The family had been on an increasing number of walks over the past few months and Luca and I had done the Sandstone Trail the previous year. But I started to hanker for something bigger.
Later the same day we arrived at holiday home - it was at the foot of that same mountain - Ben Lawers. It looked high but achievable. Some of the literature in the house detailed a walk which could be done up to it's summit. Later in the week I got the OK from the rest of the family to set off early to attempt a walk to the summit.
Ash dropped me off on a farm track (I'd planned the walk on an OS map), and I started my ascent. I passed a farmer who smiled at me and said that he'd be surprised if I managed to make it to the top, but I carried on regardless, through the mud and later the snow. The path seemed to wind inefficiently, so I stomped up in a more direct route. The snow was deep and there was a melt - I could hear (and feel), the water cascading down the mountain under my feet. I was wearing gaiters, but they were too small for the purpose, my boots weren't waterproof and my waterproofs were cheap and causing a lot of sweat. But I was having an adventure.
The summit started to feel unachievable (but I knew it had always been very optimistic), but I reached a track which remained quite flat and took me back in the direction of the house. The snow here was even deeper. Each step was hard work, as my feet plummeted to knee height and deeper. The sun appeared briefly, followed by wind and snow. The views appeared and disappeared. A hare ran and showed me it's white bottom. I was smiling and laughing at the pointless (and potential danger) of my venture.
I sat for a snack and pondered if I could proceed to the summit, but didn't think about it for long as I soon became very cold - I was sodden. I was at a suitable point to start a descent - I did so hastily.
The going was slow at first, but soon became quicker as the snow cleared. It was all going well as I walked down by the side of a glorious mountain stream, but soon got more difficult as I started to go through a forest area where a significant number of trees had fallen and made progress very very difficult. I was only a mile or so from home, but it was getting difficult to make any progress. I made it out of the forest, but was then hampered by muddy and barbed wired farm land.
Eventually I made it to the road and back to the house.
Later I felt tired, but elated. I soon started making plans to return to Scotland, to take on more of these Munros, hopefully with more success, but no less enjoyment.
