It's the final countdown

Not long ago I was excited having been able to say "this year I will be walking across Scotland". Then I blinked once or twice and now it's "This month I will be walking across Scotland".

How did this happen? Where did all the time go?

It was probably not a time warp, though. I believe it's just my knack for procrastination that creates this last minute chaos every time I plan a trip, whether it be a week, a month or half a year in advance.

So far I have some things beautifully covered (travel, accommodation, maps, rucksack, boots, tent, a new phone and a power bank), some things well under way of being beautifully covered (food, meds, stove) and then there are the other things. Well. You can't always win, not even every time.

Yesterday I took my dog to her "summer camp" at my friend's, where she will stay until I return, and so today, a day off from work, has been all work and no play. So many things to do and so little time to do it! I have only had 5.5 months! Not nearly enough! Somebody stop all the clocks!

Boots waxed and updated with new laces.
Waterproof map prints acquired.
Hygiene kit assembly started.
Food dehydration 2/4 done.

BOOTS

I have decided to walk in my trusty old Hanwag Tatra leather boots although I know a lot of people prefer trailrunners for the Challenge. It's just that I've had my Hanwags for five years, and on all the different kind of walks, from Swedish fells to Cornish coastal paths, they have never ever given me blisters. I think that for me it's more a question of the pack weight than the terrain when it comes to choosing the right kind of footwear. I wore lighter shoes last summer to Denmark for a 75 km walk mostly on pavement, and got horrendous blisters. I do realise that the Hanwags will feel really heavy and stiff with all the road walking and that I will need to take them off for all the fording, but honestly, I don't give a damn as long as I know I'll probably be free from blisters. And it's not like I'm not used to taking my boots off for fording.

Boots and other items of clothing, that is.

When it comes to the perfect combination of socks and insoles, the jury is still out. As should I be, out, testing them. I'll walk to and/or from work these coming days to see if I reach any conclusions. 

MAPS

I saved my route from OS online maps to PDF and got it printed on waterproof paper, double-sided. The whole route is now covered on two A3 sized prints (my route sheet on the other side of the first) and eleven A4s. Most of them are 1:50 000, but there are three 1:25 000 maps for the trickiest parts. The overall weight of these is just 150 grams! I will be carrying the six OS Landranger paper maps as well, divided into three batches (to go from the start and supply parcels 1 and 2), just in case I need to re-route dramatically. I like to carry the map in my trouser leg pocket, and now with the waterproof paper I don't need a map case at all. I've pierced each print's corner and will be running the compass lanyard through to be able to clip the whole lot to my trousers, just in case. Having once looked on helplessly when a gust of wind flew my map to Norway, I've learned to clip everything and anything smaller than a squirrel to myself or my pack.

HYGIENE KIT

is coming along. There's this really handy tip I learned from an ex-girlfriend (I suppose they all were good for something...) . The GoreTex tube at the bottom row is not GoreTex Paclite but a mini deodorant! Substance from a stick deo stuffed into an empty lip balm case and vóila! It weighs all of 12 grams and will suffice for a week. I'll have another in the second supply parcel. The only thing to remember with this item is to choose a lip balm tube as distinctively different from the actual lip balm as possible, to avoid any unfortunate mishaps. Not that I've done it. Not often at least.

The other genius item in my hygiene kit is the Kavat shoe wax. It's always nice to have an item serve at least two purposes when you're desperately counting grams. This shoe wax, made of solely natural substances, can be used as hand / foot cream as well. 

FOOD

I'm dehydrating lactose free feta cheese right now. It's a delicious way of spicing up any bland food I may encounter. I've already dehydrated some pea soup and flavoured tuna for my tuna and mashed potatoes dinners. The rest of my food has been or will be store bought, some here in Finland and some on the way.

STILL UNDER CONSTRUCTION

I'm waiting for my new trousers to arrive, and as they are Fjällräven Barents pro curved trousers with raw length - meaning that I will need to adjust them to my liking - I really hope they will arrive sooner rather than later. I work in a Fjällräven Brand store, though, so I can do it at my workplace before work. As long as they will get here in time... If not, I will have to squeeze myself into my Fjällräven Keb Gaiter trousers, that would me nice if the weather gets too warm (!), but I'd have to loose a kilo or two. That or not bend wearing the trousers, or breath too heavily. Or eat.

Everything else is also pretty much were it was months ago. I have a spreadsheet with all the gear options, but it doesn't come with an "automatic decision" -button! I need to make up my mind all by myself. Sometimes I wonder how I ever got to deciding to participate in the Challenge in the first place.

I'm also not sure if I should get myself a prepaid SIM card from a Scottish mobile operator to reduce the costs of phoning in the Challenge Control at least four times and possibly other places such as hostels. My mobile is a dual SIM phone so that would be easy and probably cost less than using my Finnish operator. 

Ten days and fifteen hours to go. Better get to it, then.

Leap of faith

The Challenge is almost there. Or here. Or I'm almost there where the Challenge will be. In exactly one week I'll start my journey from home to Mallaig, Scotland. It will take me three days to get there and I'm not even walking! Since it is my first trip to Scotland I wanted to make the most of it, so I'll be stopping in Edinburgh first for a few days, to walk around without a rucksack, post my supply parcels for the Challenge and make any necessary last minute panic purchases. Like a plane ticket back to Finland.

It's not like I'm nervous. Because I'm not. Frankly, I'm terrified. I'm also super excited! What a lovely twofold feeling! Half of me can't wait to be in Scotland and start walking across it, while the oher half is screaming in agony. Why the bugger did I have to sign up for this? Why on earth did I think I can do it?

I have been walking and hiking a lot in the past 17 years, so I'm not new to this, per se. But I am new to the Challenge and the specific demands of it. So far, my longest hike duration-wise has been 8 days and distance-wise 110 kilometres. The Challenge will be 14 days and approximately 311 kilometres. Well, I suppose that's why they call it a challenge. Were it easy, they would be calling it The Great Outdoor Sunday Stroll in the Park.

Also, I'm physically not as fit as I'd like to be, and I'm not talking about dreaming of athlete fitness, but a regular "every limb works and there is no overall ache or pain until I actually start walking" -type of fitness would be nice. I don't have the luxury of that with my rheumatoid arthritis having decided this would be a good time to have a temper tantrum. A doctor's appointment on Friday will probably solve some of that with all the cortisone injections no doubt waiting for me there.

And then there's the actual training, as in "put your boots on and take your rucksack and go walking on the hills". Or the lack of it. The spring has been nonexistent in Finland so far. The last day of April, which is traditionally spent in light spring clothing sitting outside and sipping sparkling drinks, was not like that this year. It's like the installation of spring was accidentally forgotten in the headquarters of Season Control. So there hasn't been much of actual hiking. Fortunately, I do have a dog and my work is very dynamic, so I've been walking a lot, just not with a rucksack and not that much with the boots on. Also, there are no hills where I live.

So yes, it WILL be a challenge. But like someone, who has done it a lot of times, recently told me: the Challenge is for all. I suppose it includes me. So, I'm going to take a leap of faith and see where it goes. Hopefully all the way across Scotland to the east coast.

Eastward bound

It goes like this.

For the life of me I can't figure out if it is possible to share a Google Earth link, so here's a screen cap of my route.

I think it is entirely possible that walking across Scotland will be easier than planning the walk. It HAS to be easier than making the OS Maps' digital routes appear in Google Earth.

Two months and 7 days to go.