The Rise and Rise of the Reluctant Walker
Beinn a’Chochuill and Beinn Eunaich on the hottest day of the year …
My very dear friend, Michelle has been re-named The Reluctant Walker for the purposes of my Instagram posts and this blog!
The Reluctant Walker (RW) and I got into the habit of going for a local walk every Sunday from December last year.
Our lodges were closed and it was nice to get out and show RW some of my favourite walks.
Then we moved away from known walks and into erm unknown walks.
This was a great way for me to get us ‘lost’ and extend the walk or the ascent, in my quest to get RW hill-fit.
RW had expressed an interest in goal-setting, and her goal was to climb a Munro in the Summer holidays.
So each Sunday we walked somewhere different. We’ve walked in all weathers and enjoyed a regular catch up on while squeltching through mud, frost, ice, puddles etc.
So the day dawned on what was to become the hottest day of the year. We almost called a rain check as the forecast looked extreme.
However, the forecast also said there would be cloud cover in the West in the morning. so we reckoned we’d get the bulk of the hard work done early then cruise downhill in the sunshine.
We had an early start, collecting RW in Perth at 6am – she’s used to it – a teacher who works very hard with not enought time for fitness.
The Sunday training would now come into its own. We had covered varying degrees of hills and distances and getting lost – some of it by accident ahem. Some of it not.
By the time we got to the starting point near Lochawe, we realised we were out of luck with the cloud cover. It was wall-to-wall sun and already hot.
After a preliminary warm-up ascent, we began climbing up to the ridge that would take us to our first Munro summit.
We took (very) regular water breaks, and were well-versed in the views down to Loch Awe and Kilchurn Castle, as each time we stopped we turned back to admire the scenery.
In the final pull up the hill we got into a rhythm of:
walk 10 steps
rest 10 seconds
Imagine Puffing Billy – heavy breathing definitely helps in getting up steep mountains.
Another rhythm revealed itself: Elation – despondence – elation.
Finally we made it to the top of Beinn a’Chochuill and elation was definitely the overriding feeling, as we high-fived and hugged.
We sat there amid amazing views in all directions, feeling happy, accomplished and scoffing lunch in delight.
Right, time to move on to the next Munro.
Hmmm water was looking quite low. But that second hill didn’t look too bad from here …
We had to go down much further than we had thought, in order to go up again (always a bit demoralising).
After scrambling over rocks we dragged ourselves up to Beinn Eunaich, with more high fives, as we gazed on the fabulous views back to where we’d come from (Beinn a’Chochuill looked huge) and over to the Cruachan Ridge which we’re saving for another day.
The water situation was not good. We only had a mouthful of water left to get us back to the car.
I kicked myself for not bringing extra water.
Off we went on our descent, which was grassy and gentle to start with.
Walk Highlands had said that the final descent is ‘unpleasantly steep’.
I have to say that this is a mammoth understatement.
This was the worst descent that I can remember in all my years of hill walking. Poor RW switched from anger to almost tears in equal measure all the way down.
There was nothing for it though, we had to get down any which way.
We finally made it down to the track that would take us back to the car.
There was no chat by this time.
When we got to the car we all glugged our extra water that we’d failed to take up the hill with us. It was warm … and glorious.
We stopped off at Tyndrum for food and more fluids.
It’s amazing what fizzy juice and chips can do for RW’s morale.
She was now talking to me again , which was progress.
Not only was RW talking to me again, but in the car on the way home … we were planning the next Munro!
Result.
This was a brilliant achievement for RW – two Munros on the hottest day of the year.