TGOC — summary — learnings for the next trip

12 actual walking days plus one break day in Braemar — 325 km, roughly 10.000 altitude meters, total walking hours = 100, 6 days wild camping, 1 day in a bothy, 1 day in campground, 4 days in a B&B / Hotel, average 4.750 calories per day burned and significantly less taken in … I expect 3kg weight loss! 6 days with rain, 3 with lots, 1 day with very very heavy headwinds (up Glen Roy) and several with heavy winds … the rest actually Ok (including some of the ones with heavy winds). It was also colder than expected never really exceeding 16 degrees C and typically dropping to anything between 2 and 8 degrees at night.

Learned: my sleeping bag was not sufficient, the tent was too small (thanks Gordon for the tent company you recommended … will get one!), the first two days were planned too strenuous. The break day in Braemar saved me .. it helped me to recover … especially my poor feet needed some rest in CROCS. Lot of the challengers liked to leave early, while I actually rarely started before 08:30 — with 9/10 hours to go that still allowed me to setup the tent, cook and get ready easily before 21:00 … if you arrive at 14:00 you still have 6/7 hours in the wilderness before going to bed. Not so easy! Another thing I should do is to get the locations of the MBA and open bothy’s and plan them in as potential alternatives or at least for cooking. Another thing that I would like to do is spend a night at Lochcallater Lodge and at St. Drostan … next time.

Also, if something looks like a cool route, but has absolutely no path and goes though the peat, then it is not a good idea. My 10k from the Shieling of Marks bothy to the base of Mount Keen were so unbelievably strenuous … and I was lucky as it had not rained for several days – otherwise the peat mud would probably have swallowed me or worn out before I could have reached safe terrain.

Everyone I met was super super helpful and willingly gave tips and routes to take or avoid and placed to stay.

And finally thanks to the entire TGOC team — great job and I will certainly do it again. I think 2024 or 2025 would be a good year!

Anyone up for it?