We’re there! Or at least, we are at the start. G and I have been accepted as a team, to join what will be our first The Great Outdoors Challenge, a coast-to-coast jaunt across Scotlands’ nature, exploring the lovely wilds. It “officially” ends in Montrose, where everyone has the opportunity to meet the other Challengers and have a well-deserved celebration, probably with much limping.
The route planning process is now firmly on our plate, and needs to kick it up a gear. At the moment we have a few vague ideas of what we’d like to see on our travels, but little else firmly agreed. The attraction of the TGO is that there is no set route, you can make it as challenging, or as simple, as you like. Or in other words, you have just enough rope to hang yourself; by making your crossing too ambitious. We’re looking to put a route together without it being too high-level, or finding it too benign by not challenging ourselves enough. As part of this whole process, I admit I need to up my knowledge of the Scottish wilds. I have taken precious few trips to many of the places we shall be hiking through, with the entirety of the Affric area new to me. Scottish Hill Paths has been duly added to the book list and shall be perused with much brow-furrowing, I am sure. At this moment in time, we are at the early route-planning phase of what appears to be a 300km+ trek.
There are loads of questions up in the air, “Do we take the Lairig Ghru?”, “How many days do we want to be walking for ?”, “Do we want to join the other Challengers at Aviemore?”, “Will our feet be in one piece if we take a high route over that distance?” (likely, no). Having dipped my toe in the water of route-planning, I have quickly realised this phase is as involved as the hike itself. We can set ourselves up for a brutal two weeks where the second week makes every bone in the body ache and scream at us for our careless route finding, or look to streamline the endeavour. The trick is to know this ahead of time, before finding out the hard way.
One thing we have noticed is the opportunity for a little symmetry at the start and end of the Challenge, by starting and finishing at castles. The vague route so far will start at the majestic Eilean Donan; and end many days later at Dunnottar Castle, pictured above, on the eastern coast. No doubt tired, but having experienced an area of the world so beautiful, many Challengers walk across it every year for more than two decades to quench their thirst to try and take all of it in.
L|ve the Outdoors 