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GLEN DOCHART NORTH-EAST

           9.4 miles     1126 metres

Start                                Wednesday    07.20
Meall Glas                                               09.20
Sgiath Chuil                                            10.40
Finish                                                       11.40

Time:     Estimated   2.30      Actual   4.20

Rob writes:

The plan was to transfer from mothership to van to rest during the night but Ed came in with a temper on him and proceded to race around the countryside for reasons I was too far gone to even try to understand. I seemed to bounce around for hours and had a frightening view through the windscreen of wet roads taken at high speed. I told Ed to slow down but we still went at great speed. Diana looked petrified. I hardly got a wink of sleep and staggered into the car in the early morning only to overshoot the start point and find the mothership just half a mile down the road from the parked transit. I COULD HAVE STAYED THERE ALL NIGHT!! AAARGH!!

I unreservedly apologise for your awful night Rob. Your mind was clearly befuddled by it all, as we overshot in the van and had to return he half mile to your start point to park the van in waiting – the car was used for bringing the baton to you. Obviously I should have done this after rescuing Ian's shoes.

Foul weather, pouring rain, miles of featureless hummocky bog with not a thing to navigate on and rivers in spate everywhere. Thick heather, worryingly slow and painful navigation, constant clamboring up and down, endless mist, tricky river crossings and not an ounce of energy. My concentration is hopeless. Eventually I cease dithering and clamber up steeply through crags and waterfalls.

Once on Meall Glas I find my way accurately then cross to the trig point of the adjoining summit. The descent was steep, loose and wet and I fell at least 30' – could have been a lot more. There was time to think about the consequences - register the stones falling around me and try to control things so as not to roll. Stayed on my back OK and dug my fingernails into the hill. No damage but very shaken – managed to keep hold of my map and compass.

The climb to the next top – searching along the ridge, a very slow descent as I was still shaky and lacking confidence – all followed by a desperate struggle back through bogs and a river I couldn't safely cross in my condition. I was hardly aware of my surroundings at the end and indifferent to the fact that the others were making rescue plans. I was past caring. Time was no consideration on this leg – only hitting my tops and getting round counted. It was survival not speed.

Peaks done   247     time taken   11 days 9 hours     peaks to go   30

We had all been thinking of the finish and had become particularly intoterant of delays. Nevertheless, as time ticked on we were becoming extremely concerned as Rob failed to return. From drawing up plans of our finish celebrations, we turned to drawing up plans for a search party. With a two and a half hour schedule, we were due to alert the rescue services after six hours. Nevertheless we would go out ourselves at least an hour before that time.

Mercifully Rob appeared about half an hour before we were going to act.

The mothership moved on to the start point for Alwyn's leg, where I managed to get some sleep after the night's excursions, and the ensuing worry. At least the delay meant that it was now unlikely that I would be out again the following night.

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