The 2012 Challenge, Day 6: Through the Lairig Leacach (6)

I arrived at Loch Ossian Youth Hostel and knocked on the door to the warden's office. Were members' facilities such as the kitchen still available? No. Because it was a school party, she couldn't allow anyone else into the main building. Which is probably down to "child protection" policies - but it does beg a very important question about SYHA policy. The SYHA exists for its members' benefit, and to provide facilities for its members' use. I am a member (a life member, in fact) - not merely a TGO Challenge voucher holder, and I have paid for those facilities to be available for my use. If "child protection" (or whatever else it may be) means that hostels such as Loch Ossian cannot be let to school parties without thereby denying members the use of facilities they have paid for, then surely the correct solution should be to refuse to take school bookings for this hostel, should it not? I mean, by all means allow school parties to book hostels where they can be accommodated without denying members the use of members' facilities (such as Cairngorm Lodge). But at those hostels where co-existence is not possible, surely it is the members who should come first?

Well anyway, I wondered if the hotel at Rannoch Station had any rooms tonight. If so, and if I could find out how to flag down the sleeper to get it to stop at Corrour, I figured I could book a hotel room, go and cook myself a meal in the waiting room at Corrour station, catch the train to Rannoch, and then catch a train back in the morning to continue walking. Alas, however, the hotel at Rannoch was fully booked, so that was a non-starter. The warden helpfully pointed out that there were some other tents already set up by the lochside on a spit of land which she called "the peninsula", and I decided that my best bet was to go and join them. They were all fishermen, and they had taken the best large tent pitches; but I had no difficulty finding a nice dry pitch for a tent my size. The rain let up a little while I pitched my tent, but started up again almost immediately after. I didn't feel like the hassle of cooking and washing up, so I just settled down to a supper consisting of a few handfuls of trail mix and some Kendal mint cake, washed down with what remained of my water supply. Then I settled down to sleep.

The 2012 Challenge, Day 6: Through the Lairig Leacach (5)

There was a tent pitched at Creaguaineach Lodge - but it was clear from the other paraphernalia strewn around that this was a fisherman's camp, so I didn't investigate to see if a friendly Challenger was in residence. Instead, I pressed on to the Abhainn Rath ... and was overjoyed to see that the bridge was still very much intact and in use. I mean, OK, so I'm not sure I should have been too happy crossing a bridge like that in a high wind; but there wasn't really any wind today. Just the steady, drizzly rain that had kept me in my waterproofs ever since I alighted from the train in Spean Bridge this morning.

Beyond the bridge, the path is a well-made land rover track. After slipping and slithering my way down the Allt na Lairige I was glad of this - even though the reason the Allt na Lairige path had been in such an abysmal condition was that it had been badly churned by motor vehicle wheels, and those motor vehicles had probably got there along this very track! Well, no matter. As I walked across the south shore of Loch Treig, my thoughts turned to the last time I had walked this way, in company with Oliver Freudenthal and his delightful young wife. We were all new Challengers together, back then. The Freudenthals' first child had been conceived on the 2000 Challenge, quite possibly at their camp that very evening. And now, he or she would be nearly secondary school age ...

After the stiff old climb to the Allt Luib Ruairidh, I decided to take the path to Loch Ossian Youth Hostel. I knew there was no chance of a bed for the night, as it is always fully booked out by a school party at this time of year nowadays. What I didn't know, however, was whether I would be able, nevertheless, to use other members' facilities such as the kitchen. I very much hoped that I would, as I wished to get out of the rain to cook my supper.

The 2012 Challenge, Day 6: Through the Lairig Leacach (4)

I had, in fact, taken a jolly good squint at the Allt a' Chuil Choirean before sitting down in the bothy for lunch ... and my conclusion was that it was definitely fordable, but that it would have to be a "trousers off" crossing. So after lunch I took off my boots and socks, tied them together and hung them around my neck. I took my trousers off and tucked them under my rucksack flap where my sandals usually live, and I put my sandals on. Then I hefted my rucksack, but didn't fasten any of the straps, and headed out to the ford.

What can I say about the river crossing? It was cold, and it was a little above my knees at its deepest. It was cold, and the flow was strong enough that I really did need to adopt the "face upstream and shuffle sideways" crossing technique. Oh yes ... and did I mention that it was cold?

Arriving at the other side, I was ever so please to be able to change back into my trousers and put on warm socks and dry boots. And then I began the damp, boggy, slithery descent of the Allt na Lairige. The ground was very soggy, and I was sure glad I'd put all that wax on my boots before setting off, for my feet stayed wonderfully dry. But I was anxious about what I'd find when I got down to Creaguaineach Lodge; and anxiety really isn't good for me. I soon had repeated sharp stabbing pains in my stomach, which really weren't helping one little bit. But that, I am afraid, is what anxiety does to me.

Unlike the first time I had come this way in 2000, I didn't feel the least inclination to climb Creag Ghuanach "because it's there". I stayed down by the river, and was I have to say overjoyed when I saw that the footbridge over the Easan Dubh at grid reference 308693 had "Danger! Keep off!" signs plastered all over it. Perhaps THIS was the bridge which the entry in the bothy book had been referring to ... and perhaps my bridge over the Abhainn Rath was still in good order!

The 2012 Challenge, Day 6: Through the Lairig Leacach (3)

The Leacach bothy came into view at just the right time to stop for lunch. This wasn't really any great surprise, as the last time I had come this way in 2000 I had stopped for lunch at Leacach bothy ... and of course, the path appeared to have had an upgrade since then. However, the upgrade only reached as far as the bothy. After the bothy I would have to ford the Allt a' Chuil Choirean and beyond that, by the look of things, I'd be on my own!

As I sat eating my lunch, I leafed through the bothy book. There was a variety of recent entries. Somebody had stayed last night, and had burned a load of heather (I didn't need their bothy book entry to tell me that!!). A Challenger who had passed through yesterday was firmly of the opinion that he would be the last Challenger passing this way this year; although a lady who passed through a little later had added an entry to the effect of "I think I must be following this guy; and I definitely AM the tail-ender." Um ... oh no you're not! He's behind you!!!

Most worrying of all the bothy book entries, however, was one which said something like "met a walker coming the other way who said the river was in spate and the bridge by the old lodge is not usable". Now THIS was a BIG concern ... if it was referring to the bridge over the Abhainn Rath at Creaguaineach Lodge. Because if I couldn't cross the Abhainn Rath there, then I might have to turn back upstream. And ... well, if the Staoineag stepping stones were out of use (as they probably would if the river were in spate) then I might have to go all the way to Tom an Eite. And even if I could cross there (which wasn't guaranteed, if large amounts of wet stuff were tumbling off the Grey Corries) I would lose so much time that I might still end up on the Deeside Way. So ... I didn't like the sound of that bothy book entry. But at the end of the day there was only one way to find out ... and that was to bimble on down and have a look!

The 2012 Challenge, Day 6: Through the Lairig Leacach (2)

The steady climb up towards the woods was much as I remember it ... and the old dismantled tramway. Just after the tramway there was a deer fence with a gate. And then, there was THIS fella! The "wee minister". Now HE certainly wasn't there in 2000. But apparently he'd BEEN there until some time in the 1970s, as a stone statue. And now he had been replaced as a wood carving, and there was a little information plaque to tell you all about him. Apparently he is supposed to bring luck to travellers through the Lairig. And looking ahead at all that low cloud, I reckoned I'd be needing it!

The 2012 Challenge, Day 6: Through the Lairig Leacach (1)

When I arrived back at Spean Bridge on the morning of Thursday 17 May, it was an overcast day, dull and drizzly. So I put my waterproofs on, and set out along the road up the south bank of the River Spean. After three and a half kilometres I came to Corriechoille and turned onto the Lairig Path. There have been some "improvements" since 2000, as I don't remember it being the well-surfaced track that it is now, or being as well fenced in. But then again, maybe it's the old memory that's letting me down ...

