My day up Ben Nevis

Sunday the 22nd September, 2019, I went up Ben Nevis to raise funds for the Scottish region of the Dwarf Sports Association. 

This is how my day went (some times, especially later in the day, are estimates)

3:00 - woken up by middle child who wants a drink, she gets a drink from my bottle and is ushered into her own bed. She demands her own bottle so I go downstairs and get one.

3:14 - she reappears with her pillow this time and insists on getting into my bed. I hasten to add she's a fidget in bed, we much prefer having her siblings in bed with us, she just lies and pokes and prods you for hours...

3:15 - the eldest turns up annoyed that her sister has left the room. I tell her to get into bed with us.

3:25 - she decides she'd rather be in her bed and stomps off.

4:30 - middle child finally nods off and starts to snore.

4:31 - the toddler wakes up; I've been trying to feed him later but since I'm heading off early figure I'm better off doing it now in the hope we both just go back to sleep.

4:45 - the toddler soils his nappy. I get up change him in the dark and as he seems sleepy I attempt putting him back to bed. Success. He falls asleep in his cot, I struggle to go back to sleep despite everyone else is finally snoring.

5:15 - my alarm goes off just as I feel myself drifting off to sleep. Drag myself out of bed and downstairs. Husband had fallen asleep on the sofa so go into kitchen, have coffee and get my food and bag sorted. Contemplate skipping my shower as one is between all the bedrooms and the middle child might wake up when I turn on the en suite. Thing is I hate not having had a shower, just don't feel ready for the day at all.

5:35 - Husband wakes up and joins me, suggests I chance a shower anyway as child is probably going to sleep through it.

5:45 - I go for a quick shower and get away with it.

6:05 - say bye to my husband, kids are all sleeping. Head out to the car.

6:10 - gates closed and head off up to Fort William.

8:20 - arrive at the Ben Nevis visitor centre car park (after stopping 3 times for pees and to take photos of the beautiful scenery as it was a glorious morning and beautiful stretch of road out west).

8:30 - time we're all meant to meet up at the car park I meet 4 others (two who are doing the walk) and am informed the 6 ladies (who the previous day have climbed both Snowdon, in Wales, and Scafell Pike, in England) are running late after hitting a long road diversion on the way up during the night.

9:20 - the mini bus arrives. The incredible 5 women who have been up to the other two summits are exhausted but in good spirits after their success the day before. The 6th, who organised the whole event, has come down with a nasty chest infection. She attempted the first hill but had to go down halfway with a fever. She attempted hill number two, and again managed half. The others had to finish that hill in the dark and hadn't come off it until midnight the night before (I feel I can't complain much after my bad morning, even with a cold myself and clogged ears, I was a lot fresher than the others). Her husband had been the driver through the three countries as well as having to occupy their two young children while the others walked. Poor man had had no sleep as the diversion had added so much time.

9:40 - everyone is ready to set off up Ben Nevis, including Cat with her poor chest. Temperature is warm and close so we all lose a layer quickly. We all rejoice whenever there's a breeze as we start gaining height.

10:40 - myself and the other mother who has only joined for the last hill start to leave the others further behind. Our legs and minds are not as tired as the others.

11:15 - we get to the lochan which is about halfway and stop for a snack. It starts to rain (fairly lightly) so we get into rain gear. The others catch up but stop further downhill than we have. The weather moving in is dark and doesn't look great so we agree to get moving. 

11:22 - we know the others have to keep at their own pace, unfortunately it's hard to stop often when you get into a good pace for us so we continue on wards.

11:50 - I've pulled away at my own pace after having company, my knees are sore but I feel pretty full of energy and find the best way to get past my pain is to keep going. I want to get up and start passing a lot of people.

13:00 - make it to the summit, the last half hour of the walk has been in the cloud and visibility is very poor. Just about make out the ruins of the old observatory. Climb up to the top of the cairn, snap a photo and head back down to find somewhere to have my lunch as temperature drop and sweat is making me feel cold.

