Life’s vagaries

It’s been a long while away from to blog, some of my absence has been down to pure laziness but some has been down to unfortunate circumstances.

Back in 2021 post my heart bypass operation I was definitely driven to try & fully recover, motivation was high & it seemed I was pretty successful. The recovery process was greatly helped, both mentally & physically, by frequent strolls in the familiar ‘gorms revisiting all the old haunts & tops, I even managed a few trips over the winter into 2022. I did find that my ongoing medication had noticeably reduced my bodies power output, I’m much slower on the climbs, & I do feel the cold more but as I kept reminding myself “it’s better than being dead”.

By spring 2022 all seemed to be progressing well, I was feeling fit & more importantly had regained the self confidence that had taken a beating, I was definitely looking forward to a long hike in the Pyrenees. Then in May 22 while undertaking some building work I managed to take a fall from a ladder busting a couple of ribs (100% my fault). It took 3 months doing nothing (old bodies definitely take longer to mend than young ones) before I could even contemplate carrying a pack or huffing & puffing up a hill. It was like being back 15 months earlier, I again had to start to slowly get some gentle walks under the belt before getting out into the hills in earnest again. Then when things took a major turn for the worse; my Dad (nearly 90) was reported as being very ill & passed away several weeks later.

Autumn rolled into winter with motivation somewhat lacking but I slowly regained a modicum of fitness & started to revive my plans for a summer trip to the Pyrenees during 2023, then in the spring I managed to contract Covid. Whilst not life threatening I was certainly flattened for 3 weeks & recuperation certainly seemed to drag on for many weeks after. Not wishing to hit the Pyrenees only half fit I decided to defer my trip until September to allow the old body sufficient time to recover.

Then life provides another twist; the OH takes a seemingly innocuous tumble from her horse, lands awkwardly & breaks a vertebrae in the neck; full on 999 job, 3 weeks in hospital, 3 months in a rigid neck brace followed by 3 months gradual recuperation, she’s still not ‘right’ but slowly getting there.

After 6 months of being cook, shopper & taxi driver I’m feeling re-markedly unfit but I was determined to manage a short excursion into the ‘gorms at the earliest opportunity. The weather forecast (for mid-January) boded well; low winds, clear with only the odd snow shower but distinctly chilly (-10C & below overnight).

As a plan that required no real thought I decided upon a ‘maintenance’ visit to Garbh Choire Refuge, just to check on the place & remove any rubbish. To take it really easy I planned break the trip over 2 or 3 days with possible stop overs at the Corrour &/ or Bob Scotts bothy.

Day 1

11am & I was taking a gentle stroll up Glen Lui carrying a couple of night’s supplies (plus a tent just in case) & some bothy fire fuel, despite being overcast the temperature was -8C but with little more than a breath of wind…….a very pleasant start to the excursion.

First port of call was a lunch stop at Scotties, which was 15 degrees warmer inside than outside.

After enjoying a comfortable brew in the relative warmth of the bothy it was off on the path up Glen Lui, crossing Derry Flats was a breeze thanks to the deeply frozen ground…..no squelching today. The first real obstacle of the day appeared in under an hour, the Luibeg ford, the water level was low but as anticipated the stepping stones were sheathed in ice……on with the spikes!

I must have seen the view a 100 times in all seasons & in all weather but looking up Glen Dee never ceases to impress.

The footpath around to Corrour wasn’t that straight forward, very frequently slick ribbons of ice inhabited the path necessitating crampons or a deviation through the heather, I choose the later, simple enough but it did slow down the passage. I finally arrived at the bothy at around 3:30pm to find no one at home, unsurprisingly really since it was mid-week.

The bothy was very chilly, around freezing, but despite having fuel I hung off getting a fire going until ~ 6:00pm, just prior to a Callum & Craig arriving having walked over the Lairig Ghru. The pair were planning on an early start the next day to compete the Devils Point to Braeriach traverse hence it was into bed at around 8:30pm with the fire on it’s last legs.

Callum & Craig were up, packed & away before sunrise, I on the other hand managed so stay fully ensconced in a cosy sleeping bag until a high level alarm forced exiting around 8:00am. The small fire the previous evening had obviously helped a lot as despite it being around -10C outside it was around freezing inside the bothy. I enjoyed a leisurely breakfast in bed before finally ‘pulling the plug’ on the X-therm & getting packed away.

Day 2

I had toyed with the idea of leaving the majority of my kit at the bothy to make the trip up to Garbh Choire easier but after pondering the idea I decided against it, not because the gear wouldn’t have been safe but more from a safety point of view e.g. a person wouldn’t survive very long without shelter & sleeping bag warmth in the prevailing conditions with a fairly minor injury like a snapped ankle etc.

By close to 10:00am was on the familiar ‘path’ up the west side of the glen (there’s no path really just a series of landmarks that I’m familiar with that help maintain the most efficient route), in the summer & unloaded I’ve made it to the refuge in less than 1 ½ hrs today it took closer to 2 ½ hrs, I found the place in good order & with zero rubbish which is great to see.

Being in no particular hurry I took the opportunity to dig out the down jacket & have a leisurely lunch with a brew while enjoying the scenery before finally reversing my route back to Corrour.

It wasn’t much after 3:00pm on getting back to the bothy & I half considered continuing onward to Scotties but I figured that since I wasn’t in any hurry I’d forego a walk in the dark. By 4:00pm it was dark but I’d settled in, had a brew, made up the bed & set the fire using my last ‘fire log’ & some coal left by a previous visitor.

Some would find a solo night in a bothy in the middle of nowhere unsettling, I’m the opposite, finding the solitude quite restful. Time ticked slowly by only interrupted by the necessity to cook up dinner, prod the fire occasionally, listen to a podcast & sip on a dram. The long winter evenings are definitely more comfortable being in a bothy rather than the tent, with the fire slowly fading I finally hit the bed sometime after 9:00pm.

Day 3

I was up & away for before 9:00am, again I wasn’t not in any particular hurry & I figured something like 4 hrs back to the car. I did pause for a moment on the climb over to Luibeg just to admire to view……I’m sure to return at the first opportunity………or perhaps life will take another twist.