Final Prep Post

After a lot of final prep we are packed and ready to go.  

We managed to get out for a nice walk this morning with our favourite hiking buddies, Ger and Audrey.  It was our first and last opportunity to trail walk before our crossing attempt… 😱.  It’s OK though, we aren’t too concerned

Two Pines Summit Selfie

After we got home we continued with some last minute house chores, and then a final pack-up.  Our combined pack weight is 57 pounds without food and water, which is pretty much exactly where we thought it would be.

JM’s Gear

Here is what the next few days should look like for us:

Tomorrow afternoon we will be on a flight to Edinburgh via Halifax.  We should arrive Tuesday morning around 8:00 local time.  From the airport we will be hopping a tram to a nearby train station, to catch a train to Perth.  From there we will be catching a city bus to the town of Scone (pronounced Scoon) where we will be staying with some very special friends of ours, Joyce and Allan.  The interesting story of how we met Joyce (and Moira, and Martin) can be found here, and is worth the read!  We have been fortunate to have stayed connected with Joyce, Moira, Martin (and Anne) over the years, meeting up several times.  In 2019 Joyce, Moira, Martin, and Anne joined Ben, Zach, and I on our first leg of the second half of SNT (see here).  Next, Joyce saved Mandy and I before TGOC 2022 (see here) when our packs arrived four days later than we did, hosted my dad and I in 2023 for a wonderful afternoon of lawn bowling (see here), and has agreed to put us up once again for our first two evenings back in Scotland.  Thank you, Joyce and Allan!!!

Thursday morning Joyce and Allan will drop us back in Perth to catch a train to Inverness, and then on to Strathcarron, our starting location for this year’s TGOC.  We should arrive at 12:50.  After signing out at the Strathcarron Hotel, we hope to be on the trail by 2:00 on our way to Bearneas Bothy which is only 10 km away - a very nice way to start our long walk!!

Last minute thoughts:

JM - Hard to believe we are on our way once again, and really looking forward to being back in Scotland!

Amanda - No comment… 😆

That’s all for tonight.  We will post again before we take our first steps on Thursday.  Fingers crossed our packs arrive with us this time!!