This day can only be described as a nightmare for Elvis and UA, who had to endure the worry that something may go wrong. It wasn’t just them who suffered, as this day was full of highs and lows.
We all awoke with the mandatory dawn chorus and who was the culprit who kept the troops awake all night snoring?. All denied it was they, but all was to become clear later in the week.
A second debate flared up when Elvis decided he was ok to complete this day. You can admire his enthusiasm in wanting to do 26 miles non-stop off-road, but the other troops were uncertain his severely blistered feet would be able to cope without a more suitable form of footwear.
The bags were packed with the day’s provisions, and ITN, Junior and Elvis were dropped off at the starting point at Tromie Bridge. The aim for the day was to reach Blair Athol before 6pm, and the 7am start was to prove a Godsend.
There was light drizzle with plenty of cloud around, but with blue sky above us, the day might not be too wet for us after all.
A 4-mile private road was the first challenge, and it seemed to continue forever. We passed a white cottage early on; where the guinea fouls were running riot with the chickens. ITN was sifting the OS map to figure out the mileage before the off-road track began. A’ha, a short cut! Off roading came sooner than we had anticipated.
We took an off road route towards the Lodge House, and took almost 1 mile off the intended path. We stumbled across a small Adder and a photo opportunity arose. Not, of course, before shitting ourselves when it curled up in preparation for striking.
The OS map was out again soon after the Lodge House, as the path we took seemed to suddenly var out into 5 separate routes. Our map reading skills were certainly needed here, as we tried to follow the contours of the map to find out our exact position. ITN couldn’t stop there, and as the rain came in over us, we thought it best to take yet another ‘short-cut’, only this time climbing over the hills instead of going around them to gain access to our intended path.
With legs already sore from the previous yomp across the heather, it was tough going up the mountainside. Junior particularly found this difficult, and without the aid of a hike-pole, this would have been an impossible task.
Half way up and it was time for a quick rest. Out with the caramel wafers, a drink of orange cordial, and away again. The extremely steep incline was no problem for ITN who put one foot in front of the other. No mobile phone signals here, so we were completely on our own for the rest of the day. Any disaster here would have been, well… disastrous.
We all reached the summit of 2976ft within 10 minutes of each other, and again it was out with the caramel wafers. A few snap shots and off down the other side. Whoever would have thought this was a mountainside, as it seemed fairly flat heading back down.
We found our way back to the path of which we had previously lost, and again it was onto a rocky road towards Bruar Lodge – the only scene of civilisation for the last 10 miles.
It was here we were forced to leave Elvis, who had really started to suffer with his bad feet. The dogs were barking and sheep in their pen, but no one was around to assist us. With no communication to the troops on the support bus, it was up to ITN and Junior to find assistance for the injured man. The blisters and knee pains proved too much to handle, and the hunch from the team about Elvis’s ability to complete the day proved to be true.
Away the remaining two went, and they were quick to get themselves onto the hills again. A small path was seen heading in the direction of Blair Athol, and we were soon on our way to the finish.
Junior had soon found his pace was too much for ITN, and continued ahead, being careful not to get too advanced in fear on further injury or mishaps. ITN was frantically trying to get in touch with UA and all on the bus to inform of Elvis’s situation.
Contact was finally reached as we got just 1 mile outside Blair Athol. The clouds were closing in once more and we were racing to the finish to gain access to shelter before the heavens opened.
Knocking the crap off our boots before entering the Athol Arms Hotel was done just in time before the rain to came down. The droplets were more like water bombs as we made it into the bar. A swift cold pint of Irn Bru, followed by a nice pint of Real Ale, we had been informed that Elvis was all well and good and was safely on board the support bus.
A huge pat on the back for UA, who was none too impressed with the entire situation. He kept his cool in a very difficult situation after trying to manoeuvre a 3 tonne mini-bus over tough terrain and rickety old bridges. The relief on the faces of all was something special, and Elvis would have been more than glad to see the white of the bus coming down the road. How he had made it that far was a question only he knows the answer to.
Finally it was off to the digs, which for the night was at the Dalwhinne Hotel. It had more of a catered hostel feel about it, and the chefs were happy to prepare our grub late on. The hot bacon butties and chips were certainly enjoyed. UA retired to bed sooner than everyone else and rooms were shared between the troops. Bronson and Elvis – the two giggling girls – were paired together, whilst Canary shared with UA and ITN with Junior.
It was here where Gringo and Mrs Gringo were to join us after their long trip North from Coventry. They were glad to see everyone was well as the news was released of the highs and lows that had come during the course of the day.