maandag 27 mei 2013

Superstitious ? Me ?

After 2 years of preperations the starting date for The Great Outdoors Challenge 2013 was coming closer. The car had its MOT and was leaking oil, which was fixed. Parcels were send to Glen Nevis YH and Dalwhinnie Bunkhouse. According to Track&Trace the parcel to Glen Nevis YH arrived 4 days later on the 29th of April. The parcel to Dalwhinnie however had disappeared into a black hole in some depot in Inverness. The only thing I could do was to prepare another parcel and bring it to Dalwhinnie myself, prior to the Challenge.
Tuesday was a very warm day in The Netherlands, 24 C.. Before boarding police were checking cars with dogs, something I've never experienced before. After some delay the journey across the Northsea was very smooth although I didn't sleep well. I never do on such a trip.

Disembarking in Newcastle upon Tyne the next day was again delayed by stringent inspections from British customs. I received a text message from my wife saying she couldn't contact me. I tried to call home but a message from my provider said I didn't have enough credit left on my prepaid card. Ridiculous because I had raised my credit considerably before leaving home. Taking out and putting back in the battery solved that problem. I also switched on my Satmap 10 gps to let it know I was in the UK. It scared the hell out of me that it only showed the UK basemap. Again taking out and putting back in the batteries solved the problem and to my relieve I could use the 1:50k All of Britain map again. I followed the A1 north and a couple of minutes after passing the Scottish Border it started to rain. And it only stopped for 10 minutes in Dalwhinnie where I delivered my spare parcel and the sun was shining. Within 2 minutes after leaving Dalwhinnie and driving south on the A9 I was back in the downpour again. Around 6pm I collected my trainticket at Montrose Station for next day's journey to Mallaig before settling down at the South Links Holiday Park. I decided to keep the tent dry and payed for a night in a log cabine. I won't do that again. At three times the costs of pitching your tent you get no lighting in a cramped space, two small benches, a telly, central heating and not enough sleep. Traveling by train from Montrose to Glasgow Queen Steet Station was uneventfull. The Challenge hordes were gathering to continue their journey north to either Mallaig or Oban. I saw a lot of familiar (blog)faces.
Queen Street Station and...
...the gathering of the Clans.

The second half of the journey is far more interesting. You're entering the Highlands and the railway goes through some familiar and tremendous landscapes. The driver reduced speed so passengers could experience the Glenfinnan aquaduct intensely. In the sunshine because between Glasgow and Mallaig the sun was showing itself on a regular basis.
In Mallaig I'd booked a bed in the small but convenient Mallaig Backpackers Lodge. Outside I met Rolf Kerkhof Mogot, a fellow Dutchman, and Colin Tock, one of the famous vetters. We had diner together and with some other Challengers got lured into a quiz in the Clachain Inn. A second place and no prize as result. 
 
Mallaig harbour
Friday morning I signed out at the West Highland Hotel.  Despite being in the line of sight of a mast I couldn't get a signal on myphone. I still had it on roaming but I had to find a network manually. Vodafone didn't want me and O2 was too weak so T-Mobile it was. A last text message was sent home before venturing in the Rough Bounds of Knoydart where there is no reception at all. The battery of the Satmap gps had to be removed for the second time before being able to get a fixed position. This never happened at home.    
Knoydart Ferry at Mallaig Harbour
The sun was shining as the ferry docked at the quay. I opted for the 9.30 Knoydart Ferry instead of the 10.15 Bruce Watt Ferry because I needed every possible minute to accomplish my two planned Munros. Once on the boat clouds were pushing in and it started to rain. The cold wind made us move into the cabin. 40 minutes later we were dropped of at the pier of Inverie. In contrast with Challenge tradition I didn't visit the Old Forge, Britain's remotest pub on the mainland. Instead I turned left to start the climb on the track to Mam Uidhe. In the forest I was out of the wind and it felt warm and humid so I removed my Paramo jacket.    
Near the Mam Uidhe


First sight of Ladhar Bheinn










Once out of the forest and on the Mam Uidhe I can see Ladhar Bheinn, my first Munro of today, five kilometre as the crow flies. 2,5 km and 35 minutes after starting I arrived at the Folach turn-off. A pleasant track goes downhill into Gleann na Guiserein at an easy angle. One or two light showers

