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2016 Summary

2016 Summary


Postby bernadettewalsh » Mon Feb 08, 2021 10:20 pm

Date walked: 08/02/2021

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Mucky Boots and Flawless Paws -
2016 Summary

Top 1.jpg


I anticipated that the texture of my Munro adventure was going to be a rich and varied tapestry, with climbing the hills as the central hub on a wheel of many spokes.

In 2016, the hub embraced a further 21 Summits, bringing the total so far to 22. While none of these walks provided headline stories of exposed knife edged ridges, or feats of scrambling close to dramatic drops of several 100 feet, they did at least get the project off the ground. I had started the adventure and along the way I broke 2 of my cardinal safety rules for walking solo:

1. Never go North if the weather looks iffy.
2. Never start out on a walk when the mist is down

Forlorn principals, for anyone who wonders among the Scottish hills.

I had missed the only settled spell in 2016, because it took longer than planned to buy the Munro mobile, and then a hospital appointment fell slap bang in the middle of wonderful weather. Following this, frustration loomed large when weather forecasts never predicted three clear days together though, looking further ahead, they often indicated brighter days to come, with symbols of full sun dominating the outlook. However, as each weekend drew closer these symbols became populated with dark clouds and many rain drops; my heart sank each time.

By the end of July, 22 months into my ten year project, it was in shatters. I had completed just 1 Munro; 1 down, 281 to go! Despondency began crawling around the circumference of excitement, puncturing my optimism about the epic adventure. Something needed to be done and Dave’s encouragement was perfectly timed, “Just go and see”, he suggested. Just a recce, to test the lie of the land, check out the van for sleeping in, etc.; if anything came of it so much the better. And so I did and - with a further two weekends, spent in very much the same spirit - 15 things came of it, with a further 6 put in the bag during a more settled weekend at the end of September. Finally, on the very last walk of my ‘Munro season’, god in glory shone down on the hills from dawn to dusk and blue skies accompanied the walking of my dreams, at last.

last day in September 1.jpg


Highland Cow 1.jpg


Another of the clearly defined spokes, spanning out from the central hub of my adventure, represents the antics of my Munro buddy Ben, but he tells a good story all on his own: https://benonthebeinnsblog.wordpress.com/

A further radius was about my solitary walking. Well... semi solitary, if you allow for the buddy. This spoke represents the terrain. For anyone like me, with a tendency to look down a lot, what looks back up is rock; lots of it. Manifold lumps in various colours, contours and textures: striped and striated, plain grey or onyx white; all telling their own story. A growing fascination was born. While paths generated an interest in geology, the surrounding hillside communicated an ecology rich in flora and fauna. Putting this together with the copious wildlife that made this habitat its home, the Munro project was going to stretch far beyond the achievement of each summit as the sustenance of my future retirement was cemented.

Changing conditions were another feature of the Munro Wheel, involving the evocation of many wings and prayers, as positive phone signals - giving access to forecasts on the internet - were, to put it mildly, touch and go affairs. Go, was a frequent response when a connection was made, abandoning well laid plans in favour of chasing better weather elsewhere. This, careering around the countryside traversing tracts of of Scotland, that were virgin territory to me, became very pleasurable. Much better than getting yet another dousing on my way through a smoke screen of mist, to a viewless summit! A branch off this spoke of the wheel related to the love/hate relationship I was developing with the Munro mobile. 2 days lost to walking through waiting for the RAC - to get me on the road again - did not inspire confidence in the likelihood of this old Volkswagen going the distance of the Munro project.

Van 1.jpg


Just four weekends into the project the symbolic wheel already has many spokes. But there, another - growing in strength over the year – had to be incorporated. It represents the other walkers I met along the way. A diverse band of Munro characters, each with a unique story about their love of the hills. There were the courageous outdoor swimmers heading for the small loch just under the great mass of Stuchd an Lochain. Then an even younger women ‘saved our bacon’ on Meall Garbh, through a perfectly timed endless supply-chain of barbecued chicken and spiced sweet potato, diverting Ben’s determined fix on some passing ankles. My admiration was caught by the numerous young men who, having got up at the crack of dawn, hit the hills after a night on the town in some Glasgow city nightclub. They spent the first few hours in dehydrated purgatory, before time, and the views from summit cairns, worked their miracles, alongside the gallons of water drunk on ascent! Then there was John from Blackpool, who I chummed up with on Ben More. He invited me to join his friends walking in the lakes and on a Munro fest next May. Next day, on the slopes of Ben Cruachan, I bumped into Lesley. Her latter day joy of the hills filling pot holes in her heart, left when her children ‘fled the nest’, off to make their own mark on the world. We took photos of Manuel, her husband, as he flew the Ecuadorian flag of home, which he did from every Munro summit; snaps bound for friends and family back home, via the ubiquitous conduit of Facebook. Their warm-hearted and humorous company complemented a wonderful long day in the hills. It ended with an invitation to use their house when ever I wanted as a base, and with vows to walk together again.

with Lesley 1.jpg


Manu and flag.jpg


Happy endorphins were released and treasured memories for the future, to warm the cockles of an ageing heart, when this joy of living is a distant memory and the conquering of Munros a past glory,

However, perhaps the most imposing spoke of all, on this Munro wheel, signifies the fundraising target. Gratitude doesn’t go anywhere near expressing how thankful I am to those who have supported me and those who are continuing to do so. It encourages and motivates me when the reality of walking Munros - as sixty recedes and 70 beckons – is a bizarre fantasy and the fundraising target mere stupidity.

Cheque 1.jpg


There we have it. 22 down, 260 to go. With just 8% of the total complete it still feels like an awfully daunting task, though somewhat better than when I had done only 1, in mid July 2016. Here’s to what next year will bring. How, I wonder, will the central hub be constituted​ in 2017. See what further fabric will be added to the existing spokes, and what will happen to spawn further prongs, propelling this curious Munro wheel, on its epic journey over the hills, by following my story.
bernadettewalsh
Munro compleatist
 
Posts: 31
Munros:282   
Hewitts:47
Wainwrights:73   
Joined: Oct 1, 2015
Location: South West Scotland

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