Day 13 - Brechin to Scurdie Ness Lighthouse, Montrose

We made it!! After thirteen days of hiking, countless mountains crossed, buckets full of sideways rain, a few dozen blister pads and bandaids, lots of laughs, and a few tears, we walked into Montrose today at about 1:00 in the afternoon. Hooray!!!

We had a good breakfast at our B&B to start us off. The weather was great today, almost a bit hot towards the end. We walked lots of country backroads towards our destination, including through Kinnaird Park, which we were able to sneak into. We didn't know at the time that it was the estate of the Duke and Duchess of Fife. Everybody seemed OK with it though. One maintenance guy on the far side gave us some last minute directions and told us the code for the security gate on our way out. Not bad!

Once we got to Scurdie Ness Lighthouse we had a 4 km walk back to the hotel. What???? We saw a few Challengers heading to the lighthouse on our way back in.

About half way back we stopped for an awesome lunch and a bit of a rest. After checking into the hotel we walked over to TGO Command Centre to check in and get our goodie bags. We are now cleaning up and getting ready for the celebratory dinner.

Would we do it again?
JM: Probably
Amanda: Too soon to tell
Note: Since we have gotten home and had a chance to recuperate both of our answers to this question are now both "Without a doubt!"

What did we learn?
JM: Walking off trail in Scotland is no small task.
Amanda: Scottish people are hard core when it comes to loving their country and walking.

Favourite part of crossing?
JM: Jock's Road to Glen Clova
Amanda: Meeting all of the great people

Toughest moment?
JM: Looking for a river crossing on Glen Feshie day.
Amanda: Corrieyairack pass in hurricane conditions.

What are we looking forward to most when we get home (other than family and friends)

JM: My slippers.
Amanda: Kitties.

I think overall we had a great time here, despite some long days, and challenging moments. For sure the highlight is having met so many friendly and kind people, both Challengers, as well as others. I truly enjoy the Scottish culture and the warmth of its people. If you have ever thought that you'd like to visit Scotland, I would highly recommend you do.

That's about it, I guess. We are headed to Edinburgh tomorrow to do some relaxing and sightseeing, and then home on Sunday. Thanks to everybody who followed the blog. I really hope you have enjoyed reading about our trip as much as I have enjoyed writing about it. See you all very soon!!

Message pour la classe de Mme Babin-Frank

Bonjour les enfants. Nous sommes en train de faire une grande randonnée à travers de l'Écosse. Ce soir on est à Glen Lethnot. C'est l'onzième jour de treize jours.

Il y a des drôles choses içi en Écosse. Premièrent il y a beaucoup de moutons et petits agneaux içi. Si tu marches vers les agneaux, ils cherchent leurs mamans pour avoir du lait parce qu'ils sont effrayés. Si ils réussient à avoir du lait leurs petits queues commencent à remuer très rapidement. C'est diffiçile de ne pas rire!

Un autre chose drôle en Écosse c'est que quand tu marche dans les montagnes et il y a du pluie, la pluie ne tombe pas du en-haut. La pluie vienne du côté, et te frappe dans le visage. C'est très dur à rester sur la route. J'ai jamais été dans une place comme ça!!

Apart des choses drôles, il y a beaucoup de paysage très belle, et les personnes sont très gentilles. Si tu auras l'opportunité de visiter l'Écosse, je pense que tu l'aimerais beaucoup!!

On a une longue journée de marche demain alors je doit aller faire dodo. Bonsoir, les enfants. Soyez sage pour madame, et bonne nuit!!

Day 12 - Glen Lethnot to Brechin

After getting to bed early last night (about 7:30) we were able to get on the road early this morning (walking by 7:10). It was very windy last night with bits of heavy rain. Fortunately, sometime before 6:00 the sun started shining on our tent. It was a nice way to wake up and pack it up for the last time. It was also a good omen for the day - this was one of two or three days that we didn't have to get rain coats and pack covers out.

We were mostly on road today, but it may as well have been trail since we saw nobody else walking. There were a few farmers zooming back and forth but other than that we had the place to ourselves. It was very picturesque as we left Glen Lethnot behind, passed our last few mountains, and transitioned to rolling hills, and mostly agricultural land. We had a good time for fifteen minutes walking past one hillside where a farmer and his herding dog were moving sheep to another field. The dog was just loving his work.