The Folach turn-off
Ladhar Bheinn looking fine










pass but there is no need to put on the jacket. Ladhar Bheinn is almost clear of clouds.
The ascent from Folach isn't the most interesting and commonly used as an easy descent route towards Inverie but the views from the ridge will be spectacular. Near the Folach footbridge a landrover is parked and beyond the old ruin an Akto has been pitched but there's no one around.
From the southeastern corner of the little forest it's a steady plod 2km northeast to reach the ridge near the little lochans. At first the angle of the grassy slope isn't steep but being my first hill in 3 years I still need to grasp my breath regularly. The inactivity caused by my lower backache a few weeks ago has apparantly lowered my degree of fitness considerably. Shortly after starting my ascent it starts to rain again, not hard but persistant. The slope gets significantly steeper and rockier for the last 500 meters beneath the ridge. A couple is coming down and the guy says the walking is good and not too windy. Although the cloudbase has lowered my direction is clear : 1,5 km SSE to reach the 1020m high summit of Ladhar Bheinn. To confirm this I check my Satmap. Shock and horror ! The device states it can't find it's internal memory ! Much to my releave I can still use the map itself which is on the SD-card. I've been studying my route for over 2 years so it's etched in my brain but it would be reassuring to see I'm still near the line on my map. The wind is strenghtening and the last 320m of ascent to reach the trigpoint is taking me longer than expected.

The Ladhar trigpoint
very close to the trigpoint
Suddenly its shape can be seen through the clouds, no more than 10m in front of me. A week ago this ridge was still snow-clad and impossible to walk without crampons and ice-axe and the snow is still alarmingly near. Today however it's the rain that's bothering me. Although not being in a downpour I can feel I'm getting wet inside my Paramo and my Goretex trousers. I'd washed them prior to the Challenge and reproofed them twice to be sure every inch would be rainproof. The same garment was 100% waterproof in a very wet and stormy Lairig Ghru 6 years ago. At 2.30pm  I reach the true summit at 1020m but don't linger near its cairn.
Ladhar Bheinn summit
 
I start my descend but what should have been an 'easy' walk down turns out to be much more difficult and slower than going up. The southeastern side of the hill is the usual way up and down for thousands of hillbaggers every year and the surface is very eroded and the rocks are polished by tens of thousands of boots. It's a nightmare to micro-navigate my way down and the steep scrambling bits, normally my favourite pastime, demand my full attention. Despite my care I slip several times.
The going is slow and by now I'm completely soaked. At this speed I won't be able to climb Luinne Bheinn and reach the River Carnach before 9pm. I'm getting an irrational feeling that 'something' doesn't want me here, too many 'incidents' have taken place and I feel I can't ignore these bad omens any longer. If I continue I'll be in danger and something really bad will happen to me.
I decide to go as far as the Mam Barrisdale and make my way down to Inverie. I recall Inverie having a bunkhouse where I would be able to book a bed and dry my cloths.
 
By now all the little knolls on the ridge feel like endless mountains whose summits disappear in the clouds. I'm releaved to reach the Bealach Coire Dhorrcail but the sight of the rough and steep and seemingly endless climb out of the bealach makes me feeling desparate.
The Mam Barrisdale is beyond my reach and I turn right at the bealach to go down Coire Torr an Asgaill and into Gleann na Guiserein. The terrain is tussocky and water is everywhere but I don't bother to look for dry spots. There aren't any and my leather boots are filled with water already so why bother ? Countless 'wee burns' have to be forded and one makes me fall over and I land on my side, half in the burn and half in the bog on the other side.
Gleann na Guiserein
Eventually I reach the LRT at Folach and I'm able to increase my walking speed. At 7pm I'm back in Inverie. 23km and 8,5hrs later and still at the same spot ! Now where is this bunkhouse ?

I walked passed the Old Forge and the last of the houses but saw no sign. After 500m I turned and walked back to Inverie. An old lady in a golfcart passed and when she returned I asked her for directions. I had to walk another 1km to the southeast for the Knoydart Foundation Bunkhouse.
A group was inside and said I had to look for the warden Anna in 'the house with the tractortires'.
She was very helpfull and said the bunkhouse was booked by a group and I had to ask them if I could stay for the night. I had seen a dryer in the bunkhouse and asked Anna permission to use it. She said that was okay. Back at the bunkhouse some members of the group didn't object sharing the bunkhouse with me but the leader of the group turned me down. I've never experienced such behaviour in the Highlands before and was amazed to say the least.
I went next door to the Knoydart Lodge B&B but they were fully booked also. My confidence in Highland hospitality was restored by Bob, the owner, who let this drowned backpacker inside and offered me tea immidiately and made some phonecalls to ask for availibility but everything was fully booked in Inverie. The Knoydart Foundation Ranger came in and said I could unofficially sleep in the logcabin on the beach. He also said there was also a peculiar woman with a trolley but I would get along with her just fine. I expressed my doubts about continuing my Challenge and Bob offered to bring me back to Mallaig with his own boat the next morning if I decided to stop. There's no ferryservice during the weekend : getting into Knoydart is easier than getting out.
Before going down to the beach I went back to the bunkhouse and stripped down to put all my wet cloths in the dryer. I wonder what the passing groupmembers where thinking of this halfnaked man in the hallway.
Unpacking my rucksack I discovered even my drybags had been letting in some water and, much more to my horror, my phone, which I had in a ziplockbag in the chestpocket of my Paramo, was wet.
Even my money was soaked. The only things that stayed perfectly dry were my Satmap, photocamera and print-outs of my routes. All had been put in Ortlieb mapcases.
45 minutes later I went to the logcabin and made myself  'comfortable' on one of the narrow benches. Some time later the 'trolleywoman', who turned out to be fellowchallenger Lindsay Jones, came in to prepare diner. She had postponed her start due to the bad weather.

