After my last post where I said I had 4 miles to go, I decided that the camp site didn’t look great. A farmyard and the tiny field looked wet and covered in slushy snow.

I decided to press on and get a few extra miles in the bag in case the conditions worsen. A few miles further on I decided I better stop and look at my feet where I could feel a hot spot. This would turn into a blister and was in the same place I got one last weekend. A Compeed plaster seems to of sorted it.

Once I crossed the road to Drymen and started up the track to the forest, the going became harder. 6 inches of soft snow made the going slower than I hoped.

Once on the proper forest tracks there were 4×4 tracks to follow which made it easier. I was thinking about pushing on to Balmaha and stopping in a room there but it would of made tomorrow a little too short.

I am now at the end of Garadhban Forest not far from the start of the climb up Conic Hill. The GPS says I’ve done 16.5 miles, think it may of lost signal for a bit but sounds about right.

The snow is about 6-8 inches I’d guess, the tent is pitched and I am wrapped up inside. The feet are feeling a lot warmer than last week, now they are in some down socks.

While pitching the tent I spoke to a local couple for 10 minutes or so. They said a bit further on near Conic Hill it’s waist deep drifts. Something to look forward to in the morning.

I managed to light the Caldera Keg this time. Although struggled with the lighter, a trusty waterproof match did the job and a cup of tea was soon downed.

It feels like the temperature is dropping, so I’m gonna zip up the sleeping bag for the night and listen to some Podcasts.