*For the record, Gemma was offered tourist options for her time with us, including a Highland Games; Historic Scotland sites; pub eats and maybe even a hostel or two, but she put us to shame by insisting that a) she was not going to be one to keep us from Munros, especially in half-decent weather; b) she hardly has time to hike these days and wasn’t about to miss an opportunity; c) spending 4 nights sleeping in a car with Jamie, eating super noodles and cheese sandwiches for nearly every meal of her holiday, and trudging over pathless terrain for hours on end seemed like as good an idea as any. So, with that in mind, read on but don’t accuse us of being slave-drivers to our friends visiting from abroad! Starting from the car at the Loch Gascarnoch Weather Station  Gemma suggests the way  Summit of An Coileachan  Summit of Meall Gorm  The day started out misty, and more mist was to come intermittently throughout the day, but we were also lucky enough to have reason to wear sunglasses! The approach to An Coileachan seemed to take a while, but most things do seem more difficult when sleep deprived and midges have tried to eat you alive in the previous few hours! But, once over that initial hurdle, the Munros practically ticked off themselves.  Andy in his little house   Summit of Beinn Liath Mor Fannaich  Finger pointing makes its debut (today)  Summit of Sgurr Mor   Mimicking butt crack rock  Summit of Meall a’Chrasgaidh   Sun, mist, fickle weather!     Summit of Sgurr nan Each  Summit of Sgurr na Clach Geala It’s always motivating to know that we get to stay at a relatively high elevation throughout the day, enjoying time with friends – legs moving all the while – as the number of Munros increases. That is, until we neared the end. Descending A’Chailleach felt epic, not helped by the introduction of a deer fence that needed climbing; darkness that slowed us down; and the crossing of a large area of tree plantation that had us constantly worried we would fall into one of the holes that looked disturbingly similar to small, shallow graves (not sure what was worse, though, the holes or the mounds of uneven earth that tripped us and pitched us forward, threatening our ankles and the saplings nearby). After what seemed like hours (and probably was!) we eventually made it back to the main track beside Loch Toll an Lochain.    Summit of Sgurr Bhreac  Big smiles  Summit of A’Chailleach  Cairn in the increasing mist  Gemma tackling the deer fence  Go, Gemma!  The Best Bridge EVER |
Out on the road we hopped (yeah, right!) onto our waiting bikes for the ride back to the car at Loch Glascarnoch. Today took us nearly 18 hours from the start of locking up the bikes to getting back to the car, making it possibly the longest day out of the Challenge . . . emphasising again that ever-smiley Gemma is one tough cookie! 15 Munros in 3 days, and this is her vacation! A well-deserved day off was to follow, including a pit stop at Chanonry Point en route back to Glasgow, where the dolphins put on a great show for us!
Munros in a Year - All 282 in 2013! 