At last...the final posting...only five weeks after getting home, but then again I've been going round visiting family and its surprising how many things build up over 4 months, not least writing everything down so I don't foget where I've been! And not helped by putting an entry together and then losing it all when the computer crashed. Apologies to anyone who thought I vanished into the mountains and not been seen since!

So, the last week was relatively gentle, with the requirement to not finish before the weekend in order to meet up with Gill. Although 14 peaks remained east of the Glenshee road, most of these are relatively small undulations on a high plateau (lacking in deep heather), so five gentle days of no more than 10-12 miles rounded off the trip nicely, even with the additional weight of a bottle of champagne in the bag (no half bottles available in Ballater - i think it weighed more than the tent!). Main downside was the midges which I had hoped to escape by now, but even on the east coast were out in sufficient force to cause rapid, breakfast-less retreats in the morning. The worst of these preceded Tom Buidhe, which incidentally was the last munro that I hadn't been up before. Most people select a distinguished summit to finish with, but the logic of this trip meant that it was the least distinguished (hence - near Aberdeen and I'd never been up it), with a further joke being that I carried a bottle of champagne (which is traditional) but carried it down the other side (which definitely isn't). The weather was not exactly good on this section, but short days enabled late starts and / or early finshes (the latter at short notice) enabling me to avoid the worst of the rain. The bothy by Loch Muick on the penultimate night also gave welcome relief from the heaviest rain as well as the midges.

The final day, and Gill turned up to my camp at the head of Glen Tanar by bike. (George and Alison had also come along and were following behind on foot, to meet us back at the foot of the mountain with a bottle of whisky for the long seven mile walk out). Clouds threatened...but we were treated to a view - just about - to celebrate the end of the trip. It did feel like the end too: for a while previously it had felt quite surreal that I had actually done all this, but maybe the champagne reinforced it! As a further celebration, we got engaged at this point - although even with a double celebration we fed some of the champagne to assorted folk on the summit; would have been ironic to break a leg on the way down!

Big thanks to Matt for providing a reading for the summit, from the "Penniless Pilgimage", John Taylor describing an ascent of Mt Keen in 1619:

"...when I came to the top of it...a most familiar mist embraced me around, that I could not see thrice my length any way: withal, it yeilded so friendly a dew that did moisten through all my clothes...the way is so uneven, stony, and full of bogs and quagmires, and long heath, that a dog with three legs might well outrun a horse with four". It's a bit easier thse days, but still a long walk from the road.

So, 134 days total and overall the trip was finished as originally planned, although with big variations in the day to day details. So any conclusions? I've yet to count up the number of misty vs non-misty summit photos to give a real picture of the average Scottish weather, but I think it was better than half with views? Overall, the whole thing went remarkably smoothly. With having taken the planning seriously, and given as much time as reuqired, so that I could push it on my terms, the whole was mostly just like a long holiday. There were days I pressed on when I would probably not have ventured out otherwise (especially once you have made arrangements to meet up with someone) but the physical suffering was limited to two blisters and a slight soreness in the left knee which gradually developed during July but seemed to be controlled simply by easing off the overall pace. It was extremely satisfying how the overall fitness builds up - doing huge ascent and descent and being fine the next day. The right length of trip? Maybe three months would be optimum, defintely started to look forward to the end as July progressed, but this may have been the increasing midge count rather than developing physical or mental exhaustion! (I lost at least 3/4 stone on the trip despite 5,000 kcal per day in the parcels, but rarely felt short of food.). So, overall conclusion is a definite yes go for silly trips - but mak sure there's enough time to build up on the way - I don't think I'll be trying to break the 48 day record for this! (Interestingly though I am apparently the 23rd or so person to do this...).

Not quite back to usual routine - me and Gill are off travelling in a week's time. Maybe we should create another blog. Would make more sense, as we're far more likely to be in places with computers! We shall see...

Graham
xx