Meet Our Supporters – Jake walks the Watershed
Meet Our Supporters – Jake walks the Watershed
This summer, Jake Finney achieved an extraordinary milestone, becoming the youngest person to complete the Watershed—a gruelling 1,100 km trek with approximately 64,000 metres of ascent along the spine of Scotland.
Jake’s accomplishment is all the more remarkable considering his recent recovery from a major injury. Just last year, Jake broke his back in a climbing accident. It was Mountain Rescue volunteers who came to his aid at the crag, and Jake chose to honour their lifesaving work by fundraising for Scottish Mountain Rescue during his incredible journey.
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Jake’s adventure took him from Peel Hill on the English border to Duncansby Head on Scotland’s northern coast. After 35 challenging days of hiking, which included summiting 44 Munros, Jake completed the Watershed on June 23rd.
The Watershed is a rarely attempted route, especially as a continuous journey, and preparing for it was no small feat. On his solo trek, Jake braved long days under the summer sun, faced high winds, torrential rain, thunderstorms, and even encountered snow in early June.
We are incredibly grateful to Jake, and thrilled to share that he has raised over £1000 for our Mountain Rescue volunteers!
Shortly after completing the Watershed, we caught up with Jake to learn more about his journey and his decision to support Mountain Rescue.
Jake writes:
My name is Jake, I am 20 years old, I am a second-year student at the university of Edinburgh and an active member of the University Mountaineering club. I have been very lucky to have been introduced to a range of outdoor activities early in my life by my parents.
Jake’s Climbing Accident
On May the 5th 2023 I was trad climbing at Loudoun Hill (just south of Glasgow) with three other members of the Edinburgh University Mountaineering Club, Iain Houston, Louis Mackenzie and Chris Van Der Merwe. While attempting a climb, I took a ground fall from about ten meters up.
After I took the fall, Iain, Louis and Chris did an amazing job of handling the situation, firstly by checking I was ok. After establishing that I would have difficulty walking off, Chris took the lead in calling for Mountain Rescue. Luckily, he had reception and called for help from the location of the incident.
Mountain Rescue helped to extract me from the crag via helicopter where I was taken to hospital in Glasgow and was treated for a broken back. The rescue was successful, and I had some very relieved friends and family.
Luckily the long-term impacts have been very minimal, other than a deep appreciation for the work that the Scottish Mountain Rescue do!
“Both the experience of being rescued myself and the fact that my dad volunteers with Moffat Mountain Rescue means I really appreciate the willingness of the many volunteers that make up Scottish Mountain Rescue to drop what they’re doing and respond to a call out. I felt I wanted to give back.”
The Watershed Challenge
From the 20th of May to the 23rd of June I walked the Scottish Watershed, a route which follows the spine of Scotland as described in Pete Wright’s book, Ribbon of Wilderness. It was this book which inspired me to undertake this challenge with the aim of visiting some of the most remote areas of Scotland while at the same time raising money for a good cause.
Overall, the challenge has had its ups and downs especially with the foul weather that has persisted this summer… snow in June anyone? The worst point on the walk was just after Ben Lomond and approaching Crianlarich, a mixture of foul weather and low energy made the day a nightmare and was probably the closest I came to giving up.
The best point was an amazing night I spend camping high on the Fannichs with an amazing sunset. Other high points would also include any time I managed to meet up with someone which always provided a level of entertainment and a distraction from however bad I felt, big thanks to Eliot, Chris, Iain, Louis and Iona.
The fundraising total is amazing! We’re just putting together the final social posts so we may have a couple donations yet, but overall it’s been more successful than we ever thought. We are also planning to make a long YouTube video documenting the walk from start to finish, which will be a fun project to work on and a good way to look back on it all in one place.
On behalf of our 25 Mountain Rescue Teams and their 850 volunteers, thank you, Jake, for your monumental fundraising efforts on this incredible challenge! The substantial amount you’ve raised will empower our Mountain Rescue Teams to continue saving lives across Scotland’s mountains, hills, and outdoor spaces. We hope you’re incredibly proud of your accomplishment.
If you’re ever in need of assistance in the hills or outdoor spaces, CALL 999, Ask for the POLICE, then Mountain Rescue.
