Getting on with my life and thinking about things.
Two years ago today, I completed my first Munro. Mount Keen. It had been a scorcher of a day travelling up Glen Esk, but the weather came in and the plateau wasn't clear. I cared not a jot.
It took me about 6 hours, met some folk, and experienced a glow when my first Munro was finished.
Tabbing it up Glen Esk, past some chaps repairing the track.
Stopped to explore the incongruous Queen's Well.
Up the Ladderburn.
The view down Glen Esk.
![Mount Keen summit [939m]](http://farm1.static.flickr.com/22/30620594_9bf41ea41e.jpg)
Clambering over the rocks to the summit.
Pose for the self-timed camera snap.
On the way back down, a gap in the cloud revealed a dear sneaking past. Stopping later to allow an ascending walker up, he said "this is my first"; "that was my first" says I.
I failed, however, to contact anyone to let them know about my conquest until I was back within mobile phone range. Strange feeling not being able to use a mobile phone when mobile.
7 comments:
Enjoying reading your stories. Where we hike in Tasmania looks much like your scenery (without the roads) We NEVER have mobile service and LOVE IT!! Occassionally take an eperb , just to be on the safe side
Thanks, Frank.
It seems to be the day for looking up things on Google :)
eperb - an emergency beacon.
I like having the security blanket of a mobile phone. I often leave mine on outdoor mode (eg it's on 'goat' just now), so a quick bleat will let me know that I've an incoming text. Usually that means I'm in a place where I can send a message out too, but not always.
I worry more that people might think I'm in danger if they haven't heard from me. On the Southern Upland Way, I was 3 days without being able to phone out, and fretted in case family thought I'd come to harm (what harm, I don't know). But that's just me, a worrier.
Great to see some pictures, am planning a Mount Keen expedition sometime soon, hopefully in the next couple of weeks (weather permitting!). Interesting blog as well :)
Thanks, Tog. A long walk in, and strange to see a stone with a letter carved into it near the summit. An old shire boundary stone if memory served me right.
Hopefully you'll get a view from the summit when you get there.
Sorry you had to Google EPERB, they are relatively commonly used here in Oz. There are many places you can get to that are well out of mobile range (sometimes only 20-50 kms ) from a town or city. It IS a big place as you are probably aware. Most mobile towers are along highways and once you get on the bush a bit you are alone.
Gotta say we like it. Several walks we have gone on we have been totally isolated for 5-7 days. After the first time you get used to it and REALLY enjoy the isolation. We have started to get a bit naughty and if we arrive early and have phone service we don't contact anyone until our expected arrival date. It just means we don't get any crap from the real world until the last minute before we head home, back into the mundaneness of our "real" lives!!!
LOL - now that is nasty :>>>>
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