Day 1
Friday 6th May - Shiel Bridge to Allt Beithe
Wet though the first weekend was, it was also a lot of fun. Before even starting, I met the first of this year's new friends: Shirley from Southport, on her first Challenge but infinitely more fit than I - she runs mountain marathons, triathlons and the like. My husband Allan, who had kindly driven through Thursday's cloudbursts to walk the first half-day and "see me off", took a picture of both of us. Aren't we clean !!
Later that morning Allan and I rapidly retreated from the small track up to the Five Sisters ridge when it became clear where the weather was heading.
We met our first group of other walkers and Challengers in the little shelter from the rain at Glenlichd House, before Allan turned back. One was a chatty chap called John, from Liverpool I think, who had done much rough walking in the Army and was wearing those camouflage-fatigues type clothes - but I never saw him again. Whither did you vanish, John? Peter and his son Craig, and their friend Brian, were also sheltering; we crossed and recrossed that wet afternoon, and all rolled into the Youth Hostel at Alltbeithe, having found one can no longer camp there.
I was sad to hear later that both Peter and Craig had to pull out because of injury/illness; hard luck, but congratulations to Brian, a first-timer, for continuing alone.
