Late Planning

Posted on | February 5, 2010 | No Comments

Even techies have problems with computers from time to time. The last week has been one of those times for me with a netbook I have. It’s the main machine I use for blogging because I can sit there with it on my lap and type away while watching something on the goggle box (that ages me). Sorting it out has taken up way to much of my time over the last week.

Which has meant I have spent less time blogging than I normally do. Now I can see that for some out there that can only be seen as a good thing.

But with this diversion coming to an end, it is going back for yet another repair, I can concentrate on more important things. Like the impending cut off date for route submissions for the TGO Challenge. So I am spending some belated time on getting my route worked out and written up.

The first three and a half days are worked out. I need to plot a path across the Monadhliath Mountains from Inverfarigaig to the start of the Lairig Ghru. Which I have about four days to it in. Then a leisurely two days to go over the Lairig Ghru and walk into Braemar.

In fact one of the hardest decisions I had to make was for my planned first day. I love waterfalls and one of the options when leaving Shiel Bridge is to see the falls at Allt Grannda. But North are the Falls of Glomach, which apparently are the highest unsupported falls in Britain. You can see the dilemma I had. Anyway after a quick chat with Alan I’m saving the Falls of Glomach for another crossing as they make sense to take in from another starting point. It’s great being able to call a friend and get some feedback on plans that are floating around, get an opinion and talk things through.

One comment made to me at the end of last years Challenge from a good friend was that the next Challenge should be more er challenging. So who knows as I plot my way across the Monadhliath I may take up that gauntlet, or I may delay that and take Mount Keen in as a different way to reach Tarfside. The bit after Braemar is all up for discussion at the moment. Who knows I may miss Tarfside altogether.

But all this does seem to have that old feeling of being at school and leaving homework to the last minute. Yeah I was never one of those studious types that did the homework the night it was given. I was too busy taking part in the that whole 80’s home computing boom thing. Oh yeah the skills that would later be of use to me.

Anyway enough of my ramblings I have some maps to look at.