TGO Challenge 2014 Day 8: Sex, Drugs and Rock and Roll

Friday 16 May, Distance: 28 kilometres. Height climbed: 512 metres. 7 hours 45 minutes.

Weather: Fair in the morning; bright sunshine in the afternoon

Day 8: Route

Ok.  Before we go any further I have to confess. The above title is salacious trickery and has nothing to do with this post. As far as I was concerned there was an almost complete absence of the above on the Challenge, although I know that a few paracetamol were consumed, and some Challengers did use Compeed quite a bit, but that's hardly a Class A substance. However, I have a theory that my blog posts get far more hits if I use a title that suggests it is something other than an account of a walk across Scotland. Thus, I am now carrying out some empirical research and will try to gauge the impact of the title on the numbers of hits.   Look, I know I should be able to pull in readers by the quality of my writing, the intricacy of the plot, the appropriate use of the apostrophe, and the strength of the characterisation, but it just doesn't do it folks. So if smutty headlines work, expect to see my future inspiration coming from the Daily Star.

Actually, I did start the day with drugs, but of the prescription variety. I have been suffering for a while now with twinges in my right shoulder caused by osteo-arthritis and the doctor has prescribed some medication which, unfortunately, can make you want to throw up. The plan today was to walk with Dave Wishart over to Mar Lodge. We had arranged to set off at 8.00 am. I was ready a good few minutes before this. So I explained to Dave that I would wander off slowly, what with me feeling rough, and he would catch me up.  A kilometre or so up the glen I was overhauled by Graham Weaver who had come from the bothy. I introduced myself. He introduced himself. I then proceeded to chunder.  Loudly. It’s not how people greet each other in polite society but hey ho. Graham was clearly embarrassed, assuming that it was his horribly bright orange jacket that was to blame, and then politely pretended he hadn’t noticed and kindly slowed his pace to mine ie rather slower than the proverbial snail.

Graham Weaver at the Pony Hut: The only Challenger with a louder jacket than Andrew Walker

The Eidart Bridge - look closely and you will notice Graham is crossing the bridge

So it was off and up to the Pony Hut, more up, then across the Eidart Bridge and then over the watershed. Just after the bridge we were caught up by John Sanderson and Dave and we walked on. Well they walked. I was jogging at their heels to keep up, but feeling better by the minute. The scenery was fab, the weather was getting fabber, the entertainment value of my three companions was fabbier still. I seemed to recall quite a bit of laughter on this stretch of the walk, and not all at my expense.  We lunched at the ruined building by the Geldie Ford, wolfing down Primula and the last of my wraps, in the knowledge that tomorrow we would hit Braemar and could replenish our stocks

I can't remember what had been said but I literally fell backwards with laughter at this point. Look carefully and you will see Graham Weaver on the left of the picture in his rather quiet jacket

The walk from the Geldie to the Linn of Dee seemed shorter than last year. That’s because I had earlier kept reminding myself that it was a lot further than those OS guys made it look.  Half way along and we were clearly going to be at Mar Lodge quite early, so I stopped running to keep up with the other three, and sat down for a snack and a nice ‘shoes off’ sunbathe in a lovely little sheltered spot. The others strolled off, effortlessly it seemed, covering the ground rather faster than Usain Bolt could manage on a good day, or so it seemed to me.

There are two jokers in every pack: Graham Weaver and Dave Wishart aka The Chuckle Brothers

Looking back towards the Geldie from near the Linn of Dee

At the Linn of Dee

Mar Lodge. It was now warm and sunny. Rebecca from the NTS did a booze run for us, taking our money and alcohol orders down to Braemar. And amazingly she came back too! The lawn in the walled garden rapidly filled up with Challengers.  An idyllic spot to camp.  John Sanderson asked to ‘borrow’ the last of my Primula. He had noticed some of the seam sealant had peeled off his Trail Star and I watched, fascinated, as he smeared a small amount of Primula over the affected seams as a temporary repair. Apparently, the fat content of Primula is highly water repellent, as he had learnt whilst on a climbing expedition to Patagonia, when it had been used successfully as an emollient to protect hands in the ice cold streams flowing from melting glaciers.  Old friends appeared – Ian Sommerville, the Brocklehursts and the Dunsires from last year; Hugh and Barbara from earlier in the week.