By now I'd considered my options. Walking my lowlevel route to Sourlies and beyond seemed out of the question with even worse weather coming in and my phone out of order and not being able to contact Challenge Control on time. I would probably get soaked again without a chance to dry out.
I was still very strongly aware of nearby danger and the only thing I could think of was to go home as soon as possible. Lindsay tried to persuade me to continue but I had decided not to. She planned to go over to Barrisdale the next morning and when I asked her how she would cross burns with her trolley she replied she didn't know yet. I wished I had her optimism.
Lindsay retired to her tent and later that evening 6 young guys came in the logcabine to spend the night. Seven people sleeping in a 8 by 8 ft. logcabine makes you feel like sardines in a tin can. And I haven't mentioned the mice yet !

Saturdaymorning Bob ferried me back to Mallaig and by train I went to Fort William. I checked the timetable for my journey to Montrose the next day and discovered my watch had stopped 10 minutes earlier. Why ? I booked a bed at the Glen Nevis YH and asked for my parcel. It wasn't there.
I used the phone at the YH to contact the ferry company but of course they're not open in the weekend. I made a short call to Challenge Control saying I had withdrawn from the Challenge and last but not least an emotional phonecall home saying I would be returning home soon. On Sunday I returned to Montrose to call in at Challenge Control at the Park Hotel. John Manning was manning (pardon the pun) the desk and was busy answering incoming calls from Challengers. As I was there nr.7 and 8 reported their withdrawal and I learned that Lindsay J. was helicoptered out of the Mam Barrisdale the night before and another person was helicoptered out from Barrisdale. It must have been the Bermuda triangle.
Back at the Montrose campsite and my car I recharged my phone but sending one textmessage drained half the battery. Next morning I called the ferrycompany and got the answeringmachine saying "everybody was busy and I would be helped as soon as possible" (at 9am CET) . Then the music starts and my battery was drained. I plugged the phone into a socket and tried again. After 50 minutes someone at the ferrycompany felt sorry for me and answered the phone. I could get a ferry back to Holland the same day or a couple of days later. I left the campsite almost immidiately.
Driving past Edinburgh on the M9 my TomTom navigation indicated to stay on the righthandside lane for the A720 City Bypass. I've got an old TT and the situation has changed. I was driving towards Sterling and straight into an horrendous downpour. At the next junction I left the motorway and wanted to turn right at the end of the exit. Some cars passed in front of me coming from the right.
The road was clear, I pulled up and almost collided with a car coming from the right at high speed.
Something definitely wanted me out of Scotland, dead or alive.

Did I make the right decision ? I wasn't in immidiate danger and I've scrambled on knife-sharp ridges and stood on 2 inch wide ledges with a leathal drop beneath me in the past and I wasn't uncomfortable with that. Would something have happened to me if I pressed on ? Without the ability to go to a parallel universe I'll probably never know.

maandag 6 mei 2013

Final preparations

Tomorrow I'll be off to catch the ferry to Newcastle. Nervous ? Yes.
My backache is gone but I haven't carried a rucsac the last two weeks.
One parcel (Glen Nevis YH) has arrived, the other one (Dalwhinnie Bunkhouse) is still lost in space.
Looks like I'm going to have to buy some extra food and batteries and make a huge detour to deliver them myself prior to the Challenge. Thanks to the Royal Snail Mail.

The weather will be cool, wet and windy in the northwest and the Cairngorms are still extensively covered in snow. My route goes over the southern edge of the Cairngorms and the webcams near the Glenshee area (Cairnwell-Cairn Aosda-Glas Maol) don't show much snow. Perhaps I'll be lucky ?

Good luck to all Challengers and a safe crossing !

donderdag 2 mei 2013

Challenge gear

Until now I've seen only two gearlists for this years Challenge. There have been years everybody was blogging about their gearlist complete with milligrams but lightweight gear is normal and accepted nowadays. Tarps, trailshoes, helium filled backpacks : you name it, they take it.
I do try to replace 'heavy' items with lighter alternatives but you won't find me sleeping underneath a tarp. A Dutch woman is running (!) LeJog at the moment and had a very unpleasant encounter with a toad..... crawling on her face in the middle of the night. The tarp was immidiately exchanged for an Akto.

