Read on!

The write up for my "TGO Challenge 2012 Strathcarron to Braidon Bay (Well, it started off that way...)" is available on the right. Any corrections/additions/reminders please let me know!

Home again, home again

I’m back, I know you’ve missed me!

So, that’s TGO Challenge 2012 done and dusted and it really lived up to its name. We had weather and lots of it and also adversities to face, but with some encouragement and support, I made my way across Scotland.

At this moment in time, I am trying to sort out the route  I actually did and collate the distances and ascents, but someone has been playing with my Memory Map in my absence so this is going to be time consuming!

I loved it. Despite the difficulties, I had an absolute ball and I will be filling out that form again later in the year. It’s a must do.

The story will follow...

Keeping up

There seems to be a bit of a kit list thing going on, so I’ve taken the easy way out and done a bit of copy and paste from my spreadsheet. Of course, the trouble with that is no one else is likely to understand it all, especially the food bit, it’ll only make sense to me, but that’s just something for you to puzzle on if you’re bovered! The food is not necessarily listed in meal order. It will be supplemented with fresh en route as it becomes available.

As it happens, the Merrell shoes should read Keen Sandals, but the weight is right. The book is in actual fact an iPod, so the weight is correct for that too. With water, of which I may carry about 1ltr (I treat, so do more in one go to save stopping too often) it should be around 12.5kg on the first and fourth days. Roughly.

So, all in all, I’ll be carrying roughly the same as last year including the odd extra bits. I have a spare top this year, so that I can be more ‘sociable’ in civilised areas and the iPod is a concession. I found one of my biggest issues last year was the inability to get to sleep, despite having had a good walk and plenty of fresh air during the day. This was probably due to the fact that at home, I read every night before bed and I hadn’t wanted to carry a book. I originally planned to carry a book this year, but have been persuaded to let Sir Ian McKellen read Wolf Brother to me at night and soothe me to sleep. Hopefully. I’m nipping home for the night mid-Challenge, so I can swap for a book at that point if it doesn’t work. By treating myself to a beautiful new Osprey Exos, I can carry these one or two extra items and more food comfortably without feeling the load and I’m very pleased with that.

No photographs, Ciara tells me that is obsessive and would require counselling…