The assault on the remaining Munros continues.

Awake at 5 to the sound of rain; we managed another hour sleep before slowly shifting into gear. The rain had stopped but the cloud was hanging over the hills; sitting around 4-500 metres up. As we prepared to do battle, a couple of earlier starters headed off up the old 'Road to the Isles'. 

The plan was to 'do' the South Glen Shiel Ridge - a line of 7 Munros that runs W-E along the south side of the A87 - 18 miles and 1,800 metres of vertical ascending. Not the toughest of days but still not easy; it can be broken in to the first 4 and the last 3, but if you're up on the ridge, you're as well to try and do it while you're there rather than have to slog up another day to carry on where you had already been)

At 0715, having dropped a car at the end point, we set off on the several miles of old road that kicks proceedings off. An hour later, we turned off up the hill and almost immediately it became clear that She was going to struggle. A further 40 minutes later and She succumbed to the inevitable and turned for home. Struggling for breath before we'd even hit the first summit, it was clear She was making the right decision. So then there were 2 - me and colleague Fi. Oh and the ubiqitous puppy.

In under 3 hours, we hit the first summit nabbed. On the top were a couple of guys who'd started out after us, passed us on the road but we caught up with them again. A wall of grey greeted us by way of a view. At least by now the cloud was shifting; whilst there was no 360 degree view, there was a view ot the south one minute, then nothing, then a view to the west, and then nothing and so on. 

It a short hop to number 2; again catching the 2 guys and also spotting another pair of guys and a father / daughter combo, too. 

The third one was a slog; a looming great bulk emerged from the greyness, slowly getting bigger and bigger but after a grind we summited. As we left the 3rd one the ridge ahead started to appear and by summit 4, we'd caught the others and - views all around! The forecast of light showers seemed to be wrong. 

She messaged to say She'd made it back to base - we could see Her with rain falling on Her at about 4 miles away.

Onwards to #5 in very decent conditions, having largely lost all the others we'd encountered along the way. 

Oh how things changed. Leaving #5 in decent conditions, as we approached 6 it all closed in again; and as we descended 6 the rain really hammered down; thankfully the path avoids a 900 metre lump and a decent flat path contours around the leeward side of it but still we got a soaking. 

Mentally the day is very taxing; you only really focus on the 7th and final summit; but I knew the exit was by no means straightforward. With that in mind, we plodded very steadily onto the final summit, not raining but practically no visibility. 

And so the exit proved to be 'fun' - there was still some ascending, including an unwelcome scramble which Loki just about scrabbled up. And as we undulated, seemingly not losing any height in the gloom the rain set in for the day. Already battered by the day, the rain made the last 2 hours an unpleasant slither down to the car. 

10 hours all in (give or take). 

Fi drove us back to base; poor Loki shivering and footsore; he perked up when he saw Her, but thereafter just collapsed. She was still feeling rubbish (tired, and absolutely hammered by midges; Her back so red and swollen it looked as if someone had poured a boiling kettle of water over Her; just brutal)

It didn't take long to figure out that an evening of trying to camp, cook, change clothes etc was going to be an unpleasant experience so packed up and headed off down the road. 

The usual probelm with chippys after 9 in Pitlochry, and home at 11; a quick shower, and half a gallon of tea and into a deep sleep. (for me at least; I wasn't disfigured by midge bites)

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Main is Fi on the approach to summit 5; with the start of the day stretched out behind; the first summit is the one in the centre of the shot, #2 is just visible  and 3 is the spiky ridge and #4 is the big one furthest right in shot. 
Extra is a selfie including the hound looking at summit #5