This time from PLOCKTON in 12 days (that is at least the plan) to Scurdie Ness (little south of Montrose).
330 km and 11.000 altitude meters. I start May 9th and hopefully will arrive healthy on the 20th.
The path will lead me over Beinn Eighe and Loch Ness into the Cairngorms and on to Braemar and Ballater to Tarfside and then southeast to the destination on the North Sea.
Follow my walking journey at friebe.travel.blog – my learnings from 3 successful crossings up to now were:
- Walking alone for many days is “good for yourself”: a way to reset, gain distance from daily responsibilities, and return with more clarity and motivation.
- Physical hardship (long distances, significant altitude, rough terrain, bad weather) is not a bug but the core feature that makes the experience meaningful and confidence‑building.
- Repeating the same overall challenge over different years is a benchmark for personal development, fitness, mental resilience, and evolving expectations rather than to “collect” new destinations.
- Solo time fosters idea generation: coming back to “old assignments” with “new ideas” that emerged during the hike. The challenge is a mobile think‑tank rather than a vacation escape.
- Strong sense of gratitude and humility develops: finishing a crossing is happiness, pride, and thankfulness
- Setbacks or discomforts need to be acknowledged but just as quickly reframed as stories, learnings, or accepted as part of the game.
- Planning needs to be thorough (routes, logistics, gear) beforehand and then allows you to improvise!
- Small daily rituals (meals, simple comforts, brief social contacts) are very important as stabilizing anchors during long solo efforts.
- Tracking distances, altitude meters, and other daily stats are important feedback (for me) on capability and progress.
- Outdoor challenges are part of a broader personal identity that includes professional creativity, intellectual curiosity, and a taste for doing things “properly” rather than superficially.
- These trips are not gap‑year adventures but mid‑life projects interwoven with an established professional and personal life, which adds an element of deliberate choice and trade‑off awareness.
- Although most of the walking is done alone, there is an underlying community: other challengers, dinner events, and readers who follow along, giving the trips a shared narrative dimension.
My Travel Adventures 