The 2012 Challenge, Day 5: ARC AGM etc.

The sleeper arrived in Euston a little before 8 in the morning. I strolled along the Euston Road to the storage depot opposite King's Cross where I had left my resupply and other gear, and switched my unused food from the first four days for the carefully calculated supplies that I would need to get me from Corrour to Braemar. Then I switched the laundry from the first few days for the clean clothes I would need to get me from Corrour to Braemar. And finally, I changed out of my walking clothes and into a suit which I had left at the storage depot. Then I took my petrol bottles out of my rucksack and put them into a little 15 litre sack which I had left at the storage depot for this purpose (because the storage people wouldn't allow me to leave petrol in the locker, for some strange reason), locked everything else in the locker, and headed off.

Next stop was a mobile phone shop. I'd used a lot of battery and I needed to recharge my phone ... but I hadn't packed a charger. But £5 bought me a new charger, so I would be able to leave my phone charging somewhere during the course of the union AGM. And then, once I'd sorted that out, I turned my attention to the vital matter of breakfast.

You can't get much in the way of breakfast on the sleeper. Well, maybe you can .. but I can't. Because all the things they do revolve around the concept of "something in a bun" ... and of course, the bun is a deal-breaker for me! But just opposite St Pancras there is an O'Neils Irish pub, which serves very good breakfasts. So I went in and enjoyed two freshly fried eggs, three rashers of bacon, mushroom and orange juice, and that set me up for the day. Then I wandered round the corner into Mabledon Place and the NUT, which is where my union (ARC, the Association of Revenue & Customs) holds its AGM.

I won't bore you with details of the AGM. There were several very important motions and I made a number of speeches. At lunch the Irish delegates thanked me for my speech in favour of retaining the reserved seat on Committee for a member from Northern Ireland. I assured them it was almost exactly the same speech I'd given on the same subject six years ago; and we'd managed to save the reserved seat then, as well.

After the AGM I paid a flying visit to Stanfords map shop and bought the maps I'd need for the route revisions I had in mind to make up for the day I'd lost sitting at Oban; then I went back to the storage place (which only stays open to 6 ... meaning I couldn't really attend the Union dinner in any event) and changed back into my walking clothes. I then went to St Pancras and texted my route revisions to Challenge Control while I waited for Kathy to arrive. The route revisions were easy enough. I was restarting from Spean Bridge not Corrour, so I'd go the same way as I had in 2000 through the Lairig Leacach and round the south shore of Loch Treig. I would then be back on route but 24 hours behind schedule. My planned route took 5 days from Corrour to Braemar, and I needed to do it in 4. There wasn't much I could do about the first two days. It was going to take me two days to Struan pretty much whatever I did. But in my desire to find a way to get up onto the ridge from An Socach to Morrone, I'd plotted a somewhat meandering route which took me three days from Struan to Braemar. All I needed to do was to straighten it out, and just head up Glen Tilt, over to Chest of Dee, across White Bridge, down to Linn of Dee and into Braemar by road.If the Geldie Burn proved uncrossable, I said I would retreat to Bynack Lodge, ascend Buchaille Breige, and take the track down the Allt Cristie Beag to Inverey.

What I didn't tell Challenge Control was that I had also figured out that even if I failed to make up my lost 24 hours by the time I reached Braemar, I could still finish my Challenge. The route on my card would take 4 days to get me from Braemar to the coast at St Cyrus ... but if I really had to, I could do it in 3 (albeit probably not finishing at St Cyrus). Braemar to Ballater is a well-trodden route; and the Deeside Way means that if you have to you CAN get from Ballater to the coast in 2 days (hell, in 2009 I even did it with my feet absolutely shot to pieces ... and this year my feet were holding up just fine!) I didn't really relish the thought of doing this ... but I kept it up my sleeve, just in case events conspired against me again and there really was no other way of saving my Challenge.

Soon after I had texted these route revisions to Challenge Control, Kathy arrived. We walked to a little restaurant I know not far from Euston, and enjoyed a delightful dinner together - during the course of which I told her that if, after the events of the past few days, she wanted to ask me not to do another Challenge I would quite understand. but she said no - I was to continue doing the Challenge if that was what I wanted to do.

After dinner I walked Kathy back to St Pancras before returning to Euston and boarding the sleeper for the journey back North. The same stewardess was on duty, and she slipped me another first class hospitality pack so I was able to shave once again before continuing on my way. I told them that my ticket was only to Corrour but that I needed to travel on as far as Spean Bridge, and again, they told me that there was no excess fare to pay.

Once more to the day car for a wee dram, and then back to my cabin and my cosy bunk to sleep my way back to Scotland.

The 2012 Challenge, Day 4: Off Map and On Road (8)

When I arrived at Spean Bridge station, there was a freight train waiting patiently for the sleeper to clear the line. Powder wagons, presumably loaded with aluminium oxide for the aluminium works at Fort William. No need to guess which platform I needed to be on, then!

Shortly before the train arrived, I noted with wry amusement the arrival of another passenger. Even if the sleeper DIDN'T stop at Spean Bridge unless there was a passenger with a ticket waiting to get on, it would have been stopping this evening! I had been waiting 25 minutes or so ... she had to wait barely two minutes before the train pulled in to the station (pictured just arriving, under the road bridge) and I smiled and complimented her on her sense of timing!

I boarded the train and explained to them that I was supposed to be boarding at Corrour, and so would need to pay an excess fare. They weren't interested in collecting fares, however. All they were interested in was telling the driver that he didn't need to stop at Corrour after all! Then the stewardess showed me to my cabin. I was a little disappointed to note that the hospitality pack only contained a flannel and a towel. I'd been hoping to shave off my beard growth, and I remarked that I seemed to remember the packs containing razors and other stuff. The stewardess remarked that only the first class passengers got them ... but I gave her one of my winning smiles, and she said she'd go and see if they had a spare one. She was back a few minutes later ... and I got my shave; after which I changed into some fresh clothes and went to the day coach to enjoy a wee dram before retiring to my bed for the night.

The 2012 Challenge, Day 4: Off Map and On Road (7)

It's a long old slog up the hill on the road from Gairlochy to the Commando Memorial, but there were beautiful views of Ben Nevis capped in snow to keep our minds off the sheer bloody toil of it all. And then, after the memorial, it was downhill all the way.

We reached the Aonach Mor hotel at about 6 and went into the bar for a pint or two of cider. I also decided to order a meal - a nice, rare ribeye steak. I was a little worried about whether I could join the sleeper at Spean Bridge with a ticket from Corrour ... and indeed, I was concerned that it might not even stop at Spean Bridge unless there was somebody with a ticket from Spean Bridge waiting to get on. So I figured it would be best to try to get to Fort William. The train could hardly fail to stop there, because it starts there. And of course, the ticket office would be able to sort me out for my excess fare. I didn't know when the train left Fort William, but from the time of its departure from Corrour I figured it was probably around 8.30 (this would be a bit earlier than the Northbound working leaves Euston, but I figured this was as it should be because it probably takes more time to reassemble a train than to break it into separate sections for Aberdeen, Inverness and Fort William). So I thought if I booked a taxi for 7.30 to take me to Fort William that'd be fine ... and if I asked it to meet me at Spean Bridge station, then as soon as the sleeper returned me to Spean Bridge station on Thursday I could resume walking where I'd left off.

The barmaid was most helpful, and found me the number of a local taxi. I rang and asked if he could pick me up from Spean Bridge station at 7.30? He couldn't ... but he could do 7.45 if that was any use to me? I told him that'd be fine and settled down to enjoy my steak which had just arrived. I cut it in half and took a good look ... not a sign of pink flesh anywhere. So I sent it back! However, the barmaid soon returned saying that had been their last ribeye! They could do me sirloin instead ... but I wasn't really feeling like sirloin, so I said I'd settle for the overdone ribeye. It was, at least, edible.

