The 2016 Challenge, day 5: Killin to Fortingall (11)

I reached the summit of Ben Lawers in swirling mist, and settled down in a little rocky hollow to enjoy my lunch. I was no longer comfortably ahead of schedule, as I had been at the car park. The ascent of Lawers with full expedition gear had taken a lot out of me, and I was now barely on my original schedule. I had had to relegate my GPS unit to mere emergency use only. Visibility was poor, it was bitterly cold, and a bit of wind was starting to get up.

Looking back, it is easy to say now that this was the point at which I ought to have baled out. I had been up two Munros, but the conditions were turning against me. There was an easy escape route down beside the Allt a' Chobhair, to connect with my FWA, and I ought to have taken it. But I wasn't thinking like that. I was thinking about the three Munros which remained to be done - all of which were new Munros to me. And I was thinking of getting to Fortingall in time for dinner, so the idea of cutting and running never occurred to me, and I pressed on into the swirling mists.