Their story, in their words…
Over the course of five days, we hiked across the Cairngorms National Park in Scotland, starting in Aviemore and finishing in Pitlochry. While most of our plans went well, there were some days where we fell short of our distance goals and we had to make up for shortcomings later. On days like these, there was more uncertainty as to whether we would have the chance to complete the hike or if we would have to go back, and a lack of practical alternative routes made this more concerning. Food rationing was also an issue we had to pay great attention to, as we went over our planned daily consumption on the first night.
Being able to overcome problems like this while navigating the wilderness of the Highlands helped us collectively build resilience, which is the main thing we got out of the hike. Wild camping in such scenic areas each night was one of the highlights – at one point of the hike we set up in a valley where we could see the sun setting behind a mountain, which was a very pleasant spot to rest at. Being near rivers and streams for much of the trip also gave us multiple chances to cool off and take a small break from the hike, helping us beyond just providing water.
If we were to do something like this again, we would be more realistic with distance estimates as well as food rationing, but overall, the hike was well worth the extensive planning and long waiting period. All of us got something out of it and it is something we would do again.