The barmaid now saved me from an absolutely ENORMOUS embarrassment ... she told me that the sleeper ALWAYS stops at Spean Bridge, whether they're expecting anyone or not (unlike Roybridge and Tulloch, where you have to ask them to stop the train for you); and then she looked up its time at Spean Bridge. And it was MUCH earlier than I thought ... about 7.50 pm, in fact! So if I had caught a taxi to Fort William at 7.45, or even at 7.30 ... I would have missed it for sure!!!! So I rang the taxi and told him I didn't need to be picked up after all, I finished my cider, and at about 7.15 I strolled down to Spean Bridge station to catch my train to London and my Union AGM.

The 2012 Challenge, Day 4: Off Map and On Road (6)

Elsewhere within the forest the ornamentation was a little more conventional ... and very artfully executed.

We could not afford to linger too long, however: I had a train to catch, and Andy had a bus to catch, and we were still some way from Spean Bridge. So we pressed on, and the path returned us to the road a little above Gairlochy. Here, at last, I was able to get a mobile signal. So I phoned Kathy and we chatted at some length ... and arranged that instead of me going to the Union dinner after the AGM, she would catch a train into London and we would go to dinner together somewhere nice. Just the two of us.

The old refreshment room at Gairlochy is no longer there. This is a shame. When I passed this way in 2000 I stopped and enjoyed an ice cream. I couldn't enjoy an ice cream nowadays, of course - but I'm sure the refreshment room, had it been open, would have had something I could enjoy. But it wasn't and it didn't.

We crossed the Caledonian Canal and then, as we threaded our way round the S bend, we heard a throaty engine note behind us so we stepped onto the grass verge to let whatever it was past. And as it did so I reached for my camera, because it was a truly beautiful vintage open-topped Rolls Royce, carrying some sort of rally plate. But alas, by the time I had the camera ready to take a photograph, it had gone. So I put my camera away again ... with the result that when a second fine classic vehicle came trundling past us, I missed my chance to photograph that one, too!

The 2012 Challenge, Day 4: Off Map and On Road (5)

After walking a while on the Great Glen Way, we came to a path junction; and one of the paths had a little arch made by bending two young trees and tying them together which was decorated with lanterns and other hanging ornaments. Intrigued, we passed beneath the arch, and soon found ourselves in an extraordinary installation described as the "Fairy Forest". Everywhere we looked, there were little groves decorated with ornaments of all kinds. This "teddy bears' picnic" type gathering was perhaps the most extraordinary of them.

The 2012 Challenge, Day 4: Off Map and On Road (4)

It didn't take long to get to the road, where I turned right for Gairlochy. Lovely views of Loch Lochy soon opened up, and something I had not noticed before (or perhaps it had not been restored to its present state 12 years ago) - a landing craft training facility. The idea was to train assault troops in landing craft disembarkation by building a mock-up on dry land, with a brick and concrete base and a wood and canvas superstructure. They could then practice disembarkation as much as they liked without ever going to sea; and only when they had got it down to a fine art did they have to risk seasickness and German E-boats. There is a little interpretation board telling you all about it, too. That CERTAINLY wasn't there twelve years ago!

Soon after the landing craft, I came to a good well-made path through the woods down to the loch-side. This, too, was new since I walked this way in 2000, and was way-marked as part of the Great Glen Way. Although I was walking in sandals not boots I decided that this looked well-enough made that I shouldn't fear wet socks, so I turned onto the path. I hadn't gone far, however, when it started to rain, and I came upon another walker busily putting on waterproofs and stretching a weather cover over his rucksack. I decided it might be prudent to do the same, so I stopped and we talked. His name was Andy, and he had been up camping and fishing. Now he needed to get down to Spean Bridge to catch a bus to Inverness, as he had a ticket for a coach departing Inverness at 7 the next morning. He didn't know how long it would take to Spean Bridge - but I assured him we should be there by 6, which gave him plenty of time to catch his bus and me plenty of time to get something to eat before catching the sleeper to London. And so, suitably waterproofed, we continued for a while in company.

The 2012 Challenge, Day 4: Off Map and On Road (3)

Well, it's a long old walk along Loch Arkaig, but eventually the end arrived. I very much wanted to continue to the Eas Chia-aig waterfalls, as I imagined they would be well stocked with water and looking at their most photogenic. However, I knew that it was quicker to cut through Achnacarry, and I was anxious to call Challenge Control and find out whether they had told Kathy (my wife) that they had mislaid me before calling out the mountain rescue people. If they had, then I needed to get a phone call though to her and tell her there was no need to go looking for my life insurance policy just yet. So I turned right across the head of the loch, noting the still-ferocious flow of water under the bride as I did so, and headed for Achnacarry.

Now, at Achnacarry there is a museum. The Clan Cameron museum, to be exact. Which I reached at about 3 o'clock. And - blessing of blessings - there was a telephone box there with a working telephone! It wouldn't accept coins, though - only credit cards - but I had one of them with me, so that was alright. I telephoned Challenge Control, and both John and Roger were keen to speak to me and delighted to find I was OK. They confirmed that Kathy knew they had mislaid me, so I thought I'd better call her as soon as I could. However, I got the feeling that this phone box wouldn't let me call a mobile number, and I didn't know her work telephone number. John also told me he thought the police only needed to speak to me, rather than actually have me visit in person (whereas the mountain rescue people had been pretty adamant that they would need to see me in person to close their case). Well, John had a telephone number for the Fort William police station (or "Fort Bill Old Bill", as I noted on my piece of paper as I wrote it down) so after ringing off from Challenge Control I gave them a call. The police had loads of paperwork to fill in and it took us a little while, but once we were done they confirmed there was no need for me to call in in person, so that was fine.

Now, I was getting pretty thirsty, and the museum had a refreshment room. I hoped they might be able to sell me a can of Irn Bru ... and I hoped they might also have a telephone they'd let me use to call Kathy. Well, the only drinks they were selling were bottles of water, and I decided to pass on that. But they DID have a telephone. They said that they weren't supposed to use it to phone mobiles ... but in the circumstances, they could see it was a bit of an exceptional case. So they allowed me to use it to call Kathy, and I assured her I was fine and well and that there were no problems. She said that John had been very reassuring and had told her he expected I was fine and that I had probably just had to go to ground somewhere because of the storm. The police, she said, had tried to reassure her, but had been telling her that the winds had been strong enough to blow articulated lorries over onto their sides, and that in the circumstances she hadn't actually found this all that reassuring!

Well, anyway, I didn't want to be on the borrowed phone for too long, so I promised to give Kathy another call as soon as I had mobile signal (which I was sure I should have fairly soon) and then I rang off. I gave the museum some money for the call, and then I headed for the shores of Loch Lochy.

The 2012 Challenge, Day 4: Off Map and On Road (2)

We finished our lunch, and were on our way again by 12.30. Shortly afterwards we heard a vehicle approaching, and stood to the side of the road. The oncoming vehicle turned out to be the Lochaber Mountain Rescue ambulance, and when it saw us it slowed to a halt. The driver asked me "TGO?" and I relied "Yes." He then asked "Are you Jeremy Burrows?" and again I replied "Yes." They said they'd been looking for me, and asked if I were alright. I assured them I was. They then asked if I wanted a lift back to Fort William, and I said that no, I was on a walking challenge and accepting a lift really wasn't within the spirit of the thing. After a little deliberation, however, Colin and Terry decided that they would accept the lift, as they had no reason to keep walking when a ride was available. So I bade them farewell, and the Mountain Rescue people asked me to call in to the police station when I reached Spean Bridge, and that was that.