We also enjoyed watching the small field rabbits racing all over the place. They are extremely fast and never seem to run out of energy. We did hit one stretch of road where they weren't fast enough though, as we saw dozens of flattened carcasses over a few kilometres of road. I think that is more a function of numbers than of agility. It was almost like gophers on Alberta backroads!
After a decent climb up to Brown Caterthun, and White Caterthun we stopped for lunch and enjoyed the view over to Montrose Basin where our walk will end tomorrow.

We pushed on and made it to our B&B in Brechin by about 1:00. After a little rest we cleaned up and went for a little walk to find a pop. We came back to the B&B for some more resting and are just getting ready to go for dinner now.
Tomorrow will be a relatively easy walk to Scurdie Ness where our trip ends. As mentioned in an earlier post it will be bittersweet. We'll be sad the walk is over but looking forward to not always having our house, kitchen, bathroom, and clothes on our backs!
That's it for today. Thanks for reading.

Day 11 - Glen Clova to Glen Lethnot

Another big day today. We got a good start, Amanda, Peter, and I, leaving our campsite by 8:00. It was about a 5 km walk down the glen to the Clova Hotel. We stopped in for breakfast and a quick rest before our big climb for the day. We met a few Challengers inside who had stayed at the hotel or bunkhouse last night, just finishing up their own breakfast.

We climbed up the north side of Glen Clova, past Loch Brandy, and on top of Green Hill. The views were spectacular. The Jock's Road/Glen Clova part of the walk has been one of my favourite parts of the walk. It has been so beautiful.
Once we were up top, probably the third time we've taken a high route, the sideways rain and gusty wind started up for the third time. We must be lucky! After about an hour and a half walking the hill tops we had to say goodbye to our Canadian friend, Peter, as well as the Cairngorms National Park. He was walking on, and we were exiting into Glen Lethnot. It was a real pleasure walking with Peter, and I really hope he gives us a call for coffee next time he's near Okotoks.

Our exit should represent the last bit of off-trail we'll have to do. Amanda is not so sad about that. We dropped into the glen and it was smooth sailing from there. We managed to walk an extra couple of kilometres which should help us out tomorrow.
We are now in our tent after quickly finding a spot and setting up in the rain. It's only 6:30, but I think we will be headed to bed soon. It's really amazing how a good night's sleep can help you recuperate, when you think there's no way you can do it all over again tomorrow. Amanda's feet have been causing her issues most of the way so far (blisters, sores) but she has managed to get them in her boots every morning and keep going. Only two more days and then we can both get a little rest, and let our bodies heal.
This is our last night in the tent if everything goes according to plan. Tomorrow we will be in Brechin, and then Wednesday at the finish in Montrose. Thanks for everybody's positive vibes. They are helping push us to the finish line! That's it for today. Goodnight everybody!

Day 10 - Braemar to Glen Clova

We are camping at the bottom of Glen Clova, about 5 km ahead of where we planned to finish tonight.
We started the day with a nice breakfast at our hotel, and reluctantly got on the road around 8:40. Our first stop was to be at Lochcallater Lodge, a small private Bothy at the head of Loch Callater. It is run by ex-TGOers, who open it up during the Challenge, and offer tea and biscuits to any walkers passing by. This is a tradition we were encouraged by everybody to partake in, and so of course we did.

 While there we met up with Peter who we had briefly met the previous day in Braemar. Peter is from Caroline/Sundre area so we had lots to talk about!

After tea and a visit we all set out and ended up walking together for the rest of the day. We headed for Jock's road, which is actually an old trail, which would take us all the way to Glen Clova. Here is the story behind Jock's road. Back in the 1800's some time, a guy who had just returned from Australia bought the estate which Jock's road is on. He tried to prevent people from using his land to walk on, but this other guy, Jock, refused to comply. He continued to use the road and is credited for being the pioneer of the Land Access Act which still guarantees walking rights-of-way all over Scotland. We only wish Canada had the same Act in place - there are so many beautiful places we can't access for fear of being charged with trespassing.
Back to our day. Jock's road goes over a mountain pass. As we approached the top the weather turned - terrible wind gusts, sideways rain, etc. We made a quick decision and adjusted our route to follow Jock's road all the way into Glen Clova instead of going our planned route in order to get out of the terrible conditions. As I mentioned in the beginning this worked very well for us as we are back on our original route, 5 km ahead of where we would have finished tonight.

