Take one bald, middle aged man.......

[PeteR]

........marinade in a cocktail of midges and Skin so Soft as he gets himself ready........

.........and then place in a pre-heated (sometime fan assisted) oven (14C should be sufficient for starters) and roast slowly as he walks the 20+ mile route of the Geal Charn group of the Alder forest from Glen Spean.


The start of the route, from the roadside

View back to Creag Meagaidh

Early view toward Beinn Eibhinn

Provide excellent track for the 3.5 mile walk to Lubvan and then a good path for the further 2 mile path toward Sron an Fhurain and then on to the first destination – Beinn Eibhinn

After a couple of hours increase the heat and allow to wander across pathless heather to the foot of the first Munro of the day (or did he lose the path perhaps ).

Apply sun cream regularly and allow to baste in the increasing heat

Hydrate regularly as he labours over a short climb onto the ridge and the route over rocks toward the summit of the first hill of the day


Beinn a'Chlachair in early morning sunshine

Beinn Eibhinn on the slog over the heather

View back the way I had come - toward Meagaidh and Co

The Eibhinn landscape

View to the Easians from near the Eibhinn summit

Eventually, just as he is about to believe that he will never see a path on this route at all, provide a good path to the summit of Munro Number 1 of the day – Beinn Eibhinn


Eibhinn summit cairn - met three chaps here, who after speaking to me unfortunately discovered they weren't on the hill they expected to be (which should have been Aonach Beag)

Allow to bask in the warmth of the oven for a short while, enjoying the views


Loch Ossian

Lapping up the route ahead

Ben Alder

In order to avoid overcooking ensure his shiny, bald, head is covered. This may cause sweating to occur which will annoy him greatly, so monitor regularly. Overcooking of said shiny, bald, head could prove painful

Increase heat slightly, continuing to baste in sun cream as required. Just for fun, allow soles of feet to become sore

Stuff face with slow release nutrition as required in order to maintain energy and enthusiasm

Provide a nice steep drop down to bealach with Aonach Beag and then an excellent path up to said second Munro of the day


Not a bad route down, but I wished I'd brought the walking pole with me!

View up onto Aonach Beag

Aonach Beag summit cairn - Beinn a'Chlachair behind

Ensure no shelter at this stage, and continue to increase heat, basting in sun cream as he goes. Continue roasting, but allow time to take in yet more superb views all round


View to Munro #3 - Geal Charn

Provide a further steep descent path off Aonach Beag


Another moment when I realised it would have been god to have a walking pole

Looking back at the route so far, on the way up onto Geal Charn

And again, slightly higher up

Zooming to the Easains

Watch those feet now, they’re getting sorer

Continue up onto Geall Charn, the highest point of the day, increasing heat as you go. The fan assisted oven may provide some relief, but not for long.


A nice retrospective

Geal Charn summit cairn

Allow to rest as he takes in the views.......the poor love, he’s knackered


See what I mean?

Just a short walk to #4 for the day - Carn Dearg

And now for some fun with the cooking process. The descent of Geall Charn, via Aisr Ghobhainn. Nice and steep in places, with enough “fun” to take his mind off the roasting he is being given or the soreness of his feet


Loch an Sgoir

Aisr Ghobhainn

And again, with the bulk of Geal Charn behind

Allow to enjoy the expanding views to Ben Alder and Beinn Bheoil as he makes his way along the 2.5 miles to the summit of Munro number 4 of the day – Carn Dearg


Alder

Beinn Bheoil

Lancet Edge

#4 Carn Dearg

Allow to rest again, before basting in more sun cream and the next part of the cooking process.

He’s now been cooking for a good 8 hours and there’s 9.5 miles still to go. At this stage, in order to get that crisp, roasted effect (a bit like crackling perhaps...) it’s time to remove from the (sometimes fan assisted) oven and to place him in a conventional oven which has been pre heated to the high 20s to low 30s C


Alder and Bheoil

Heading down off Carn Dearg

Allow to roast to a crisp as he makes his way off Carn Dearg, over pathless heather to the Allt Cam and the path beside Loch a’Bhealaich. Just for fun, really turn the heat up now Continue to hydrate though, taking water from the stream as necessary.