Nice bit of turf that

Some of us had booked for the Mar Lodge meal, at a tenner a head. We tucked in to venison casserole and fruit crumble in the kitchen at trestle tables.  Last year we had eaten on a highly polished table in an oak panelled dining room, surrounded by the Duke of Fife’s butchered stag heads. The food tasted just as good.  The numbers who could have the meal were limited. Those who couldn’t get a place were told they could have any left overs. I had three helpings in a valiant attempt to make sure that those who hadn’t paid didn’t get a freebie at my expense, but it was to no avail.  There were pans full of the stuff left, and when we finally retired to the Gun Room to finish off the booze, the others were all there already, licking their lips and smirking in a smug, self-satisfied sort of way. Cats and cream came to mind. I was very late to bed – it was after 9.00pm when my head hit the Exped inflatable pillow.

These foolish folk (me included) paid for our meal

TGO Challenge Day 7: Exceptional People

Thursday 15 May 19 kilometres walked, 468 metres climbed.  5 hours 30 minutes.

Weather dry but apart from that unexceptional

Day 8 Route

I hadn’t planned to write up my blog of the TGO Challenge in the traditional day-by-day format, but I have fallen into that trap. I was going to approach it thematically, eg "Challenge People" (but that would be libellous), "Challenge Food" (but that would be so dry it would be dehydrated), and "The Destruction of Scotland's Wilderness" (but that would make you weep with anger, frustration and sadness).  So my apologies if you are finding this a bit tortuous, although to my knowledge you are not forced to be here.  You could always go and do something more pleasurable than reading this, such as heating up needles and pushing them under your finger nails.  I have to sit down and write this stuff, don't you know.

When planning the route several months before the off I had decided to repeat the section of my 2013 crossing from Kingussie to Braemar.  There were a couple of reasons for this. Firstly, and most importantly, I had really enjoyed this part of the walk last year. Secondly, I wanted to have a couple of days which were familiar, where I knew the ground in advance, and where I knew that I would find a good overnight stop.  Walking solo, and being a bit of a worrier (that’s a real understatement), and still being very new to walking in Scotland, I thought it would be nice to have a leg with which I was familiar. In case you are wondering I am familiar with both my legs. Indeed, I am very attached to them. I meant a leg of my route plan.

A sign

I am glad that I did this, but it did mean that this section of my route felt less exceptional. Enjoyable still, and I met more great Challenge people, but the following couple of days, walking wise, were unexceptional. Apart from almost throwing up all over Graham Weaver. But more of that tomorrow.

So what happened? Well I walked alone from Kingussie, but after a few miles began to meet Challengers, all following this particular trade route, and so I walked short distances whilst being entertained by the likes of Lindy Griffiths and Dave Wishart.

On the bridge over the Feshie at Stonetroper

Looking back down the Glen

Although having only been in the Glen once before, changes were very apparent. The Estate has been doing lots of work.  Not the awful Land Rover tracks that have so spoilt some other areas, but paths have been prettified, and little bridges have been put up over some of the streams that have to be crossed. Some of this work was almost twee in its impact but it did make for easy walking, with magnificent scenery all around, if not being challenging underfoot.

New bridge

Twee new path

The Feshie beyond the Bothy

I had a short stop at the Bothy and then headed on a few more kilometres. I could have walked much further, but decided to stop at the same place as I had done last year, at a pretty spot near the river, as did Dave Wishart, who demonstrated the art of wild camping pitch selection by pitching his Trail Star right across a small, dry stream bed. It didn’t rain so I missed the chance for a good laugh of the best variety ie at somebody else’s expense.   We were also joined by Roger Clegg and Paul Sandiford. Roger astounded me by mentioning that he had noticed I was wearing a different make of trail shoes from last year – we had met on the ferry from Mallaig – now that’s a memory for you.  Paul was the only Challenger I have met who is taller than me and after a mutual moan about tents with a lack of headroom and the challenges of being a tall backpacker he entertained us with anecdotes about trying to buy trousers to fit.