As we entered Glen Clova near the end of our walk we saw a ranger station and went in to ask if there were any good spots to camp. The ranger was very helpful in showing us where to go, and also offered to make us tea before we carried on. We must have looked tired and cold. This was so nice after what we had just been through. We all enjoyed some heat and had a nice conversation learning about the area, and what the rangers were responsible for.
We are now in our tent under some big pine trees, with Peter as our neighbour. The rain stopped as we set up and made dinner - cheese bun, and pasta primavera for Amanda and I. The rain has started up again but we are sheltered from the wind so it should be a fairly comfortable sleep. The plan for tomorrow is to pack up and head for the Clova Hotel for breakfast, about 5 km away. We will then have a big climb out of the Glen. About mid-day we will say goodbye to Peter as we head different directions.
We feel really good about today's walk. Three more days to go! That's all for today. Thanks for reading everybody. Goodnight!!

Day 9 - Geldie Burn to Braemar - And Farewell to the Bothy Crew

We stuck to our plan this morning and were away by 7:10. This always ends up making for a good day as it allows an early finish. Our walk today took us up the River Dee.

We had half trail and half road walking, and some beautiful scenery. There was a bit of a drizzle, but nothing too miserable.

We walked up to Braemar around 11:45 and were able to check in right away. This was very exciting for us because we would have tonnes of time to dry gear, wash clothes, shower, nap, get supplies, and eat. Once we had our chores done we had a rest watching a little TV, while dozing in and out (JM).
Tonight we had a bittersweet dinner with the Bothy Crew: Paul, Howard, and Nigel (we found him!!!). These guys have been great friends to us over the past number of days. We have had some great conversations, lots of laughs, and there will absolutely be an open door for them if they ever make it over to our side of the world!

We said a few more potential goodbyes on the way out of the pub, realizing at the same time how many people we've met in a relatively short time. As we were leaving the lobby we heard another friend shout out, "Hey, it's Team Canada!!!". This was Minna from Finland who we have been playing leapfrog with for the past couple of days. We were happy to see her as she has been fighting an infected blister, and had managed to get to a doctor today to get some treatment.
We only have four days of walking left. I think we are at the point now that it will be both a disappointment, and a bit of a relief. We have had a great time meeting some amazing people, seeing beautiful scenery, and challenging ourselves. At the same time we are definitely tired, and our feet are sore. In other words we don't really want it to end but a little part of us does.
Thanks for reading everybody. Next post will be in three days. Good night!

Day 8 - Ruigh Aiteachain to Geldie Burn

I forgot to mention that we passed our half-way point yesterday. Hooray! I guess with the emotion of our challenging day I forgot.
Today we listened to our bodies and went with our low level alternative. It was a good decision as even the low level proved to be a fair amount of work. We broke camp at a relaxed pace this morning and were on the trail by about 9:00. Our route took us back down Glen Feshie, over some Scottish moors, along Geldie Burn to our campsite for the night beside an abandoned building. Barry was our companion for most of the day as we played leapfrog with a few other TGOers. When we got to our target stop we were reunited with Paul and Howard who were still waiting for Nigel to catch up. As of 8:00 there is still no sign of him. No need to worry as this is the normal way these guys do their hiking.

Barry showed up about 30 minutes later and is our neighbour again tonight. We had a happy surprise at about 7:00 when our roomie from Cougie, Patrick, showed up. He had just finished a huge 41 km day! If we are half as fit as him at his age we will be very happy. It has been truly amazing to see the people who are trying to complete this Challenge. There is a large contingent of retirees who are teaching us a lesson here. It is quite inspirational to see people in their 60s and 70s walking 300 km in under two weeks, over rugged terrain, and in some pretty harsh weather conditions. These people have set a good example by how well they have taken care of themselves, and how adventurous they are. And they have done all of this while maintaining their kindness and sense of humour. We have been lucky to see this with our own eyes.

One funny thing that happened this evening was as we were setting up three of the people camping near us went into the woods and came out with garbage bags. Turns out they had stashed some tins with food and drinks a few weeks ago in preparation for tonight. While we were all eating rice packs and noodle bowls they had crackers and pâté, puddings, basmati rice with chilli and shredded cheese, ciders, beers, scotch, breakfast and lunch for tomorrow. It was brilliant on their part, and we all congratulated them. This social part of the Challenge has been very enjoyable for us. It wasn't something we expected, but it has helped us tremendously along the way.
We are looking forward to tomorrow as we are checking into a B&B for the night. The last few nights have been very cold and a warm, dry sleep will be very welcome.
Hands are cold and we are trying to get going early tomorrow so that's it for today. Thanks for reading. Good night!!