I continued walking along the loch road, and after a while I spotted some deer ahead. I stopped, and took a photograph, then advanced a little before stopping again and taking another photograph. In this way I was able to approach reasonably close before they took fright and ran off. I had a number of photographs, and this was the best.

The 2012 Challenge, Day 4: Off Map and On Road (1)

It was raining when I woke up on the morning of Tuesday 15 May, and I was on the road by 8.30, hoping to find a house with a working phone. At 9 I came to a house which showed hopeful signs of occupation, and I knocked at the door. When it was answered, I explained my need to make a phone call to Challenge Control in order to try to prevent an unnecessary Mountain Rescue callout, and they said that they had a satellite phone and would try to get through for me. Why is it, in such circumstances, that the owner of the phone always insists on saying a few words before passing the phone to you? Challenge Control was obviously busy, because the call "bounced" to the Park reception desk, and the kind telephone owners started by saying "We have an emergency call for you from Jeremy Burrows". That was actually most unhelpful ... because the one thing it was not was an "emergency call". In fact, it was the very antithesis of an emergency call ... it was a call to say "Don't panic ... there is no emergency." Unfortunately, by the time they passed the phone to me, the signal was breaking up. I tried to pass the message that I was safe and well on the shores of Loch Arkaig ... but I wasn't sure whether or not this message was going to get through to Challenge Control. Still ... I had tried; and the elderly couple were very kind, boiling a kettle and making me a mug of hot Bovril, and refilling my water bottles for me and allowing me to use their toilet before I left.

Shortly before I left, two walkers passed by on the road, and I soon caught up with them. They were not Challengers. Their names were Colin and Terry, and they had been trying to walk from Fort William to Ullapool; but Sunday's storm had destroyed their tent, and with it their plans. They had been making their way from bothy to bothy since then and were now trying to make their very bedraggled way back to Fort William. They, too, were off map - but I reassured them that we were now on roads that I knew and they would have no trouble getting back to civilisation. We walked together for a while, and as Colin and Terry had been walking since about 7 a.m. we stopped for lunch a little before 12 in a lovely sunny interval. As we sat enjoying our lunch, a helicopter flew overhead, then returned back up the other side of the loch. I had an uneasy feeling that it might just be out looking for me ... and Colin and Terry thought that it might be looking for them, as they too had missed a number of calls to their wives and presumed that their wives had also placed an emergency call by now. However, they also suggested that the storm had probably left quite a few stranded walkers in remote parts of the West Coast, and quite possibly they had a long list of people they were looking for ...

The 2012 Challenge, Day 3: Oban to Loch Arkaig (10)

I left Glenpean bothy at 4, and headed into the woods. The old path is pretty badly mired, and they have opened up a new path a little higher up: follow the tape, it said, so I did. This path soon put me on the main track through the woods, and I made stonking progress - arriving at Strathan at a quarter past 5. That's 5 kilometres covered in an hour and a quarter. I guess that not having a map on which to measure progress must have helped!

At Strathan I had my first human interaction in practically three days: a young pair of walkers, not Challengers, who were on their way up to A' Chuil bothy. We exchanged a few words and they went on their way. I tried my mobile again, but still no signal. I knocked on the door of the one inhabited house at Strathan, in the hope that they might have a working telephone, but there was no answer. So I pressed on, and soon came to the start of the metalled road. Here there was a parked BMW, and I wrote a note asking that if they were returning tonight to anywhere with a phone, they phone Challenge Control and give the message that Challenger number 34 is safe and well and camped by Loch Arkaig. I put the note under a windscreen wiper (without setting off the car alarm in the process, which I thought was pretty good going!) and changed from my boots to my sandals.

I also changed into a dry pair of socks (I was only going to walk a short distance further tonight, and they'd be fine for walking in again tomorrow) and made myself a cup of hot Bovril before setting out along the loch looking for the first good camping pitch. I soon found one - and the photo shows the view from my tent looking back west up the loch. It was 6.30 pm, and my GPS said that the grid reference was NM 99352 91788 (that's NM 993917 to any sensible mortal like you and me!) - so in the first three days of the Challenge, I had managed to progress no more than 30 kilometres from my start point!!! No sooner had I pitched my tent than the rain started falling again. So I collapsed into my tent, settled for a few handfuls of trail mix by way of supper (thereby saving the necessity to go and sit out in the rain to cook an evening meal) and quickly fell into a deep, satisfying sleep.

The 2012 Challenge, Day 3: Oban to Loch Arkaig (9)

I reached Glenpean bothy at 3.30 and found the door wedged open and somebody's kit all nicely laid out inside. I saw a figure down by the river beyond the bothy and waved to him. I am sure he saw me too, but he didn't wave back and didn't come across to speak. Indeed, he soon disappeared from view altogether. I spent half an hour at the bothy, making an entry in the bothy book so that any rescuers would know I had made it this far and carried on to Strathan. I desperately hoped that at Strathan I might be able to get a mobile phone signal, and so prevent any rescuers from being called out at all.

I was also at the edge of my map now. Once I was in the woods, I would be off-map and navigating on the basis of local knowledge alone. But I knew full well that the track led to Strathan; and that from Strathan I could follow the road all the way to Loch Lochy and then through Gairlochy and past the commando memorial into Spean Bridge. I didn't know the distances for sure, but I knew they were manageable. However, I wanted more than anything to reach the metalled road before I stopped and camped for the night. That way I could spend the whole of Tuesday walking in sandals; and when I got up in the morning, I should not have to start by plunging my nice fresh dry socks into boots which would still be wet from their dunking in the River Pean's overspill.

The 2012 Challenge, Day 3: Oban to Loch Arkaig (8)

Well, beyond the lochan there is a path beside the river, and I thought that I was going to make it down the glen without further incident ... but alas I was wrong! Shortly before Glenpean bothy (indeed, actually within sight of it ... as the photograph shows) I encountered a flooded stretch of path where the river had broken its banks. There were stepping stones there ... but they were underwater. Quite a long way underwater, in fact. In places it was ankle deep. But the rock face to the left didn't look as though it offered a bouldering solution (at least, not to somebody wearing walking boots rather than rock shoes, with an expedition pack on his back) so I decided that it was time to get my feet wet ... and took the plunge.

The 2012 Challenge, Day 3: Oban to Loch Arkaig (7)

It wasn't an easy traverse, high up on that steep hillside, and it took all the "security on steep ground" skills I had learned for my ML. Even then, there were times when I felt decidedly exposed - and I sure was glad I hadn't managed to make it through to here in Sunday's storm, and that I wasn't trying to make my way across this high, steep, exposed hillside in howling winds and pelting rain! But my traverse line was a good one, and I reached the West end of the lochan without incident. The descent was easy enough, if steep and therefore slow; and it was 3pm by the time I was back down in the valley floor. Exactly an hour to get from the West end of the lochan to the East end ... and it's only a kilometre! However, it was a beautiful place and a wonderful experience; and if you were to ask me now to point to a single hour which was the highlight of my crossing then I would have to say it was the hour I spent high up on the hill above Lochan Leum an t-Sagairt (just don't ask me to try pronouncing it!!)

The 2012 Challenge, Day 3: Oban to Loch Arkaig (6)

Progress along Glean Pean was good, and by 2pm I found myself at the West end of Lochan Leum an t-Sagairt. I remembered reading about this lochan in somebody else's Challenge blog. Somebody else who had planned to be here, and hence had some comments about the place from their route vetter. I remembered that they had been told that there was no viable way along the shore, that you had to go high: and looking at the loch shore I quickly concurred in this view. What I couldn't remember, however, was whether they had been advised to go high on the North side or the South side. However, as I was on the North side of the river, and as the river was now looking quite healthy, and somewhat forbidding to cross, I decided to stay on this side. It was obvious that I needed to get above the trees and onto the open hillside, and I could see an obvious (if somewhat challenging) route up the steep hillside. So I drank some water, consumed a tube of energy gel, and started up the hillside.

