fourteen - and FIFTEEN - down, 267 to go!

Right, that's it - I am officially doing NOTHING this weekend!

Well maybe not nothing, maybe I'll take the chance to do all the things I don't ever seem to have time to do. But it's definitely time to take a break, take a breath, take time.

I think I might have overdone it slightly last weekend. Saturday's walk was so good, but the sunshine and the undulating cliffs really took it out of me. However I was so keen to go ahead with the rough plan I had for Sunday, which was to bag not one, but two Munros.

Beinn Narnain and Beinn Ime have been on my radar for a while - not too far away, an opportunity for a double-bag, and a beautiful area offering tremendous views on a clear day. Sunday's forecast was good, and I thought it would be a great chance to continue my bagging progress. There was also the perfect opportunity to spend some time with my youngest brother Ross, who is up from Epsom for the week.

I definitely felt tired when I woke up on Sunday morning, but I was relieved that my legs and hips weren't sore. I got ready and waited to hear whether Ross, who'd been out the night before, was still feeling up for the challenge. He was - despite not having been long enough in bed when we set off!

My first challenge was to manoeuvre the M8, not my favourite road. However it was pretty quiet and it was far more straightforward than I'd imagined. We stopped at Luss on the way - packed to the brim, at 11am, with coaches and tourists. I was disappointed that it was still so cloudy, as the forecast had been so good. Ben Lomond wasn't visible - I was just so hoping that the cloud would lift for us.

The car park at Arrochar was also rammed. Great, I thought, there will be hoards of people up the hills. Thanks to some truly awful parking from those already out there, I abandoned my car on the grass, and we got our boots on. We left the car at ten past 11, crossed the road, and began up the path.

A navigational error almost occured right away. Everyone around us was pounding up the path, but I knew we were looking for an off-path route through the trees. There happened to be a large group standing right by this overgrown route, so we almost missed it, but thankfully the leader of that group spotted our hesitation, and helped us on our way. It wasn't a path as such, just an interesting scramble round trees, over roots and rocks, and under branches.

Once we'd started on this route, we didn't see any other people for a very long time. It seemed that the main path headed up the famous Cobbler, and that most people were going that way.

Our route was a struggle and a slog right from the start. It was steep, and was uneven underfoot, wet in places, really tough going. There wasn't a breath of wind and it felt quite muggy. I was sweating from the start, and each step was a real push.

Ross sweated out his hangover in front of me. We stopped frequently, catching our breath, drinking water, eating jelly babies. After about an hour of slogging, it didn't really feel like we'd made much progress. But of course we had. We just had a long way to go.

looking back

late bluebells

first bit of scrambling!

Finally a change in the path broke the slog, and we started heading even more steeply up. There were some scrambly bits, a test for the quads.

At no point could we see the summit, or what we were aiming for. It was still so cloudy, and mist shrouded the hills around us. I couldn't believe it - the forecast had been wrong surely!

But the more we made progress, the better the views got.

Loch Long

At the time, this stage of the day felt like an unbelievable struggle. I just didn't feel comfortable at all, and was wondering if we'd bitten off more than we could chew. If we should've saved these beasts for another day.

That was the first - and certainly not the last - time that day I was very grateful for my wee brother's company. He never complained, despite the hangover. Had I been alone - well, I'm sure I'd have persevered, but I'd have been seriously tempted to turn for home! I just wasn't feeling it.

Still we struggled on. This lifted my spirits slightly:

Then.

Views were getting better, but the mist was hanging about much longer than I expected.

After a short plateau we were back to the UP. We had to get up and over Cruach nam Miseag first, still unsure about where the summit of Beinn Narnain actually was. There was more scrambling to be done, although Ross took a braver route than me.

I thought this 'wee' hill would be out of our way quick enough, but yet again it was longer and harder than anticipated. Once we were up and over this, we had a better view and appreciation of what was ahead of us. The Cobbler finally appeared through the mist ahead of us. When we finally saw what remained of Narnain...I lost all hope!

No, not really. But I couldn't believe what we still had to conquer. The Spearhead buttress. Doesn't sound fun does it?

Thankfully, we had to go round this, not up! The path weaved its way round, zig-zagging to and fro, the end point feeling painfully far away.

And yet more scrambling was to be done. The steepest, and most difficult, of the day.

almost at the summit!