Brew's made - again

Later, John Sanderson arrived. I recognised him from cyberspace, as John has recently started a blog which is DEAD GOOD and highly recommended. Check it out. And if you look at the list of trails he has walked you will see that he is no slouch on the old walking front, as I was to find out in subsequent days.

  

Camp spot in Glen Feshie

TGO Challenge 2013 Day 8: Just Lovin’ It

 

Retrospective to previous night's camp spot

Awoke early and had to put my down jacket on in my sleeping bag after what was the coldest night so far.  The water in my Platy had started to freeze.  The weather was fair again, and I wandered around, not too long after dawn, admiring the Glen and the river and the hills whilst drinking tea.  I can’t do much in the morning until I have a couple of mugs of tea inside me.  Another tent had arrived after I had gone to bed, and its occupants were already packing up and heading off for an early start.  It was David and Margaret Brocklehurst who I had not met before.  I realise that “lovely” has been an overused word on my Challenge write-ups so far, but David and Margaret are another lovely couple of Challengers.

By 7.40am I was packed and walking up the good path come Land Rover track towards the top of the Glen.  It was here I met David and Margaret properly for they had stopped by a stream for a second breakfast.  I was about to ford the stream when David called me to a spot where it was possible to boulder hop and keep my feet dry.  This was kind of him.  As it happens it was a bit of a waste of time as within half and hour they were soaked anyway as the path was quite boggy in places once the LR track had petered out, and the stream just before the old pony hut had to be forded anyway.



The bridge over the Eidart near the top of Glen Feshie
That's Phyllis under the big pack approaching the bridge

I lost the path at this point but the way up to the bridge at the waterfall was clear, not least because I could soon see up ahead the walking rucksacks of Phyllis and Lou and I passed them near the bridge.  They hadn’t reached the pony hut on the previous evening when tiredness had set in so they had a longer day to complete today – and they were thinking in terms of getting to Braemar, a few km beyond my target of Mar Lodge.  I felt huge admiration and respect for them as I headed off towards the watershed between the Feshie and the Geldie, with magnificent views all around.  The walking was easy and delightful, with magnificent scenery in all directions.  Despite a stiff breeze it was also warm enough to take off my micro-fleece and walk in merino shirt alone for the first time – quite a change from a few days earlier.

Looking back towards Glen Tilt  (I think), near the Geldie Ford (I further think) 

I will not bang on too much about the rest of the walk.  It was great, although the stretch from the Geldie Ford to Linn of Dee via White Bridge was far further than on the map.  Certainly it was.  Without a shadow of a doubt.  Clearly my map was wrong.  The OS cartographers had cut out a few km from this section of the walk.  I may write to them and demand a refund.  By the Linn of Dee I was flagging and resorting to another Snickers (bloody stupid name and why did they turn a singular into a plural) for energy when along strolled Ian Sommerville, who is exceptionally nice and exceptionally clever, what with him being a real life professor at an ancient Scottish University, and the company made the last couple of miles to Mar Lodge fly by.  We arrived at 4.15pm to be met by other Challengers with free tea and coffee in the Gun Room.

Mar Lodge

 

Not a bad camp spot

 

Mar Lodge Ball Room with its 2500 antlers

My first experience of Mar Lodge.  What can I say?  Stunning yet bizarre.  Half a dozen Challengers camped on the splendid lawn by the Ball Room, whilst others used the bunkhouse and apartments.  Gate crashed the Ball Room to see the ceiling when some Americans were being shown around.  Marvelled at the Duke of Fife’s seemingly unlimited ability to massacre deer.  Had dinner in a grand room with 20 or so other Challengers.  Venison casserole and apple crumble for a tenner.  Yum yum.  Was supplied with free booze by Ian and AN Other because I hadn’t understood the alcohol ordering system (or so I claimed).  And that was the second of two fabulozy days.  Little did I realise that in less than 48 hours the strange incident with the duck in the Fife Arms would occur.

Challengers dressed in their Sunday Best (although it was Friday) to match the elegance of their surroundings