The weather was actually quite bright in the morning and there were patches of blue sky. We had a lovely climb up Conival and the cloud that had enshrouded it cleared as we got to the summit. It is quite a dramatic ridge and very satisfying to get views from the final high point of the trip.
The Munro was of course the easy part of the day. After that it was a frustrating and lumpy section of ups and downs over rocks and streams. It was great having Colin with us as he remembered this section and was able to pick up the vague path that he had followed when he ran this section of the watershed.
As we got to the final section which was just pure bog the weather changed very suddenly and it began to rain. We all made the daft assumption that it was a passing shower but instead it got heavier and heavier and also included sleet. By the time we realised that perhaps waterproofs would have been sensible we were all soaked through. It took us all a while to realise that even though we were sodden we still need to stop and put extra layers on. It was too late by then. All three of us were shivering and had it not been a mildly serious situation we could have laughed at ourselves and our utter inability to undo zips, put on gloves and clip up clips with numb and useless hands.
Colin did an excellent job of navigating us down to the road, my brain had turned to mush and I would have really struggled without him. The last descent down from the ridge we were following was pretty exciting in the weather. The path had turned to a furious stream whilst the stream we had to cross had turned to a violent waterfall. The final river crossing was very precarious with the bridge being largely submerged and the river twice its normal width. 
And then came the final straw. My mum and the van were nowhere in sight. Having a mobile signal was of limited use as from speaking to my mum all I ascertained is that she doesn't know East from West. She did manage to rescue us within half an hour luckily.
Tuesday was due to be an easier day with the last Corbett of the trip. This should have been followed by a large bog section. I've crossed numerous bogs in the last month but this one was actually marked on the map!! I couldn't face it, if this one actually warranted being marked on the map I was not going to attempt it, especially after the precipitation of the previous day. It meant a 12km detour but it was well worth it in my mind. 
Bog to avoid!
Ben Hee was a lovely climb and we had an easy afternoon running into Altnahara. We met up with Emily and Mum who between them had reached our prearranged point successfully. Our final pick up point was at Crask Inn and I foolishly asked them if it was hilly. Never trust a car driver to assess the height gain/loss of a road. I was told it was 'undulating'. A 250m pass later and we cruised down to the Crask Inn. Although, relative to what I've done the last few weeks, it's a small climb but it was a real sting in the tail to the day.
During this last ascent I caught myself noticing Rob's new trainers. They looked infinatly more satisfying than the previous day's pair which were more porous than a pair of flip flops! But what I noticed about the new ones was a curious red streak which was growing and oozing from within. His foot was bleeding heavily and leaving a horrible trail on his new shoe! Rob was oblivious luckily but I was horrified. Hard as nails is Rob!
The Crask Inn made everything good again. It was such a quirky and friendly place we had to stay for dinner. The hosts were brilliant and their home grown products were delicious. They were also generous enough to donate to Funding Neuro.
Wednesday was a real treat, following a path (yes, a path!) for the entire day! It was beautiful and better still it was the first day in over 20 days when I haven't had to put my waterproof on for some part of it. It was brilliant to be able to run for nearly the entire day and we ploughed through the miles. We had a great surprise on arrival at the hostel as Peter Wright and his bike had caught up with us. Rob treated us all to dinner as it was his 70th birthday. It was great to help him celebrate.
I was slightly anxious about Thursday however as there was no way around the knockfin heights. This is another substantial area area of bog and so indistinct and rolling in terrain that it's very tricky navigationally. The day got off to a very promising start though, with clear blue skies and a woman stopping abruptly outside the hostel and giving me £10. She'd seen my funding Neuro tshirt and as she's the local Parkinsons nurse felt compelled to give me money, without even knowing what my challenge was!
The knockfin heights turned out to be fine. It's amazing what a couple of days of sunshine and a wee breeze can do to the ground. I almost escaped with dry feet. Rob was a little disappointed that he couldn't experience the trampoline like ground which Peter had described!
I realise that the chief thing, beside the weather that had improved the experience was my expectations. Unlike Sunday I had appreciated it would be a slow and tough morning and as I had anticipated this I was pleasantly surprised. I'm back to appreciating the wonders of the watershed! 
I had a real bonding moment with my compass too. I'm pretty confident with my navigation now but as it was featureless terrain I was keen to keep checking our direction. There's few things more disconcerting than a little piece of plastic filled with magic liquid telling you to go 180 degrees in the opposite direction from where you expect. Luckily me and my compass have a very good relationship these days and with confirmation from the GPS we had a very successful traipse down to the track where we ran along to our collection point.
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