Once we were up onto this section, I could see the summit trig point a couple of hundred yards ahead. Thank goodness! I may have made the description of the up relatively short, but it had taken us two and a half hours to get to this point! I actually felt broken. But elated, this was Munro number 14!

Beinn Narnain, number 14!

14!

slight weather change!

We sat on the summit on Narnain for a short time, with intermittent views through the clouds. From being so hot and sweaty on the way up, and thinking I'd never feel cold again, I was chilly.

At that point, we couldn't see Beinn Ime. We could barely see the Cobbler. I started to question if what I thought was the Cobbler was actually Ime...I didn't really know what Ime looked like...would I be able to find it? Then I remembered I'd tried a spot of navigating recently, so thought I'd give that a go. Having orientated myself on the map, with Loch Long in front of me, I realised that Ime was practically behind me. Wow, I had no idea!

I also used my compass very briefly to help with our direction. By the time we'd started moving again, the cloud had shifted and Ime was visible. But it was nice to know that my brief foray into navigation had helped out.

cloud starting to clear over Ime

looking out to the Cobbler

Finally the cloud completely shifted over Beinn Ime, and we could see the task ahead of us.

It looked....okay. There was a clear path, no scrambling, it looked short enough for a quick up and down.

However. We had to descend quite far before we began the next ascent. It was a relief for the legs to be heading down, but with each step I took, I knew that added another level of steepness when it came to heading back up again. We couldn't find a logical path down, although looking back towards Narnain there was a quite obvious path. Oh well, we found our own way, climbing down rocks, cutting across bogs.

Finally we got to the bealach between Narnain, Ime and the Cobbler. Now I could fully appreciate what was ahead. And to be honest, I didn't think I'd make it! It was around 3pm now, and the sun was beating down. I didn't know it at the time, but I was being burnt. Again.

We began our ascent. It was awful. It would've been fine on its own, but after hours of slogging and scrambling, it was just the last thing I wanted to do.

Again we stopped frequently. The sweat was pouring off in buckets. This was too hard.

I doubt myself all the time. I have doubted myself on every single Munro so far. But now, on my way up my 15th Munro, I really didn't think I was going to make it.

Could I give up now? Come all this way, bag one Munro (which I was thrilled about), make it half way up another, and call it a day? No I couldn't give up. I had to keep going. But my legs really hurt. Everything hurt. My head was pounding.

And again I was so grateful Ross was there. He kept going - so I kept going. I stopped - and he stopped.

And after what felt like hours of this, the summit of Ime was within reach. I wanted to collapse with joy - and exhaustion.

Ime, number 15!

The views were incredible. Lochs, mountains, sunshine. Absolutely incredible.

15!

We perched on a rock to eat the rest of our lunch. I took two bites out of my roll, and felt unbelievably nauseous. I was hot - and cold. Hungry - but unable to eat. I was exhausted, and thought I was going to be sick. I was dehydrated. Complete rookie mistake - I'd brought my normal amount of water, but this turned out to be almost a 7 hour day, in the sunshine - it wasn't enough.

I was so parched, and felt awful. We didn't spend long up there, despite the views. It was time to get off this mountain! Via a mountain stream for rehydration!

We descended pretty rapidly. I wanted to get home, get showered, and get to bed. But I had to get down this hill first.

Soon - but not soon enough - we were back to the bealach, and began the descent path. There were plenty of people still heading up the Cobbler. It was almost 5pm but the sun was beating down and the views were tremendous.

It was a bit of a shame the Cobbler was behind us - I kept turning around and the views got better and better each time. Another time - I will have to come back and climb this impressive looking mountain!

Although the descent was straightforward, it was sooooo long, and I'd had enough. There was more zig-zagging, and it didn't feel like Loch Long was getting any closer.

But finally - exactly six and a half hours after leaving the car - we were crossing the main road back into the car park.

We stopped at Luss again, then zoomed our way back to West Linton. Only at that point did I realise how sunburnt I'd got - I kept my arms covered after Saturday's burn, but my neck was very exposed, and I was very burnt. And it hurt.

And it hurt for a number of days later!

But I haven't been sore in other places, so that's a positive. I have been very tired though, and do feel like I overdid it slightly. However, I'm absolutely delighted to have bagged two Munros in one day! It was a great day out - a real challenge. Thanks to Ross for his company - good effort despite your night before!

This burst of Munro-bagging has been great but I know I need a breather before my next one. So this weekend I am definitely resting!