The total weight of my rucsac, including 4 days food, will be just a little bit less than 13 kilograms (28.6 lbs) : the lightest I've ever had for a multiday backpacking trip.
I will not bore you with milligrams.

Theo's list :

North Face Lodestar 70 rucsac
Hilleberg Akto  
Mamut Butterfly sleeping bag                       
NeoAir Xlite matras  
inflatable pillow
Campinggaz Bluet micro stove
Campinggaz CV300
Pan 
potcosy pot
potcosy pouch
Pocket knife
spork
walking poles
Satmap Active 10 gps incl ortlieb a6
6 AA batteries
4 AAA batteries
Geko 201 gps
Compass
Whistle
Small torch
headtorch (Xenos)
Samsung photocamera incl. ortlieb a6
ortlieb mapcase with a4 printouts
survival blanket
drinking bottle
bottleholder
p-zipbag
crocs
foldable sitmat
Karrimor drybag 2lt
Bever drybag 20 liter
Sea-to-summit drybag 20 liter
Sea-to-summit drybag 20 liter
Sea-to-summit drybag 2 liter
Eagle Creek chestpouch incl.plastic karabiners 
snowgrips
Personal care
First aid kit
Tick remover
Paracetamol
Toothbrush
Toothpaste
Earplugs
Toiletpaper
Sportstape 3 m
Showergel (mini bottle)
Spare glasses with case
bandage
binbag
duct tape
Iron wire
Clothing etc.
j-cloth
flanel
4 pair of socks
2 Odlo underpants
Fleece hat
3 magic towels

North Face goretex trousers
Paramo Alta Jacket
Scarpa sl3 leather boots
 
1 synthetic longjohns

1 Icebreaker Skin 200 t-shirt
1 Icebreaker Skin 200 long sleeves
1 Icebreaker midlayer
3 handkerchiefs
windstopper gloves
6 pair plastic gloves
outdoordesign gaitors
Food and drink
 

3xadventure food en 1xknorr dried pasta
16 mueslibars
breakfast/lunch cereals 
with white raisins and 70% chocola incl.ortlieb a4
15 teabags
 
Personal
Mobile phone
ID, cards, drivers license, money, etc.
Diary + pen

I've sent two parcels with food and batteries to Fort William and Dalwhinnie.

In 5 days Í'll be taking the ferry from IJmuiden to Newcastle. It's getting close now. 

 









  


vrijdag 26 april 2013

Disaster strikes....almost

Last saturday I was writing down Challenge phonenumbers at the dinertable. As I stood up I realised I couldn't get my back straight up. Moving was difficult and painfull. I've had this lower backache in the past and more severe also but never at such an inconvenient moment.
In this state I wouldn't even be able to walk one kilometre, let alone from westcoast to eastcoast through Scotland.
Normally it would go away with time but time is the one thing I didn't have. Only 17 days before taking the ferry to Newcastle !
Yesterday I went to the physiotherapist and much to my relief things are going a bit better. Some more massages and I'll be up and running, ahum, walking again.   

vrijdag 19 april 2013

Pre-Challenge practice

I was able to get 2 days of work so I could do some proper training for the Challenge. Of course when I say 'proper training' I mean walking a reasonable distance on the flat instead of going up and down. There simply isn't much up and down in The Netherlands.

Last monday my wife drove me and the dogs to the nearest forest and kicked all of us out of the car. I left my wife, confusing the dogs whom to follow but after a couple of minutes of running back and forth they stayed with She Who Has To Be Obeyed. Traitors !

Bussumerheide
Two weeks ago the minimum night temperature was as low as     -10 C. but on sunday the max day temperature reached an incredible +23 C. At 8.45 am on monday it was already warm and feeling very humid. My rucsac contained most of the things I will be taking with me on this years Challenge.
A nice variation of wood and heath made for good progress in the morning.

Ancient neolithic burial hill - 4000 years old
At 11 am it started to rain but nothing serious. It was dry again at noon.
A nice and dry looking tree trunk looked like a suitable spot to have lunch. Ten minutes later a woman passed and asked if I hadn't been troubled by hornets. The treetrunk hosted a hornets' nest the previous year. Luckily for me there were none left.
great spot for lunch - a (former) hornets' nest
After going through more wood and some estate farmland I reached the former airforce base Soesterberg. This base has lost its function and buildings and runways are now being demolished to return the area to nature.
It also marked the end of walking in peace and solitude. The machines made a lot of noise and a busy A-road and motorway had to be circumnavigated.


