13/5/12 - Rider on the Storm

Distance - 7 Miles
Geocaches - 3
Weather - Biblical
Walk from - Trail, April 2005

Onward Journey - 102 Miles
Listening too...
.... TalkSport and the thrilling conclusion to the premiership
.... Johnny Cash - American Recordings III (Solitary Man)

Last Night
An Adventure... I've never been to chokey before.  My digs, complete with cell like appearance, shared washroom and a fight in the car park on arrival were interesting.  There was some sort of wedding reception going on and like any good wedding, there was a dust up.  Random dialogue, over the swearing, "just go home before you make the day any worse than you already have".  Still, they had wireless, so I blogged and then went for a look down Balloch.  Ate in the Waterhouse Inn, good food and service, even if it was a steak and ale lie, sans pastry sides.  Then popped into Balloch House before getting back to the scrubs.  There is a disco on and it is really loud.  I watch one episode of the Sopranos over the dulcet tones of "my humps, my humps, my lovely lady bumps" before realising that I have no choice but to put on my best shirt and join in.

For a walker, I've still got the moves.  Left around 1am and I think it stopped at 3am.  Up at 8am for my square sausages.  Met my fellow inmates, a tattooed topless fella from Liverpool who seemed rather proud of his use of the facilities and two amble ladies who went for breakfast in their pjs.

With a tear in my eye, I left for my walk.

The Walk

Ben Lomond

All the way up yesterday, the motorway gantry signs were warning of bad rain.  I feared the worse for today.  Have a glorious 16 mile drive around the east side of Loch Lomond and get out the car, muttering words that will come back to haunt me.  "Its not that bad".

This challenge is my first Munro - a 3000+ft Scottish Mountain.  Read all about Ben Lomond.

My route is straightforward, circular and on well maintained paths.  The only reason to use the sat nav is to check how much further to the top it is.  On a better day, there would have been stunning views behind from the Partmigan Path.

Use your imagination

The higher I get, the worse the rain, hail and winds get.  On the later approach to the peak it becomes truly unbearable.  The wind rips my waterproof trousers down, turning me into a mountaineering MC Hammer and wips the cover from my rucksack off so that it slaps me in the face.

I plod on.  Two days ago, the earth tried to remove my boots.  Today, the wind wants my hat.  Then it gets stupid.  I am actually blown off my feet and land on my aris a few feet away.  How bad has it got to be to bowl over a man of my ample proportions?  And the wind has bitten into my fingers, which I can no longer feel.  With concern of frost bite, I realise I have prepared with a gorgeous pair of red gloves in my pack.  I am genuinely scared - I can't really go back, so I plod onto the summit, hoping I can find shelter around the other side of its scrambly peak.

The football is on.

Drop down on the otherside of the summt.  This is terrifying, there is no shelter.  Until I see a large gap between two rocks.  I stoop and shuffle across to it, only to find a geordie taking cover.  I think he says that he isn't going to the top and is turning back, but you're never too sure in the best of conditions.  My only concern is that he has been there for three days.

I move on for a long, relentless path downhill all the way.  My waterlogged trousers keep slipping down, parading my aris to the elements, which freezes.  My camera has been put in my pocket, which is now full of water.  The above is probably the last shot you will see from my trusty little samsung, 

After an eternity, I arrive back at the visitor centre for the caches.  There is a decent shelter here - like a changing room with benches.  I get my clean clothes out the car and strip off completely before realising the changing rooms have very large windows.  Nothing to worry about.  Little Mappiman has more or less disappeared.

Onward Journey
I will never forget this.  Despite it taking me the first hour to get around to the west side of Loch Lomond, I then have the joys of the A82 as it covers the high ground, getting to 1100ft and going through GlenCoe.  A constant backdrop of impressive looking mountains.

All of this to the commentary of a thrilling last day of the premiership.  What a game. 

The rain is beyond comparison, which is creating waterfalls and standing water that have a log flume effect.  During one of the more barron sections, a brand new campervan has left the road and buried itself nose first into the quagmire 6ft below.

Arrive at my B&B.  A cheery welcome from Janet who explains that its cash only.  Not to worry, I have been phoned by Barclaycard fraud services who cannot believe how much an 18 year olds shoes cost and have suspended the card.