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.

In Finland we have this thing called last minute

It is, however, done, finished, and sent off. At the last minute. I am so ashamed, and will accept the  pillory, stocks, the pranger and any other appropriate method of public humiliation.

Nobody knows the troubles I've seen

February the 26th, the deadline for route submissions for the first-time Challengers, is approaching like a teenager driving his father's BMW for the first time. Full speed. Way too quickly for me to get out of the way in time. It's a good thing that I've been on my winter vacation this week or I might have be in serious trouble. Now I'm only in regular trouble, as most of this week I've been ill and also taking care of my canine companion's injured paw. She managed to rip the outer layer of one of her nails off. I'll spare you from the dreadful image and show her sporting her protective husky bootie instead:

11 years and 5 months worth of pure love and happiness. Also some amount of dorkiness.
Her name is Lumo and she is a Lapponian herder (a Finnish breed for herding the reindeer).

Might have been Gillian Anderson's fault, too. Not the paw injury but the fact that my route is still not finished. On my worst sick day I ventured into the world of Netflix (Try one month for free! Binge-watch 'til you drop!) and stumbled upon The Fall.  All three seasons of it. Nuff said.

Anyway, despite all these hardships, I'm nearly there with the route. It looks like this:

Day 1: Mallaig - Inverie - Sourlies bothy
Day 2: Sourlies bothy - Kinbreak bothy
Day 3: Kinbreak bothy - Laddie Wood
Day 4: Laddie Wood - Invergarry- South Laggan
Day 5: South Laggan - Melgarve bothy
Day 6: Melgarve bothy - Laggan - Newtonmore
Day 7: Newtonmore - Glen Feshie - Ruigh Aiteachain bothy
Day 8: Ruigh Aiteachain bothy - Linn of Dee
Day 9: Linn of Dee - Mar Lodge - Braemar
Day 10: Braemar - Balmoral - Ballater
Day 11: Ballater - Mount Keen - Tarfside
Day 12: Tarfside - Mount Battock - Charr bothy
Day 13: Charr bothy - Fetteresso forest
Day 14: Fetteresso forest - Dunnottar castle - bus to Montrose

I'm still contemplating an alternative route  for days ten and eleven to be able to attend the Cheese & Wine party, but that would mean walking the Jock's Road, keeping my original plan as the foul weather alternative - thus forcing me to decide which route to take already in Braemar. Better have that crystal ball clear and at hand.

*edit*
Changed Day 4 destination from South Laggan to Fort Augustus.
*edit of edit*
Changed Day 4 destination back to South Laggan (thanks for the encouragement, Humphrey!)

Booked

It's a brand new year! From now on I can start saying "this year I am going to walk across Scotland". It really has a nice ring to it, doesn't it?

To able said walking across Scotland I have indeed made some vital preparations. First and foremost I have begged my boss to let me have three weeks of my four week summer vacation in May, despite all the happenings and general hassle at work during that time, and she has, a bit reluctantly, said yes, after I promised to update our company Instagram with awesome Scottish scenery a lot.

Vacation time secured, I could then get to the pesky tasks of bookings. After having spent considerable time browsing the internets for cheap flights, and giving kudos to the profession of travel agents that I have not deployed to the task, I finally managed to book reasonably priced (194 euros including the hold luggage) flights to and from Edinburgh. Local logistics at this end will require me to first take a taxi (30 euros prebooked) to the bus station at an ungodly hour, then a 2-hour bus ride (27 euros) to the airport (train would be quicker and cheaper, but also more unreliable), followed by a flight to Edinburgh via London Heathrow. After finally landing on Scottish terrain for the first time in my life, I will spend one and a half days and two nights in Edinburgh before continuing towards my Challenge starting point somewhere on the west coast. Probably Mallaig, Morar oc Lochailort. A big hand and hallelujah to booking.com that allows me to book several accommodation with a free cancellation option up to just a few days before, so I don't exactly have to be 100 % sure where I'm gonna be at which time just yet. I have also booked a bed in a hostel in Dundee for the evening of the finishing party in Montrose. Might swap that to an Airbnb room, though, since there seem to be a few attractive options in Montrose. Staying there would save me a late evening bus/train ride to Dundee.

Update: I did indeed manage to book a lovely room in Montrose via AirBNB, so party all night, party all night it is (quite possibly up to 10 p.m. after which I probably fall asleep).

Up next: route planning.  I have the big lines covered, and a bit more specifically than just "from the west coast to the east coast", now. My plan looks like this: from Mallaig/Morar/Lochailort to Stonehaven/Dunnottar castle/Inverbervie/Johnshaven/St. Cyrus. Not exactly ready to submit the route sheet to my vetter yet, am I. Well, there's still time... I'm sure there is a bunch of experienced challengers who balk at my procrastination skills, but it really isn't that simple and easy to plot a 14-day-walk through a land that might as well be "there be dragons" sort of uncharted territory.

The route shall go somewhere there. Maybe. Possibly somewhere else.

Be prepared!

No, I am not a Scout. It would probably help if I was, since apparently they are great at preparing. I'm great at procrastinating, though, so there's that.

However, I have actually done things to help my big fat Scottish adventure along. I have ordered the Scottish Hill Tracks book from Amazon and subscribed to the OS online maps. I have sat in front of the computer a lot and stared at said online maps. I have also lounged on my futon sofa with my laptop a lot and read stories of previous Challenges. What I have done most, though, is wondering if I should get my head checked.

There's still a shit ton to do. Like actually plan a route and have it vetted and book travel and accommodation. And start stretching my hill legs. On it!

Stretching is always important. Demonstrating at the top of Tjäktjapasset in Sweden.
August 2015.