the trail. It's gone by so quickly.
I feel like I haven't even filmed anything. (chuckles) But I am running out of battery. Like I am desperately low on battery levels. My power bank is completely empty. Drone is empty, camera battery is all empty, aside from one last one, which is at like 50%. And my phone is at like 60%. So I've switched it off for now, 'cause I don't wanna use up any more battery because, who knows, something could happen and I might need to be able to reach the emergency services, so I'd rather keep it off for now.
A few more hours and then we'll be done. It's pretty wild when you set off on an adventure like this, just how big it seems and how intimidating it can sound. But once you're kind of in it, you get into a flow, and time just starts to roll on by. And then soon enough, it's your last day. Day five, at this point, we're about 90 kilometers into the hike, and I'm hoping that today is going to be our last day, that today we get to reach Rubha Hunish on the northernmost tip of Skye. But you know what they say, if you wanna make God laugh, tell him your plans. And whether you believe in God or not, I was about to find out that my plans were not going to work out. So small change of plans.
I was hoping to finish the entire trail today in five days, but that's not gonna be possible because of this little goober. So I can see that vehicle is having a bit of a tough time today, because it's quite warm and he's getting quite hot. And you know, he's. I can just tell by his expression and by the way that his energy is around me that he would like a break today. And to finish today, we would have to keep going for another four to five hours, which I just don't think I wanna put him through if he's already being a little bit cranky. I have lightened his load. I have taken stuff out of his backpack, so he's barely carrying any weight there anymore.
I've watered him, we've taken breaks in the shade. So all as well. He's doing fine. But I just don't wanna push him. You know, I don't wanna risk anything. I just wanna make sure that he's happy and healthy. This is our trek, not just my trek. And I think that's really important to keep in mind whenever you're traveling with a dog. Hey buddy, look at those views. Wow. Oh my God. Hey buddy, come here. How you doing? Are you doing okay? (indistinct). He's just a little hot dog.
Yeah, we're gonna go take a break now. So basically the new plan is to take a diversion to a nearby village, spend the night there, well, spend the rest of the afternoon and the night there, and then set off again tomorrow morning. Look at you all perked up all of a sudden. (gentle music) And there was a lake nearby. So I thought I'd give Vilk a chance to cool down in the water for a while. (water splashing) I think he's feeling a lot better already. (chuckles)
(chuckles) Good boy. Another very interesting gate. (chuckles) (jovial music) Yeah, good boy. That's good. That's a good (laughs). Yeah, (indistinct). Woo-hoo. Parts of this trail are genuinely terrifying. Ugh. Oh my God. This is too much. Anyone who's scared of heights, ugh, not fun. (gentle music) I've just set up camp for the night, and this is definitely the last night on the trail. Thank you very much. Thank you, thank you.
Anyhow, I wanna show you what it looks like 'cause it's pretty epic. So this is the campsite. (wind howling) (chuckles) This is it. This is our home for the night. What do you think, Vilk? (chuckles) And this is our view. Oh, Vilk, Vilk, Vilk. You just had your dinner. Do you want a second dinner? Yeah, he wants a second dinner, I think. You can't have two dinners, but you can have one dinner and a little bit. So that's what we're gonna do today, 'cause it's our last night on the trail so you deserve a little bit extra.
(gentle music) Here you go. Up. This is it, truly the last day on the trail. We're getting picked up in three hours from now, but first we have to reach the final point on the trail, which is somewhere there beyond those hills. Can't believe I will have to go back to civilization in like three hours. I'm not sure if I like it. Hey Vilk, you ready to go? Come here. Yeah. Who's a good boy? (chuckles) Who's a good boy? Go here, good boy. Wow. Yes, that's a good boy. Did you enjoy your big hike?
(dramatic music) Oh, this is it. (chuckles) We're here. We made it. Just a few more steps, but there, that is the lookout to the northern most point on the Isle of Skye. And we're gonna go up there. There it is. We've made it. Hey, we're gonna go inside the lookout. I think there's a guest book in there. I wanna leave it a little message for those that will come after us.
How amazing is this place? Little desk, little living room. Hey, Vilk, do you wanna move here? What an amazing privilege it is to be alive. Oh, wow. And that was it, about 110 kilometers, or 70 miles on the trail, five days and a couple of hours of living like a feral little wildling, moving swiftly and lightly across the landscape. We talk and philosophize so much about freedom, but I can guarantee that nothing will make you feel more free than a little tent perched up on top of a mountain. (dramatic music)