German storage bunker from a 37mm Flak site
At 4 pm I reached my intended camping spot although it took me another half hour to locate the spot precisely. Wildcamping is illegal in Holland but there are some places where 'wildcamping' is permitted. This way of wildcamping is called 'paalkamperen', pole- or post camping. The only utility is a pump for pumping up groundwater by hand. The distance covered was 32 km.
'Paalkamperen' near austerlitz
At night the air was still and my Akto had considerable condensation on the flysheet.
I must admit it has been a long time since I slept in a small tent and I'm not as 'bendy' as I used to be.
The NeoAir Xlite airmattress was comfortable and didn't make much noise when turning from side to side. I also used an inflattable pillow, one with a hollow in the middle. It deflated a little during the night and that caused some necktrouble the next morning. A solution is needed before the start of the Challenge.
The forest had been full of singing birds the previous evening and the singing started again at the first sign of dawn. An early breakfast led to an early start at 7.30am. The route back home was slightly more to the west and 1km shorter making a total of 63 km in 2 days.
My feet felt good although the last 5km on tarmac wasn't too pleasant.

A beechlane, almost a mile long.


I had to go to work again on wednesday but felt wonderfully good and strenghtened.
Let's hope the infamous third Challenge day will be equally good.
 



zondag 24 maart 2013

A bit nippy for the time of year

It's a bit nippy of late but no complaints from me. March 23, 1916 was really nippy with a max of 1.1 degrees Celsius.
It's the wind and lack of sunshine that makes you put on two sets of cloth. Last night the effect of windchill was near minus 20 C. and I still don't complain. Britain has much worse weather conditions at the moment. Snowdrifts 15ft high in Cumbria, cars buried in snow. Extreme windchill on Cairngorm, Scotland, of -26 C. with gusts up to 100 miles per hour (160km/u). Walking on ridges and high terrain would be impossible.

Watching several webcams the West Highlands don't seem to have much snow. At least no more than usual at this time of year.
47 days from now I'm going over Ladhar Bheinn and Luinne Bheinn.

vrijdag 15 maart 2013

diy pot-cosy and bag-cosy

 For the TGO Challenge in May I made my own potcosy and a bagcosy. I used radiatorfoil, ducttape and aluminiumtape. The bagcosy has an 'envelope form' and can be closed to retain heat for a longer period. The bagcosy has a wider base so the 'boil-in-the-bag' meals can stand up inside. Don't want to spoil it on the tentfloor, do we ?
The potcosy has a double layer, a base and a top, to be able to seal of the cooking pot as much as possible. There's an open space where the handle of the pot comes out. The potcosy is for meals that are made..... in a pot, yes. After bringing 500ml water to the boil I switched of the gas and put the pot into the cosy. Twenty minutes later the meal was still piping hot so the test was a great succes.
The bagcosy weighs 23 grams and the potcosy weighs 35 grams but will save me a lot of gas.
 
 
 
 
 

dinsdag 12 maart 2013

Snow for the seventh time this winter. I want to speak to the manager !

While it rained for 24/24 hours a couple of days ago and we've seen the digital mercury hit 16 on the thermometer a few days before that it's now snowing again in the Netherlands. The north and the south have a considerable amount of snow again but so far where I live - the middle - the streets are still black. Windchill is minus 15 at night however.

Preparations for the Challenge are going according to plan except that I'll probably won't be able to find the time off to do a two day walk and do some (illegal) wildcamping at night.
Eight weeks from now I'll be leaving for Scotland. Why does that feel so close ? I get this odd feeling there's hardly enough time to do the things I want or must do. I know there is, it just doesn't feel that way.

I've made a potcosy and a bagcosy, that is a cosy for a pot and a cosy for 'boil-in-the-bag' type of food. I'll post some pictures soon.
Overall weight of my rucksack, including food for 4 days, will be 15 kg.   

donderdag 14 februari 2013

Snow. Again. And sleet....

...and rain, hail and icing and snow again. All with a bitterly cold, strong wind. And another 19km of walking. I feel stronger every day.
After walking in our local forest with my wife and our dogs she, and the dogs, drove home and I walked around the Naardermeer, a natural lake/swamp and Holland's first nature reserve, est.1901.

After a pinkish sunrise the sky was soon overcast. Snow was predicted at the end of the morning. It was a few degrees below zero but felt much colder.
The walk around the Naardermeer is called 'Het Laarzenpad' (The Wellies Way) because parts of it go through pastures and wet areas. The pastures are trodden by cows and were frozen solid. Crossing it for 1km was more difficult than walking on a Scottish boulderfield. 
At 11.30am it started with sleet which turned into snow 20 minutes later. The wind was coming from the side but didn't bother me too much. I was comfy in my Paramo Alta I jacket and Goretex trousers.
 