The 2012 Challenge, Day 3: Oban to Loch Arkaig (5)

At the top of the pass I came across this signpost, which gets my nomination for the "Pointless Sign of the Year Award 2012". I tried my mobile phone again ... but still no signal. Then I descended into upper Glen Pean which, although not particularly photogenic, is certainly immensely charming. Indeed, as I threaded my way through the boggy patches in search of a good way down beside the young River Pean, I found myself thinking that this was, quite possibly, the most charming glen I had ever walked down. Maybe it was the total remoteness of it all. The lack of any sort of path or track or evidence of human presence. I don't know. All I know is that, despite the obvious difficulties of access, it is a glen which every lover of the wilderness ought to try to visit at least once in their lives. Just don't all try to visit it at the same time, OK?

The 2012 Challenge, Day 3: Oban to Loch Arkaig (4)

Well, today the river was easily forded; and having crossed dry-shod, I stopped for lunch and checked my mobile (more in hope than expectation) but there was no signal. Then I pressed on into Glen Pean. According to the map there is no path here, but I found the semblance of a track. The droppings along the way looked more like deer droppings than human droppings, and there were times when I felt that a third and fourth leg might have been a distinct advantage. But it led me through the rocky pass, above the nameless little lochan, and through into Glen Pean.

The 2012 Challenge, Day 3: Oban to Loch Arkaig (3)

Well, I really needn't have worried about that great lake - because when I reached the exact same spot where it had been the day before, there it was: gone! I found this really quite extraordinary, because it had continued to rain through the night. But, obviously, nowhere near as heavily as on Saturday night and during the course of Sunday, with the result that the lake had had a chance to drain. Surveying the ground, I decided that it probably WOULD have been possible to wade through it (a little more than knee deep at its deepest, in all probability) - but I might have done myself a nasty injury had I unwittingly put my foot into the bed of the stream which, overtopping its banks, had created the lake in the first place. Besides which, even if I could have got through the lake on Sunday, there would still have been the problem of fording the river a little higher up.

The 2012 Challenge, Day 3: Oban to Loch Arkaig (2)

As I headed up the glen, it was obvious that the river was FAR less angry, and I began to entertain very real hopes that I would find it in a fordable state ... if only I could find a way through (or round) that massive lake which had blocked my path the day before. Everything felt right ... I was going to get through to Glen Pean today, so I took a "farewell" photo looking back down the glen towards Loch Morar and Oban bothy. I wouldn't be able to make Corrour with just a day and a half of walking time ... but I should be able to make Spean Bridge and that would be good enough! I could catch the sleeper there, return to Spean Bridge the following night, and I'd be a full 24 hours behind schedule but I felt sure I could find some way to get in touch with Challenge control. They'd been expecting a call from me on Sunday evening, and it was now Monday afternoon ...

The 2012 Challenge, Day 3: Oban to Loch Arkaig (1)

Monday 14 May. It was raining when I woke up (somewhat earlier, it has to be said, than I had awoken the previous day!) and I immediately concluded that I was unlikely to get away from Oban today. I therefore went downstairs and had a leisurely breakfast. However, when I went outside during a brief lull in the rain to refill my water bottles, I was immediately struck by the appearance of the run-offs on the north side of Loch Morar: they looked far more as they had on Saturday evening than as they had on Sunday. There was FAR less water in them than there had been on Sunday. And if that was true north of the loch, could it also be true south of the loch? Would I, in fact, be able to get out today?

I decided that it had to be worth a try ... although first, I thought, I ought to do my best to dry as much of my kit as possible (as the storm had been so intense that quite a lot of gear was wet despite my waterproofs.) The bothy has a wonderful fireplace and grate - but it was all terribly choked up with ashes and clinker. So I gave it a thorough cleaning out before lighting a fire and doing what I could to dry all my gear. Then when I was ready I packed all my gear, made sure the fire had burned itself out completely, made a further entry in the bothy book saying that I would make a further attempt to get through to Glen Pean (as I still didn't think that the weather looked all that suitable for going up high on Sgurr nan Coireachan) and, at 11.45, I set out from Oban bothy once again. This time, however, the weather was FAR more settled - as this view looking west along Loch Morar shows!

The 2012 Challenge, Day 2: All Dressed Up And No Place To Go (3)

A closer inspection of the river confirmed my worst fears. There was absolutely no point whatever in pressing on upstream in the hope of finding a viable crossing point - this river was simply not going to be crossable in its current state. So I turned around and by 3.45 I was back in Oban bothy once again. I realised that this meant there was no way I was going to be able to get a call through to Challenge Control until at least 24 hours after I had said I would phone them, and quite possibly longer; and that this meant they may well call out the Mountain Rescue to look for me. I also realised that this might turn out to be no bad thing, because I had no idea how long it would take these raging torrents to subside. And, basically, I was now trapped at Oban bothy and had no choice but to sit it out until either (a) the rivers became fordable once more, or (b) rescue arrived in the form of either a helicopter or a boat. (I was hoping for a boat ... the older readers among you may recall that the Scilly islands helicopter crashed into the sea in 1981, and that one young lad who survived lost his entire family. That young lad's older brother, who was drowned, had been in my class at school. And ever since then I really have NOT liked the idea of flying in a helicopter ...) So I settled myself in for a wait of indeterminate length, organised my food and planned how to make it last. Then, after eating a much more spartan supper than the previous day, I turned in for the night. And it continued to rain throughout the night, or so it seemed ....

The 2012 Challenge, Day 2: All Dressed Up And No Place To Go (2)

By 2pm I was back at Oban bothy. I made a further entry in the bothy book, recording my inability to get through to Glen Pean and my intention to return to Meoble if the river Taodhail remained fordable. I figured that if I got to Meoble tonight then on Monday I could return to the road and reach Glenfinnan (from where I ought to be able to telephone Challenge control - albeit a whole day late) and then on Tuesday I should be able to get myself to either Spean Bridge or Fort William, even if it meant walking on the roads the whole way. That would enable me to make the sleeper - albeit there may be an excess fare to pay - and I'd worry about its consequences for my route after the Union AGM. So I left a note in the bothy book recording that this was what I was now going to attempt, and I wrote a note on the back of my Cona Glen map sheet (as I use A3 photocopied maps during the crossing) which I could stick through the letterbox at the Meoble farmhouse if nobody answered when I knocked. I have it here beside me as I write this entry. It reads:

Hello. Nobody was at home when I called, so I have taken shelter in your tractor shed. If you find this note on 13 May then you will find me in the tractor shed. If not then I shall have set off back to Lochailort. If you are able to offer me a bed for the night then this would be very much appreciated; but even more important, I should appreciate the chance to use a telephone if you have one which works from here, as I have no mobile signal. I have been unable to follow my intended route due to the state of the watercourses, and the TGO Challenge organisers are expecting me to call them from Corran tonight. If I do not manage to alert them to my safety and whereabouts, then they may initiate a Mountain Rescue search which is (a) unnecessary and (b) in altogether the wrong place. We need to try to prevent this if we possibly can. Kind regards, Jeremy Burrows

By 3 o'clock, however, as I approached the Taodhail River, it began to look pretty obvious that I was not going to be using this note after all, as the river was unlikely to be fordable.

The 2012 Challenge, Day 2: All Dressed Up And No Place To Go (1)

Well, after the night I'd had, I didn't finally get out of bed until 10.45! The wind was still howling and the rain was still pouring. I had insufficient water to make up any milk for my cereal, and I didn't fancy going out into the storm to get any. So I just had a few handfuls of trail mix for breakfast. Then I dressed up in all my waterproofs, put my camera in my rucksack where it would be safe from the rain, and spread the waterproof cover over my rucksack.