13:15 - bump into the mother I had walked with earlier, as we talk we are joined by the only man who joined the group of women up. He too had fresh legs and was well rested, along with his dog they set off together up the hill. The cloud at the top seems to split open giving a proper view of the summit, hopefully they get more of a view than I did.

13:27 - meet the group of five women who are hitting a wall, they are tired and surely feel it's endless. But I'm just blown away by what an amazing feat they've done. They are so close to the top, they can do it, just keeping taking it nice and slow. They've definitely bonded over the last two days and I can tell they've got eachother's backs. I wish them luck and head on, going down is so much quicker but hard on the joints.

13:40 - I stumbled upon the organiser, Cat. She's sitting on a boulder against the mountain, enjoying the beautiful views. At the level we are there is no cloud cover and everything around is smaller in size, the sun even peaks out at times. I stop and have my lunch, check she's warm enough as she plans to wait for some of the others. I had always intended to do the hill in about 6 hours so want to keep my good pace up. I can also feel my fibro pains getting stronger and know I need to continue moving before it becomes too difficult to go down.

14:00 - I continue down. Soon the stones in the ground become a solid path and I enjoy bouncing down the steps. Somehow this hurts less and I enjoy watching where I need to go. 

When I pass a burn I always chuck a handful of water over my face, the lower I get the more the temperatures rise. I'm getting warmer and starting to run low on drink, calculate I have just enough to keep me going till the car where I've two extra bottles. Soaking my face and neck helps... though any person I met (not many by this time, it had felt busy on the way up but very few going either direction as I head down) must have thought I was sweating buckets!

14:55 - Stop for a quick breather and while standing still I slip for no apparent reason, I guess my knee gave way or perhaps it was just sand on the smooth stone, I hadn't felt weak legged at least. I hadn't been using my sticks for the last half hour, they often save me, but not this time. I land on my bum and it's mostly my ego that's hurt. But I get a hefty knock to my left wrist which shoots pain up my arm and results in a big bruise at the base of the wrist. It renders my hand useless for stick holding so I find a rhythm with one. My pace slows, this section feels endless and I just want to get off the hill now, the further down I get the more my knees hurt. Like they know they don't have to hold on for much longer.

15:15 - I get to the visitor's centre at the bottom. Tired but happy with my time of 5 hours and 35 minutes. Go to my car and get shoes and top changed. Eat some more of my sandwich. Look for Cat's husband and kids to give him an update but he's not about the mini bus. Go to the loo, then the bridge, stand and look at the hill (annoyed I forgot my glasses in the car as I can't distinguish much) hoping to see anyone I know coming down. Do a lot of stretching and laugh at a dog running over the bridge, into the river after a ball, returning on the opposite side of the river across the ball in a constant circle. 

15:45 - Start asking a few other walkers if they've seen any of my companions but don't get any helpful answers. Decide to write a note and leave on the bus, my wrist and knees are really bothering me and I want to head home, I'm spent.

15:50 - Head to the minibus with the note and bump into a friend who's husband has been up with the others. I chat to her and her daughter for a while in the hope that someone might turn up. They pop to the loo, and as I wait by the car I get hit by a sudden wave of pure tiredness. Not physical so much, but my head is exhausted and so sleepy. I definitely need to get on the road and get home before I feel more tired and sore.

16:10 - Say bye and start my drive home. It's a long journey, roads are busier, lots of dickhead drivers overtaking stupidly, rain and dark skies. My knees are seizing up and my sore left wrist makes clutch changes painful. 

17:55 - Get to Pitlochry to buy some milk and give husband an ETA.

18:25 - Arrive home just in time to say goodnight to the kids. So glad to be home, so glad to sit on the sofa with a beer and food. Sorry I couldn't welcome the others down. 

What I did in comparison feels small, but I had a fantastic time on my walk and it cemented my love for going up Munros. They've grown on me this year. Feel blessed that so many friends and family sponsored me to do something I really enjoyed as a challenge, happy to have helped a charity close to heart and to have found a pastime that gives me something very special.