Date: 11th-12th June 2011
Distance: 28.04km
Ascent: 1,494m
Time: 19hrs 22mins (including camping...)
Hills: Fiacaill a'Choire Chais (Top, 1,141m), Carn Etchachan (Munro Top, 1120m), Beinn Mheadhoin (Munro, 1,182m), Ben MacDui (Munro, 1,309m)
Weather: Day 1 brought persistent rain and snow showers later clearing on day 2 to bright sunshine with cloud building again towards midday. Sub-zero over night.
Route: View on OS Maps

I think I'd probably pulled my hood as tightly around my face as was possible and yet still the snow, flung sideways by a mean north-easterly wind, stung against my left cheek as I struggled onwards, trying my best to follow the path that stuck below the headwall of the Northern Corries.

A few months ago it was interesting to hear from the people who had taken a chance on the first batch of Backcountry Boilers. There was chatter on the blogs and Twitter as exciting packages turned up on doorsteps, and the internet came alive with excitement as videos, photos and articles appeared praising this lovely piece of product design.

Overview: Anquet for Mac is a decent solution for route planning and mapping on a Mac. Its basic functionality is good and its maps are competitively priced with no initial outlay for the software itself. However, a lack of more advanced features and some usability issues means I’ll be keeping an eye on the opposition, including Routebuddy 3 which launches next month.

Anquet for Mac was launched back in July 2010, joining Routebuddy as the second native mapping application for the Mac. I've been using it now for around eight months, for both plotting routes and printing maps for use on my trips, and have been generally pleased with the software. With the news over on Andy Howell’s blog that Routebuddy is almost ready to release version 3 of their software for the Mac, I thought I would take this opportunity to review my experiences so far with Anquet for Mac.

Date: 28th May 2011
Distance: 14.95km
Ascent: 1,470m
Time: 6hrs 00mins
Hills: Meallan nan Uan (Corbett, 838m), Sgurr a'Ghlas Leathaid (Corbett Top, 844m), Sgurr a'Mhuilinn (Corbett, 879m)
Weather: Cloud above the tops, some sunshine, heavy rain showers turning snowy and more persistent later.
Route: View on OS Maps

Cresting the brow of the steep final descent it was a great relief to see the car parked next to the sheep pen at Strathanmore, a small hamlet deep in picturesque Strathconon. The final rain shower had proved to be the worst, drenching us from head to foot as we waded our way through boggy peat and new burns that were springing into life more and more quickly. Back at the car it was a joy to be able to peel off soaked trousers, socks and shoes and change into dry clothes. My Montane eVent Jacket had stayed completely waterproof and so my top half was dry. It had taken us just six hours to do a quick round of a couple of Corbetts in a conditions that gave us everything from sunshine, to high winds, snow and stinging hail.

Update (October 2011): The Challenge has been and gone and in terms of weather it was one of the worst for a long time. I've now added links to the reports and blogs produced by each of the Challengers I highlighted in my original post. They are all definitely worth a read.

The annual TGO Challenge kicks off this weekend with several people already on the move from various starting points on the west coast of Scotland. This post is really just a collection of links to various people taking part and I'll try and keep it updated as I spot others. Please leave a comment with any other Challengers you know about (or if you are a Challenger!) and I'll add in the information. Finally, good luck to everyone taking part this year.

Date: Saturday 7th May 2011
Distance: 31.15km
Ascent: 1,311m
Time: 8hrs 48mins
Hills: Carn a' Mhaim (Munro, 1,037m), Ben MacDui (Munro, 1,309m)
Weather: Early low cloud and drizzle giving way to hazy blue skies and a strong wind.
Route: View on OS Maps

Bacon rolls from Ballater cheered us up a little but it was really the scraps of blue sky that could be glimpsed above the foothills of the Cairngorms that put a proper smile on our faces. The drive to the Linn of Dee had been through rain and ominous skies and although there was a little drizzle falling as we wended our way through the woods, by the time our feet were pounding out the kilometres of the Derry Road it had stopped and the air was muggy and warm.

Part 1 - Friday 29th April - Three Brothers and a Sister

Distance: 15.58km
Ascent: 1,604m
Time: 5hrs 39mins
Hills: Aonach Meadhoin (Munro, 1,001m), Sgurr a' Bhealaich Dheirg (Munro, 1,036m), Saileag (Munro, 956m), Sgurr nan Spainteach (Munro Top, 990m), Sgurr na Ciste Duibhe (Munro, 1,027m)
Weather: Cloudless, hazy skies with a strong easterly wind rising into the night.
Route: View on OS Maps

I had an ambitious plan, but it was drawn out such that I also had a means of escape if things were too tough. So it was that on Saturday at midday, rather than heading up towards The Saddle, I found myself riding the City Link bus back up from Shiel Bridge. Twenty-four hours earlier I’d left the car near the Clunie Inn and set off to do a full circuit of Glen Shiel. The first half of the route would be a complete traverse of the North Shiel Ridge, a fabulous ridge walk that combines the Three Brothers and the famous Five Sisters of Kintail to give roughly 11 miles of delightful high-level walking, with barely a dip below 850m along the entire length.

So the gear is tidied up and packed away for now, the report has been written (see Part 1 here and Part 2 here) and (sadly) the suntan is now fading as eastern Scotland is shrouded in mist and cloud. What else is there to do but post a gear report for my Carn an Righ wild camping trip last weekend?

Sunday 17th April – An Amble Back Under Cloudless Skies

If you missed part one of this trip you can read it here.

Distance: 22km
Ascent: 977m
Time: 7hrs 09mins
Hills: Carn an Righ (Munro, 1029m), Beinn Iutharn Mhor (Munro, 1045m)
Weather: Blue skies with some high cloud. Very warm and only a light breeze developing early afternoon
Route: Click to view on OS Map

The intensifying sunlight drew me from my slumbers and as the brightness filled the tent I could begin to see the frost glittering on the outside of the fly. Above me beaded a few drops of condensation on the inner but this was no great surprise given the calmness of the night.

Saturday 16th April - The Long Walk To The High Hill Of The King

Distance: 25.2km
Ascent: 1,376m
Time: 6hrs 39mins
Hills: Carn Liath (818m), Buachaille Breige (745m)
Weather: Early cloud and wind gradually giving way to bright, warm sunshine. Cloud came in later but hardly any wind in the evening.
Route: View on OS Maps

Saturday evening. The sun has slunk below the horizon, ashamed of its lack of show. Clouds drift lazily through a dark sky. Somewhere near the tent a snuffling is heard, a deer or sheep tugging gently at the tussocky grass I'm camped on. By the time I look out it has gone. Back inside, I draw the sleeping bag tight around my face and lay back, listening to the burn murmuring gently to my right. Life is good.