 
The lake was frozen and the howling wind made beautifull patterns on the ice. The last stretch I walked straight into the wind but I made good progress despite the difficult circumstances. I arrived home at 13.00pm covering 19km in 3hrs45mins.
 


zondag 10 februari 2013

Most Valuable Piece of Gear

 
Yes, Crocs of Orange. Bought them today, my first pair. Second hand of course :-)

More snow


More snowfall yesterday and last night. Up to 18cm (7 inches) in places. Brings back memories from when I was a young lad. I had a nice walk with the dogs.
 
 

 
 


zaterdag 9 februari 2013

TGO Challenge 2013 : planned route

I've published my route on this blog earlier, see this post, but didn't go in too much detail at the time. My route still had to be vetted so minor changes were still possible. The esteemed vetters Les and Issy Silkowski have had a look at my route and returned it with sensible comments and good tips.
Some repairs had to be made and finally my route was approved.

Day 1 : distance 19km and 1950m ascended
My journey will start with a boattrip from Mallaig to Inverie, followed by a nice walk to warm the muscles to Gleann na Guiserein. From there I'll ascend Ladhar Bheinn, one of Knoydart's gems. It has been on my wishlist for years, originally as a daytrip from Barrisdale.
The descent, which looks like a sort of screeslope, is made from point 849 into Coire a' Phuill. At Mam Barrisdale I might meet some Challengers going in the direction of Kinlochhourn or perhaps we'll climb Luinne Bheinn together. Luinne Bheinn is descended to the southeast and camp will be somewhere along the River Carnach.

Day 2 : 19km - 2300m
This day is a bit odd. A classic ridge walk and two crossings of glens, north-south instead of west-east. After crossing the River Carnach it's into and up Coire na Cuairtich to reach the ridge leading to Sgurr na Ciche. Another chance to meet Challengers coming up from Sourlies. After Sgurr na Ciche the ridge continues over Garbh Chioch Mor, Garbh Chioch Bheag and Sgurr nan Coireachan. Then it's due south to Glen Dessarry followed by an ascend of Meall nan Spardan and the Corbett Carn Mor. Before reaching Meall nan Eun I'll be taking a shortcut south to the bealach between Gleann an Obain Bhig and Glen Pean. This stretch is the crux of my whole route, it's steep and can be dangerous.
I've been searching the web for trip reports and pictures from the north side of these glens and found only one account, going up from the bealach.
If a save descent can't be made I'll have to follow the ridge west down to Loch Morar and go east through Gleann an Obain Bhig. A river crossing will then be neccesary and might prove impossible when in spate. See Two Routes' account from 2012.
If all goes well camp will be made near the illustrious named Lochan Dubh, the Black Loch. And black it is in this narrow and rough part of these glens. Might even meet some Challengers. It's really a social route you know.

Day 3 :  23km - 2550m
Another day containing Munros and crossing glens 'the wrong way'. There's a stalkers path up Sgurr nan Coireachan (yes, another SnC but a different one from yesterday) and a ridgewalk east leading to Sgurr Thuilm. Shortly before Meall an Fhir-eoin I'll go southeast and cross Gleann a' Chaorainn and the next, Gleann Camgharaidh, and via Gualann nan Osna up to Gulvain. Southeast to cross Gleann Fionlighe and move further southeast to Gleann Suileag. Perhaps I'll spend the night in Sulaig bothy or go upstream in the direction of Glen Loy before making camp. A lot of going up and down which explains the 2550m of height gain. Only the Mamores on day 5 will have more ascend.

Day 4 : 25km - 350m
After this leisurely start of my Challenge it's time for some relaxing. Through Glen Loy to the Great Glen, avoiding some roadwalking by going through the woods south of Glen Loy and joining the Great Glen Way near Torcastle cottages. The Allt Sheangain goes through a tunnel underneath the Caledonian Canal, a river going underneath a canal. Weird !
Shopping can be done at Fort William and this evening I'll have the luxury of a bed and shower at the Glen Nevis Youth Hostel.

Day 5 : 27km - 2900m
A cracker ! Another 'must do this one day' which I'd planned some years ago but had to abandon due to galeforce winds. Even the old pinetrees in front of the YH were having a hard time.
I'll be following the West Highland Way for a short while and go to the ancient fort of An Dun. From there my journey goes over Sgorr Chalum, Mullach nan Coirean, Stob Ban, Sgurr an Iubhair, Am Bodach, Stob Coire a' Chairn, Na Gruagaichean, Binnein Mor and Binnein Beag before making camp below Sgurr Eilde Beag. A tough day that needs not too much wind and snow, a gentle westerly breeze and some mild sunshine over the cloudless summits would do nicely.