I figured that it probably was not wise to plan on sleeping under canvas tonight, so I decided that I should only attempt to get as far as Glanpean bothy today. That would mean I had to make a fair old yomp along Loch Arkaig tomorrow, and I'd have to hope to get some mobile signal (or find a working phone in some other way) before Challenge Control put out an emergency call ... but this seemed like the best plan I had! So I made a further entry in the bothy book saying that this was what I now planned to do, left the bothy book open in the middle of the table, and headed out into the storm at 11.30. However, I did not get all that far! The river looked angry and swollen, and as I walked up beside it I wondered if I really was going to be able to ford it ... but long before I reached the fords, at 12.45 I encountered THIS little lake at NM 884895 or thereabouts. And I really did not like the look of the thing. How deep was it? Waist deep? Chest deep? Neck deep??? Neither did I like the look of the rocks to the right. There MIGHT be a way through them ... and I MIGHT be able to find it in the howling wind and rain ... and if I did I MIGHT be able to cross the river and continue into Glen Pean. But I decided that, on the whole, the odds were heavily stacked against my being able to continue through to Glen Pean. So I had my lunch and then turned back to Oban bothy.

The 2012 Challenge, Day 1: Lochailort to Oban (7)

Eventually Oban bothy came into view, and what a wonderful sight it was! I went inside, dropped my pack, and considered my options. It was 4.30 pm. I'd told myself I needed to be at Oban by 3pm to tackle the Munro in safety. 4pm at the very outside. I hadn't made it ... and no matter how I tried to look at the map, I couldn't see that it would be safe to start over that Munro now given the rate of progress I'd been making so far.

To be fair to myself, looking through the entries in the bothy book, it appeared that 7 hours was a pretty normal time for walking in from Lochailort, and I hadn't taken much more than that. But ... well, the only sensible decision had to be to stop short for the night. However, that then gave me a further problem, because with the storm forecast for tomorrow, I didn't think I would be wanting to head up that Munro in the morning either. And even if I did ... well, I'd never make up the lost time and make it all the way down Cona Glen to Corran. And this was a problem in itself, because I was due to phone Challenge Control from Corran on Sunday evening. Having stopped short at Oban, that already wasn't going to happen.

I tried my mobile, but there was no signal - so I couldn't even let Challenge Control know what was going on. But what WAS going on? I was stopping at Oban for the night, and then ... what?? If the route over Sgurr nan Coireachan was impactical, then it looked as though my only viable alternative was going to be to head over into Glen Pean and down to Strathan, then along Loch Arkaig to Spean Bridge. That would take two days - Sunday and Monday - and then on Tuesday I could follow the route I had taken on my first Challenge in 2000 from Spean Bridge to Corrour, and so make the Sleeper and my Union AGM in London as planned. I would have to hope for a mobile signal somewhere along Loch Arkaig to let Challenge Control know what was going on, though, or else they might call out Mountain Rescue. And, what was worse, they'd tell Mountain Rescue my planned route via Corryhully, Cona Glen and Corran ... and I wouldn't be ANYWHERE NEAR any of those places!!!

I figured I'd better leave a very clear entry in the bothy book, and leave the bothy book open on the table, to let any rescuers who came looking for me at Oban know where they should go looking next! Having made my entry, I had supper (a tin of smoked mussels; a gluten and dairy free chicken hotpot; a couple of gluten free country slices and a quick swig of Caol Isla from my hip flask) then settled down for the night. I went to bed at 7.30 but got very little sleep, because the storm arrived early and there were howling winds and beating rain pretty much all night long.

The 2012 Challenge, Day 1: Lochailort to Oban (6)

As I descended, the view along Gleann Taodhail to Loch Morar slowly opened up to me. But the descent was a tough one, and picking my way was more difficult than I had expected. It was already past 3 o'clock by the time I found myself fording the River Taodhail - which I was able to do dryshod. The path was then easily found, and progress down towards Loch Morar was easy enough. But I was aware of that ticking clock all the way down ...

The 2012 Challenge, Day 1: Lochailort to Oban (5)

I stopped for a glug at noon, a little way short of Meoble, having covered about 7km in a little under 3 hours. This rate of progress worried me a little, as it was a further 9 km to Oban bothy and I reckoned I really needed to be there by about 3pm if I was to have enough daylight to get up and over the Munro in safety and down to Corryhully bothy. I figured that maybe I'd be OK to carry on provided I was at Oban before 4 ... but any later than that, and I reckoned I was going to have an issue with finishing the day's planned route. Especially as, with the violent storm forecast for the following day, there was no way I wanted to risk being benighted on the ridge and spending the night at high altitude. So I pressed on past the steading south of Meoble, noting as I did so that the tractor shed to the west of the track would, in an emergency, offer a very acceptable overnight shelter; and then I headed up again beside the Allt Slaite Coire.

I stopped for lunch at 1pm and pressed on through the Slaite Coire and over the bealach. As I began my descent, this stunning view towards An Stac (that's a different An Stac from the one in the earlier photo: NM 866889 as opposed to NM 763793) opened up. Beinn Gharbh is to the right of An Stac; whilst the glens are Gleann Taodhail (left) and Gleann Cul an Staca (right).

The 2012 Challenge, Day 1: Lochailort to Oban (4)

Loch Beoraid soon came into view, beautiful and cobalt blue down below me. It is tempting to head straight for the path along the north shore of Beoraid, and many do. But I'd heard it can be very difficult going, and so I'd planned a different route - down to Meoble, up the Allt Slaite Coire, through the Slaite Coire into Gleann Taodhail and round to Oban bothy. From Oban, I then planned to take the river path and ascend Sgurr nan Coireachan (one of the Munros I had omitted in 2011), finally descending by way of Sgurr a' Choire Riabhaich to spend the night at Corryhully bothy.

As I looked for the path down to Lochan Lon a' Ghairt, however, things began to feel VERY wrong. I was approaching the edge of the woods alright ... but all I could see was tree tops, and it felt as though I was approaching the edge of a very deep precipice. I took a deep breath and back-tracked up, moved across to the left, and tried again. This time I found a path heading down ... which looked more like a deer track than a human track, but at least it was a track! I thought of the mountain goat symbol of the Ultimate Challenge, and followed it: and before long it became all too obvious that I HAD been heading straight for a rocky precipice with a drop of 30 or more metres. I shuddered to think how fatal that drop could have proved, and made a note not to come up here in poor visibility. But my troubles weren't over yet, because my track led me into a deep gully. I had no difficulty fording the stream ... but getting back up the north face of the gully? Well, that was another matter altogether! Eventually, however, I found my way down to the footbridge at the south end of Lochan Lon a' Ghairt, and headed North up the track to Meoble.

The 2012 Challenge, Day 1: Lochailort to Oban (3)

Alternatively, turning back Westwards, I could still just see Loch Ailort in the distance. Not for long, however, as I climbed steadily onwards. The path became less and less apparent, and there was no obvious sign of the path junction shown on the map at NM 795842. Eventually I found myself at the bealach, simply aiming for the obvious gap on the skyline. As it was a beautiful clear day with unlimited visibility, I had not resorted to any micro-navigtation techniques, however. This was a day for macro-navigation. Head up, look around, and follow the lie of the land!

The 2012 Challenge, Day 1: Lochailort to Oban (2)

After a couple of kilometres of road walking, I ducked under the railway line and started up the path beside the Allt na Criche towards Prince Charlie's Cave. As I ascended, looking back I could easily make out the pronounced conical form of An Stac, with the rounded top of Seann Chruach in front and to its right, and the towering mass of Sgurr na Ba Glaise (actually some 60 metres higher then An Stac) beyond and to the left. The classic glacial form of the Coire a' Bhuiridh is simply gorgeous to behold.

