Walkhighlands

Posted: **Sun Oct 28, 2012 3:19 pm**

So...... As the subject says.... This is my second attempt, here is the story.... A few year ago I agreed with female friend from Sweden who was over for a short break to take a walk up Ben Lomond , it was on the 2nd of January dry cold weather but it was dry so the conditions where not that bad..... I had done No walking previously and probably didn't know what I was letting myself in for..... My Swedish friend insisted she wanted to go to Cotswolds outdoor shop before we went .... Didn't open till later in in the morning...eventually she got a jacket and by the time we drove to Rowardennan it was about 1pm by the time we started.... We made our way up and stopped off a few time to catch my breath and also I'm a slow ass walker.... We got about 4/5ths of the way up and I wasn't too happy, I wasn't properly geared up for the walk and was getting really cold and starting to get dark... I gave up .... My thoughts where better be safe than sorry and headed back down... I'm glad I did... About halfway back down and it was pitch black although I was really glad I did bring a torch ..... This walk did put me off walking and thought never again... It did teach me a few good things though...go prepared , go early so not to get caught in the dark, have plenty layers, make sure I have enough water to hydrate as well as a few other lessons lol.....BUT ....about 6 weeks ago I did a walk and in the past 6 weeks I've done
The Masca Gorge - Tenerife
Dumyat Hill
Tinto Hill
Ben Chonzie
Ben Lomond

So I'm quite chuffed and feel its a great personal achievement for me and long may it continue... And all of these hills I have been prepared and really enjoyed

So... This walk.. And my second attempt, the weather forecast was to be cold but the sun was to be out, Ben Lomond is only about an hr away from me so got up early got prepped and arrived at Rowardennan about 8am.... Sun was just coming up and made a nice start.... The last time I was up the hill it was like the M25 with all the people that was on it .... This time it was pretty quiet... To start with, stopped quite a few times to take in the view( my excuse for getting my breath back ) and took some photos along the way.... Met some lovely people along the way and exchanged stories which was really nice and a good laugh.... Went past the section that I finished at the first time round which was a boost for me and kept up the momentum eventually came across the last section moving up to the summit... The last wee section is so breath taking looking towards Loch Ard (think it was) where there is a large rock face on the side of Ben Lomond .... Can't remember ever seeing this side of Ben Lomond ...really was spectacular , reached the summit with a big smile on my face and made myself a celebratory Pot Noodle with my jetboil that I brought along.... Yay lol, stayed up on the top for about 45mins to 1hr taking in the views..... Weather couldn't be better ... Was really chuffed, made my way down making good time a lot of people still making their way up and I was thinking about my first time up the hill and hoping that they don't get caught out in the dark, a few couples stopped me on the way down how far they had to go.... They did look a bit under prepared and still had a while to go so from my previous experience advised them to consider not going right to the top .... The clouds where starting to roll in and don't think it would have been a good idea for them.... Got back to the car ...felt like my knees took a pounding but felt all the better for doing Ben Lomond yay lol

Here are a few photos I took from the day....