Day 6 : 25km - 1350m
It's always good to have a bit of level walking before doing any serious climbing but not today. From the bealach the most easterly Munro of The Mamores, Sgurr Eilde Mor, is just a minor bump with a height difference of only 270m. Nothing compared to Ben Nevis but still a Munro. From the northeastern shoulder of Sgurr Eilde Mor it's cross country in a virtually straight line to Luibelt to cross the Abhainn Rath and follow an easy path downstream to Loch Treig. After crossing the railroad it's up Garbh-bheinn and staying high to reach Stob Coire Sgriodain. Camp will be made at Lochan Coire an Lochain. In calm, warm weather the place can be infested with midges, in that case I'll stay high.

Day 7 : 25km - 2000m
Another Munro, Chno Dearg, first thing in the morning again and southeast to River Ossian. From Loch Ghuillbinn ascend the plateau for Beinn Eibhinn, Aonach Beag and Geal-Charn and north to ford the Allt Cam. I'll turn west to reach the west end of Beinn a' Chlachair and follow this Munro east for 5km.  Wildcamp at Bealach Leamhain.

Day 8 : 23km - 750m
Straight up a Munro, Creag Pitridh, again (who planned this?), followed by another one, Geal Charn, but an easy day nevertheless. Down to Loch Pattack and along Loch Ericht to Dalwhinnie. Bunkhouse, bed, shower and a non-dehydrated dinner.

Day 9 : 33km - 1800m
If I feel really good I might bag the 4 Munros west of the A9 but the initial plan is to go up to the quarry and bag just 1 today, A' Bhuidheanach Bheag. From there east to Sronphadruig and then east from Loch an Duin, more or less following the border, if not the peat hags, to Feith Ghorm Ailleag. This stream will lead me to the foot of Beinn Bhreac for another wildcamp.

Day 10 : 33km - 1950 km
The next few days will be loooong days, especially when the ground is saturated but I have one spare day and can cut some days short.
First thing in the morning will be Beinn Bhreac, a Corbett for a change, followed by a lovely 'ridgewalk' over Carn an Fhidhleir, An Sgarsoch, Carn Bhac, Beinn Iutharn Mor and Mam nan Carn before descending to Loch nan Eun and making camp.

Day 11 : 35km - 2060m
This day the ridgewalk will be continued. An Socach, Carn a' Gheoidh, Carn Aosda, The Cairnwell, Glas Maol, Creag Leacach, back to Glas Maol, Cairn of Claise, Carn an Tuirc, Tom Buidhe and a wildcamp before or after Tolmount. 10 Munros in one day (11 if you count Glas Maol twice) ? Is this feasable ? There seems to be less peat hagsand bog if you stay high. We'll see.

Day 12 : 30km - 1200m
In 2007 I walked Jock's Road from Callater to Clova. Today I'll cross that road on my way to Lochnagar. There's a big chance of meeting fellow Challengers coming from Callater Lodge or Braemar who will all be following the 'trade route' to Tarfside. After Shielin of Mark I'll probably leave this 'traderoute' for my final Munro, Mount Keen. Scotland's most easterly Munro. Wildcamp in Glen Mark before Mount Keen.

Day 13 : 34km - 830m
From Mount Keen it's all downhill, passing Tarfside on my way to the coast. I'll just be popping in St.Drostan's for a snack before moving on to make camp somewhere down Glen Esk.

Day 14 : The final day ? If everything goes according to plan - I love it when a plan comes to work - yes. If not we'll have had some delay underway. Edzell, North Water Bridge, Marykirk, Hill of Morphie, St.Cyrus, the eastcoast and a last plod back up from the shoreline to the busstop.

A huge amount of 45 Munros if the weather is cooperative for 14/15 days. The last few years have seen difficult circumstances weatherwise and plans can or must be adjusted if necessary.

This is not just a Challenge or The Challenge. It will be full of challenges along the way.


woensdag 30 januari 2013

January record

Just 4 days ago a period of 13 days of continuous temperatures below zero ended and last night saw a recordbreaking 13 degrees above zero. A January record including daytemperatures !
We had a reasonable amount of snow but I've never seen it disappear so quickly.
Of course winter isn't over yet, we'll have to wait and see what's instore for us the coming weeks.