By the Allt Cam

Loch a’Bhealaich

Really make the soles of those feet sore too

Given the roasting he has had so far and the exhaustion and dehydration he may be suffering, it may necessary to allow him to rest quite a few times at this point. Else you might end up cremating him.

At the Bealach Leamhain it’s time to reduce the heat, but only slightly. Allow small patches of cloud to form and wander over the sun from time to time to provide him some relief. Also, return to the (sometimes fan assisted) oven for the remainder of the cooking process.


Homeward bound

Watch, as he struggles down the track, feet sore, exhausted and ever so slightly dehydrated. By now basting in sun cream seems futile, so don’t bother.

Allow him to marvel at the wonder that is Lochan na h-Earba as the cooking process nears its end


Lochan na h-Earba #1

Lochan na h-Earba #2

Even convince him that jogging back is the answer and will get him out of the oven quicker Finish off with a fantastic view of the Creag Meagaidh massif


Almost back where I started

Finally after a 23 mile walk in the roasting sun, despite setting off walking at 5.20 am, return to the car and allow to rest.

And there you have it. How to roast a bald, middle aged man. Just serve, with the Ale of his choice, and allow to sleep

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[ChrisW]

Holy cow Pete that is a hell of a round, great report and beautiful pics all the way - I know another bald, middle aged man who recently underwent the 'slow cooking of the head' recipe whilst climbing (of all places) Mt Baldy love this mate, great effort in those temperatures but jogging toward the end that is never called for

[Steve B]

Well done! That is one hell of a walk. An interesting way to tackle these. Great pictures to go with the tale of the day too.
How far was it and how long did it take you?

[dogplodder]

That is one long walk even without the roasting in the fan assisted oven!

You are a legend.

[whiteburn]

Well done Pete I like the novel approach route
I completed the ridge back in mid-April, 8 hrs trudging through the snow from/ to the Culra bothy, looking back I think I got it easy compared to the roasting you got!

[Malckyb]

Well done..that is a BIG walk...looks fab!

[pigeon]

You're a glutton for punishment Pete.Had a good laugh at this one It''ll be camping at the bothy for me when i get round to this.Well done on surviving a roaster of a day

[Lenore]

What a fun report!!

You might just have convinced me (youngish woman, only nearly bald and by choice) I should let my hair grow a bit to have some midge and sun protection, haha!

[gammy leg walker]

Big round Peter,in that weather your mad.

When I saw the TR title thought it was me,but havent done this round yet,so wisnae me.

[jonny616]

I like the idea of just walking these until there done, but i suspect i may be done first

Great photos

[Gavin99]

Wow , that is some recipe , well done , I could feel the heat just reading that

[PeteR]

Holy cow Pete that is a hell of a round, great report and beautiful pics all the way - I know another bald, middle aged man who recently underwent the 'slow cooking of the head' recipe whilst climbing (of all places) Mt Baldy love this mate, great effort in those temperatures but jogging toward the end that is never called for

Cheers Chris. Slow cooking isn't much fun when the heat is really on is it? Don't want to complain about the heat though, as it's now looking pretty ropy for this weekend This jogging urge comes over me every now and then Can't help myself

[PeteR]

Well done! That is one hell of a walk. An interesting way to tackle these. Great pictures to go with the tale of the day too.
How far was it and how long did it take you?

Thanks Steve B. My guide book suggested this was 23 miles, but the GPS route suggested a bit shorter - about 21 I think. So maybe it was 21, but just felt like 23 in the heat As for time, I was planning on somewhere between 10 and 11 hours (i'm a slow plodder most of the time regardless of whether I'm going up, down or along) but it ended up just under 13 I'd put that down to the heat though, as I was pretty much on course up to Carn Dearg

[PeteR]

That is one long walk even without the roasting in the fan assisted oven!

You are a legend.

Cheers dogplodder. I'm not sure I would describe me as a legend I'll leave that to the likes of messrs Monty and Doggett Me, I'm just a mere mortal compared to the likes of them

[PeteR]

Well done Pete I like the novel approach route
I completed the ridge back in mid-April, 8 hrs trudging through the snow from/ to the Culra bothy, looking back I think I got it easy compared to the roasting you got!

Cheers whiteburn. I think tackling these four in the snow would be good fun Maybe something for me to keep in mind for the next winter