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The Great Outdoor Challenge (TGOC) 2019
The Great Outdoor Challenge celebrated its 40th anniversary in 2019. It was conceived by Hamish Brown as a self-supported backpacking crossing of Scotland. Roger Smith was the editor of the TGO Magazine and he supported the idea when Hamish approached him. There are no categories or prizes. Everyone gets the same T-shirt, thanks to Berghaus…

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Panama canal
The Panama canal was an idea that took a long time to come to fruition. The idea of creating a water passage between the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea was first considered as far back as the early 1500’s. Charles 1st of Spain wanted a faster and safer route from the west coast of…

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Mendoza and Aconcagua. Wine and Mountains.
Mendoza in northern Argentina is famous for two things. One is the very good Malbec wine that the region produces. Aconcagua, the highest mountain outside of the Himalaya region, is in the Parque Provincial Aconcagua. I choose the hike to Plaza de Mulas which is the base camp for anyone wishing to climb the mountain.…

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Palatinate Forest, Germany.
The Palatinate Region in the South West of Germany is designated a Nature Park, and along with an adjacent area of Vosges Mountains in France was designated as a UNESCO Biosphere reserve in 1998. When Maria and Mike invited me to visit and hike in the area I gladly accepted. We camped in Dahn and spent three…

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The Great Outdoor Challenge (TGOC) 2018
I started at Strathcarron a few minutes after the main group. That was a good thing. No one knew I made a “navigation error” in the first 300 meters and ended up in someone’s front yard. A quick backtrack and I was on my way to Montrose, or so I thought! After Achintee it was…

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Annapurna Base Camp, Nepal.
Annapurna is one of the 17 mountains over 8,000 meters in the Himalayan mountain range in Nepal. At 8,091 Meters it is the 10th highest peak in the world. It was first climbed in 1950 by Maurice Herzog and Louis Lachenal. Annapurna has the greatest fatality rate of all of the mountains over 8,000 meters.…

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A short walk through Knoydart, Kinloch Hourn, River Croe and Glen Affric in Scotland in 2017
When the TGO Magazine published the entry forms for the TGO 2017 I was planning another hike and did not enter. When this was delayed by 6 months I was left with 2 weeks in May free. Scotland is one of my favourite hiking destinations so I returned for a short walk. The plan was…

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Return to El Calafate & El Chalten – Argentina 2016
Robel Sur was a welcome sight after a long and tiring 32 hour journey to El Calafate. This was my second visit to El Calafate and El Chalten and my third to Argentina. A few more houses have been built in the area but we still received the same warm welcome. I do not think…

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Parque Nacional Torres del Paine – Chile
I removed my pack from the bus and asked the driver where the Refugio Torres was. He replied that this bus did not go there and we should have changed to the shuttle bus at the entrance to the park. That was 12 km back! We had to wait there and be picked up on…

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The Great Outdoor Challenge (TGOC) 2016
The 18:20 from Glasgow Queens Street to Mallaig halted at Garelochhead because of a fire close to the tracks. I joined the crew and passengers enjoying the sunset. It was a clear evening. Looking at the surrounding mountains I recalled some of the highlights of my previous years. In 2012 walking along Loch Leven in…