vrijdag 18 januari 2013

Practise makes Perfect : a 30km walk

I had the very rare opportunity of walking for as much as I wanted yesterday. Snow had fallen two days before and it was below zero so I decided to stretch my goal for the day a little bit.
Het Voetstappenpad is a nice circular walk around Hilversum (The Netherlands) through heath, forests and a bit of Hilversum itself.
The lenght is 25km and parking north of the walk the total lenght of the walk would be 30km.
Het Gebed-zonder-End
The temperature was minus 5 degrees but luckily there was hardly any wind so there was no windchill. I was carrying my backpack stuffed with jeans and filled waterbottles to reach the weight of 14kg. I was wearing a North Face Gore-tex trouser over synthetic longjohns, an Icebreaker Merino baselayer and midlayer and my Paramo Alta jacket together with Scarpa SL3 boots and a cheapish pair of walking poles and a thin fleece hat and gloves.
I never felt cold at all and sometimes even had to open the jacket to cool down a bit.
Bussummerheide
I started at 9.30 at a leisurely speed. There were a lot of tracks of small deer and rabbits in the snow. The human footprint you can see in the picture is the waymark of the Voetenpad, originally established in 1938.
I had my SatMap Active10 gps with me to test the batteries in cold conditions. I used rechargeable batteries that weren't freshly charged but all bars were shown on screen. The path is very well waymarked but I thought it was best to use the gps anyway. I had it turned on all the time in energy-save mode and the batteries only ran flat 600m before reaching my car again. During The TGO Challenge I will only turn it on when needed so I think I can get at least 2 full days walking out of 3 normal AA-sized batteries.  
Westerheide
Despite the lack of sunshine I was enjoying myself. I kept saying to myself this was all f...king fantastic, having decided to do this only 12 hours ago. The company was great (there was nobody around) and the views were stunning.   
Charolais cows
I didn't meet any Highland Coos, instead I met some Charolais cows who thought I was bringing something nice to chew on. I tend to ignore cattle, and in exchange they ignore me, but this time they followed me for a while at very close range. I had my poles ready to scare them off but didn't get the change (?) to test the theory.  

Dr.Albert Schweizer forest road
Kilometre after kilometere passed and I kept feeling good which was a bit of a surprise to me because I had injured my right knee 15 days ago. Despite the terrain being difficult to walk on from time to time - months of rain had turned the paths into deep mud and tracks of mountainbikers and walkers had frozen solid to form a sort of boulderfield - I didn't experience any pain in my knee. 
Hilversum's Wasmeer viewpoint
After walking for three hours I took a lunchbreak of 15 minutes at the Hilversum's Wasmeer viewpoint, south of Hilversum. As I was packing to leave two elderly men entered the viewpoint. One was obviously being 'guided' by the other and the newbie remarked this was a nice flat area. I thought : "It better be otherwise the Laws of Physics don't apply around here. It's a lake for God's sake !", but I kept my mouth shut.
The Hoorneboeg
Another 2 hours 15 minutes of walking on 'boulderfields' started to take its toll and at 3 o'clock I had another 15 minutes break. Calves, knees, hips and shouldermuscles were making clear they'd had enough of it but I still had to walk another 6km.

Me, Halvar Icebeard, getting a bit knackered 
I simply put one foot in front of the other and ending in my neck-of-the-woods meant I could split the remaing km's in manageable pieces : the pond, the left-turn at the road, three oaklanes, the campsite.... .
Spanderswoud
Eventually I reached the car having walked 30km for which I needed 7 hours. Time moving was 5hrs35mins, average speed was 4,3km and moving average was 5,3km/hour.

Today I expected to have sore and stiff legs (I remember coming down the stairs at Glenbrittle YH after a long day in The Cuillin) but that didn't happen. I actually feel good.
Some more of these walks and I'll be ready for the Challenge in May.

donderdag 10 januari 2013

Gear : Therm-A-Rest NeoAir Xlite Regular

A couple of days ago it was my birthday so I thought it was a good idea to buy me a present. I needed a replacement for my leaking Exped Down Air 7 mattress.
I visited BeverZwerfsport , a Dutch outdoorshop, to test the T-A-R NeoAir Xlite Regular. A very light mattress at 350 grams compared to the Exped at 900 grams. I've been happy with the warmth and comfort of the Exped 7 - I'm a sidesleeper - and thought I'd give the NeoAir Xlite a try in the shop.

My hips didn't touch the floor, even when deflated a bit for softness, but it's a bit 'noisy' when turning from one side to another. I don't mind. I'll be using earplugs.
Couldn't test the warmth but the R-value is stated as 3,5. I'll have to do some fieldresearch for that.
I left my cash at the shop and took the NeoAir home. I was happy.

woensdag 2 januari 2013

Rule 1 : Vetters are always right, Rule 2 : ...

On the last day of last year, or the first day of the first week of this year if you prefer, I received an email from the Almighty Coordinator in Settle containing my Route Sheet and the comments of the honourable Vetters Les & Issy Silkowski. There was work to be done.
I'd made some unexplainable typo's, forgot some FWA's, planned a lot of looooong days and my route contained several dangerous spots, not to mention the sheer madness of planning 45 Munros.

I didn't call it "Rising the 45" for nothing , did I ?

Actually Les & Issy gave me some sound advice and some good tips and I know I'll have to improvise in May due to weather- and groundconditions (my physical condition will be topnotch).
I've made some re-calculations, improvements and added a FWA here and there and send it in this afternoon. Let's hope it gets the Vetters' approval this time