The 2012 Challenge, Day 1: Lochailort to Oban (1)

For some reason I woke up on Saturday 12 May with a bit of a hangover. I didn't think I'd had all THAT much to drink the night before ... but no matter. It wasn't all that bad, and I was sure I could walk it off soon enough.

The weather forecast was for a really bad storm on Sunday 13 May ... so I decided to give my boots a second coat of wax just to make sure they really were nice and water repellent. Then I went downstairs and enjoyed a fine breakfast of kippers and poached egg (hotels on Loch Fyne please take note ... if hotels in Lochailort can supply their guests with kippers, then so can you!!!!!)

After paying my bill I hefted my pack, and set out along the road back past the station. At my first glug stop I finally found a use for that little multi-tool which I have carried ever since finding it by the path on the 2000 Challenge. There was a nasty little sharp projection on one of the strap clips on my new rucksack, and I was sure I was going to cut myself on it sooner or later if it remained in place. So I chose the saw blade, and sawed it off. A great improvement, and a worthwhile contribution to Health & Safety on the TGO Challenge!!

The 2012 Challenge: Getting to Lochailort (6)

As I retraced my steps, a rather impressive rainbow appeared, and I whisked out my camera to try to get a photograph before it disappeared again.

Having returned to the hotel, I enjoyed a very nice supper (local langoustines straight off the boat - the kind that you can only ever find in the inns close to where the fishing boats are based - followed by a rather fine venison curry) and had a drink or two at the bar. While I was still enjoying my drinks, however, a couple of local musicians began playing and, ever one to enjoy live music, I stayed and listened. And had a few more drinks. And bought some drinks for the musicians.

They wished to know whether I were a Jacobite. I assured them that I was, and proved my credentials by asking them to play "Roses of Prince Charlie" - which they did, rather well.

Eventually, however, all good things must come to an end and I knew I ought to get some sleep before starting my Challenge in the morning. So eventually I bade them all goodnight and headed up to bed.

The 2012 Challenge: Getting to Lochailort (5)

So I walked down to the water's edge, and took an atmospheric photograph. I dipped my finger into one of the ripples which pass for waves in the shallow, sheltered waters of the loch and declared my crossing officially started; and then I turned and made my way back up to the hotel.

The 2012 Challenge: Getting to Lochailort (4)

The Lochailort Inn stands at the junction of the main road from Fort William to Mallaig, and the meandering road which runs from the Corran Ferry through Acharacle and up past Glenuig. I checked in and went to my room, where I unpacked my sleeping bag and fluffed it up a bit so as not to leave the down in a compressed state for too long, and applied a coat of wax to my boots. Then I decided it was time to go right right down to the sea's edge ... only, I couldn't make the lock on my room work. Try as I may, whatever I did, the door would still open. And when I fetched somebody from the hotel to show me how to do it properly, she couldn't make it work either! So she offered me another room, and I had to move all my gear ... and THEN I went down to the water's edge.

It is a short way from the inn to the water's edge, and I suppose I should really have carried my pack there and back. But I'd already unpacked a few things, so I left it in my room and went down without it. I went without my waterproofs, too, which may or may not have been a bad idea. There was a light drizzle falling, but nothing too worrisome. So I headed down in just my microfleece and hoped it would be OK.

The 2012 Challenge: Getting to Lochailort (3)

It is only a short walk from Lochailort Station to the Lochailort Inn, and there was nothing much to remark upon other than this charming little kirk which stands directly opposite the inn.

The 2012 Challenge: Getting to Lochailort (2)

On the train from Glasgow Queen Street, I found myself in conversation with a young English couple visiting the West highlands for the first time. I gave up my seat so they could sit together by the West-facing windows, and pointed out a few of the more interesting landmarks as we crossed Rannoch Moor and headed on to Fort William.

Then the train reversed and continued towards Mallaig, and once again I could not resist taking a picture from Glenfinnan Viaduct. This year, however, I did not alight at Glenfinnan, but travelled on one stop further to Lochailort.

The 2012 Challenge: Getting to Lochailort (1)

I was on strike over the government's proposals to abolish my pension on Thursday 10 May, and this gave me a chance to go into London and make all the arrangements to deposit a suit, some kit and some provisions at a storage place just round the corner from King's Cross. I'd be needing the suit on Wednesday 16th, when I was due to return from the Challenge on the overnight Sleeper to attend my union AGM. I would then leave my laundry behind in store, pick up the fresh kit, and resupply with the provisions before taking the sleeper back to Scotland and continuing with my Challenge.

That sorted, I returned home and organised my rucksack, leaving it to the last minute to compress the down sleeping bag. I had ANOTHER new rucksack this year - a 66 litre pack which would force me to minimise unnecessary clobber - or so I thought!!! It still came to nearly 17 kilos when fully loaded. However, I wasn't too concerned about this. With fewer laundry and resupply opportunities this year, I needed to carry more clothes and food. Next year, all being well, I should be able to get below the magic 15 kilo figure.

Thursday 11 May began with an early alarm (5.15, no less!) and my long-suffering wife drove me to Milton Keynes Central to catch the 6.22 to Glasgow. A wonderful train, this, if a little uncivilised in its hour of departure. The photograph shows it arriving bang on time.

It was raining when we arrived in Glasgow. I had a couple of hours to kill, so I bought myself some lunch bits to eat on the next train, then found an outdoor shop where I stocked up on necessary supplies which I had been unable to find anywhere in London (in particular, boot wax and Kendal mint cake). Then it was on to Glasgow Queen Street for the afternoon train to Fort William and Mallaig.

March Munros (2)

On Sunday morning I took the van to Inverey and followed the path up Allt Cristie Beag before turning South over hills 798 and 801 to Geal Charn. It's all peat up there ... but in March it was frozen peat, and I made great progress.

The picture shows the summit shelter of Geal Charn, where I took a short breather and a bit of lunch before continuing to Carn Bhac, then on to Carn Creagach. The weather started to deteriorate and I feared being caught on the tops in an electrical storm, so I angled down across the north face of Creag an Lochain to join the Glen Ey path shortly before the bridge over the Allt an t-Sionnaich, then returned to the van.

March Munros (1)

So, come March, off I went to do a couple of Munros in preparation for the 2012 Challenge. I took a long weekend (Monday - Friday) so I could have two days of clear walking time, and I drove the trusty old camper van north.

On Saturday I parked up at Spittal of Glenshee and hoofed it along the Glen Lochsie path and up Glas Tulaichean, to make up for having had to omit it on the 2010 Challenge. I met a nice couple up there who took this picture of me at the summit cairn, and then dropped down to Loch nan Eun and back to the Spittal by way of Gleann Taitneach. Then I drove over the Devil's Elbow (or what's left of it) into Braemar, figured out where Richard Baker's B&B is and said hello, then went for supper in the Fife Arms.

As it happens, Richard and Marilyn were involved in organising a show in the village hall on the history of Scottish dancing that very evening ... so I got talked into going to see it, and a very enjoyable evening it was (even if I did get sold a whole load of dud raffle tickets!!!)

Then I drove down to Linn of Dee and parked up for the night.

A nice little warm-up trip

I'm looking at the maps, and thinking of taking another little warm-up jaunt to the Highlands on the weekend of 17/18 March. I've arranged to take a half day on Friday, and the whole day off on Monday, so I can have two full days walking.

I was thinking of going from Spittal of Glenshee to the summmit of Glas Tulaichean and back on 17 March, and from Inverey on a circuit of Geal Charn, Carn Bhac, Carn Creagach and Creag an Lochain on 18 March.

Glas Tulaichean was, of course, the Munro which I had to drop from my itinerary in 2010 after having to take a half day out to go into Perth and replace my camera ... whilst Carn Bhac is a little Munro in the middle of nowhere which isn't particularly easy to work into a Challenge route.

Route Vetter's Comments Received

I have just received back my Route Vetter's comments. They are dated 8.1.12 ... so my vetter (Colin Crawford) was very swift in turning them around; any subsequent delays in transmission not being down to him!

Well ... I've only had time to give them a quick once-over, but there are certainly a few things there for me to think about. On the whole, however, the comments are very positive and upbeat.

"This is a demanding and inventive route" ... and "this looks like a splendid route, ambitious and with an attractive mix of hills, well walked standards and some less visited country" are the comments which really stand out.

All in all I'm chuffed ... but I need to take a good look at the suggested variations, and see whether I wish to alter my plans.

That's it ... my route has been submitted!

Well, there it is. After lots of squinting at my maps and counting little squiggly lines, I have submitted my route for vetting and comments. It is pretty much the one mentioned a couple of posts ago in this blog, subject to one or two alterations to take account of helpful comments received on the Challenge message board and from others along the way.

I should have liked to have got it in a little sooner; but with a major 5 day trial in December and all the disruption that entailed, I am quite frankly glad to have been able to submit it so soon.

Tum te tum. Now to sit back and wait for vetter's comments. I wonder what they'll make of my second phone-in point: London!?

2012 ... here I come!!!

Yippeeeee!!!

The postman brought a most welcome envelope today.

I'm in!

No standby lists this year ... just get right on and write up that there route, and send the route card in.

WOOOOHOOOO!!!!!

A fine autumn day on Schiehallion

So I've planned my route, and measured up the distances, and made changes to take account of the problems I'd been warned of at the South end of Loch Ericht, and sorted out all my FWAs and one or two FFAs. And all that poring over maps got me pining for Scotland once more.

And it's a long time until May, and I don't even know I'll be there.

And it occurred to me ... well ... why don't I pop up for a little bit of walking one weekend?

So I took Friday off, and I decided to do Schiehallion because ... well, I've never been up the famous fairy mountain; and I'd been looking at the maps which cover Schiehallion; and I don't see any sensible way you can ever work it into a Challenge route (cue long list of comments from Challengers who HAVE been over Schiehallion on their way across, just to prove me wrong).

I nearly didn't go, because MWIS was promising me a cloud base of 900m with sporadic rain and winds gusting at 40 - 50 mph. But then I thought ah what the hell - I was on the 2011 Challenge - surely a wee bitty of rain and wind and poor visibility isnae gonna deter me.

So I spent Friday driving up there in the camper van, spent the night at the Tummel Bridge caravan site, had a good night's sleep, a satisfying fried breakfast (egg, bacon, sausages, mushrooms ... wonderful things, camper vans!) and drove to the mountain. I started at about 10.30 and took two hours to the summit.

And you know what? I didn't have ANY of the things the MWIS promised in their forecast. Sunny with broken cloud, light breezes, no rain ... perfect mountain weather. Although to be fair to them, looking around it seemed pretty clear that other parts of the region WERE experiencing the weather forecast (or, at least, the forecast weather ...)

I left my pack and my poles at the foot of the final summit ascent, and returned there after posing for a few pictures at the top to enjoy a spot of lunch. Then I returned to the car park, had a long natter with some John Muir Trust volunteers and the chap who built the wonderful pillar cairn at the top of the made-up path, then drove back to somewhere in the region of Musselburgh where I parked up by the shore, went for a paddle in the Firth of Forth (brrrrr) and had another very good night's sleep before trundling back down South on Sunday.

It occurs to me though that maybe, if I am going to do a weekend in Scotland, I should take the Friday AND the Monday off for the journey. Then I can get in two days of walking and maybe knock off three or four tops rather than just the one. Because, let's face it, 900 miles of driving is an awful lot of diesel to burn for the sake of just a single ascent ...

My route for 2012

Well, it may need a little bit of tweaking and find tuning, and I need to check distance and ascent figures, and sort out the odd FWA or two (hopefully not TOO odd!) but I reckon I now have a viable crossing route for 2012 which allows me to take a day out in London to attend my union AGM and annual dinner. Not bad, huh? AND if we are blessed with good weather I may manage a High Level crossing. But I wouldn't hold your breath on that one. It only takes a couple of days when the weather keeps me down, and the total could drop below twelve.

Here's the basic outline of the route:

Saturday 12 May. Lochailort to Corryhully bothy via Prince Charlie's cave, Slaite Coire, Gleann Taodhail, Oban, SGURR NAN COIREACHAN (Munro #1), Sgurr a' Choire Riabhaich and Glen Finnan.

Sunday 13 May. Corryhully to Corran via Callop River and Cona Glen.

Monday 14 May. Corran to Mammore Lodge Hotel via Corran Ferry, Gleann Righ, Lundavra, Blar a' Chaorainn and the West Highland Way.

Tuesday 15 May. Mamore Lodge Hotel to Corrour Station via Allt Coire Na Ba, STOB COIRE A'CHAIRN (Munro #2), An Garbanach, AN GEARANACH (Munro #3), Water of Nevis, Tom an Eite, Abhainn Rath and Creaguineach Lodge. If I arrive at Corrour in plenty of time, there is always the option of a light out-and-back ascent of LEUM UILLEIM (bonus Corbett) while waiting for the train.

Wednesday 16 May. Travel to London on the overnight sleeper; attend union AGM and dinner; return to Corrour on the sleeper.

Thursday 17 May. Corrour to wild camp by Allt Ghlas opposite Ruighe Ghlas via Peter's Rock, Meall na Leitire Duibhe, CARN DEARG (Munro #4), Mam Ban, SGOR GAIBHRE (Munro #5), Sgor Choinnich, Carn a' Bhealaich, Lochan a' Bhealaich, Allt Tom a' Chogaidh and the tracks round the south end of Loch Ericht.

Friday 18 May. Allt Ghlas to Old Struan (making a wild camp beside the River Garry, just behind the kirk) via Allt an Luib Bhain, Allt Cro-chloich, Allt Shallain, Duinish, Creag a' Mhadaidh, Trinafour and roads to Old Struan.

Saturday 19 May. Old Struan to Loch Mairc via Calvine, Bruar, Falls of Bruar, Glen Banvie Wood, Ruichlachrie, Cuilltemhuc, Bruar Lodge, BEINN DEARG (Munro #6) and Loch Mhairc.

Sunday 20 May. Loch Mairc to Loch nan Eun via Braigh Sron Ghorm, Aonach na Cloiche Moire, CARN A' CHLAMAIN (Munro #7), Glen Tilt, Falls of Tarf, Fealar Lodge, Stac na h-Iolair and CARN AN RIGH (Munro #8).

Monday 21 May. Loch nan Eun to Braemar via Mam nan Carn, BEINN IUTHARN MHOR (Munro #9), AN SOCACH (Munro #10), Sgor Mor, Carn na Drochaide and MORRONE (Corbett).

Tuesday 22 May. Braemar to Glas-allt Shiel bothy via Glen Calalter, CARN AN t-SAGAIRT MOR (Munro #11), Carn an t-Sagairt Beag, CARN A'CHOIRE BHOIDEACH (Munro #12), Cac Carn Mor and CAC CARN BEAG of LOCHNAGAR (Munro #13) and the path down the Glas Allt.

Wednesday 23 May. Glas-allt Shiel to Tarfside via Spittal of Glenmuck, Allt Darranie, Shielin of Mark, Glen Lee and Glen Effock.

Thursday 24 May. Tarfside to Fettercairn, via Keenie, Hill of Wirren, East Wirren, Hill of Corathro, Little Tullo, Lochside, Edzell, bridge behind the post office, Bogside, Inch of Arnhall, Drum and Meikle Strath.

Friday 25 May. Fettercairn to St Cyrus via Dowrieburn, Mill of Barnes, South Barns, Burn of Malmakelly, Hill of Garvock, Sillycoats and Hill of Morphie.

It looks challenging ... but fun. Can't wait to get out there and do it!!!