Meet Our Supporters – Emma Millard and Edi The Puganeer, Munro Bagging Together
Meet Our Supporters – Emma Millard and Edi The Puganeer, Munro Bagging Together
Edi came into my life when I was in my first year of my doctorate. A few months before, we had lost our family dog and I really felt the hole of not having a dog in my life. We had a 6 week research block coming up which felt like the perfect time to get a dog and that’s when I found Edi. Being a pug, I wasn’t sure what she would be capable of, as we had always grown up with collie/lab crosses, but with vet advice we started running together building up distance gradually. When I finished my doctorate, we moved to Staffordshire and had 5 years of exploring the Peak District. Edi’s first proper mountain was Snowdon when she was 4. When we moved up to the Highlands 2.5 years ago, we decided to make the most of all the amazing mountains on our doorstep and start Munro bagging. We started with Beinn Chabhair and managed two Munros in 2023 before Edi got cancer and we needed to take a break. Thankfully, she fully recovered and seems to have bounced back with more energy than ever. She has now completed 45 Munros but people are always shocked to see her on the hills. When she did Ben Nevis last year a few people suggested she got an Instagram page and now she’s a ‘Dogfluencer’ – showing wee legs can do big adventures too!
We had heard a lot about the West Highland Way since moving to the Highlands and have walked sections of it around Kinlochleven and Glencoe which were beautiful. Some friends that joined us had completed the Cotswold Way and were keen for another challenge so we formed a plan to do it together.
If we’re honest, we underestimated how hard it would be! We keep fairly fit, we go to the gym 5-6 times a week and walk at least 1.5 hours a day with the dogs in the week, as well as either munro bagging or longer walks at the weekend. However, the consecutive days with the backpack really took it’s toll and I got a lot of blisters despite wearing well worn hiking boots and never getting blisters before. We did a 19 mile walk around Rothiemurchus wearing our rucksacks with weight plates inside and after Christmas we aimed to get two long (10+ miles) in at the weekends to get used to consecutive days. I was worried about Edi’s paws, we already use mushers paw balm on munros but we trialled a number of different boots. She’s sneaky and managed to kick most of them off, but the Pawz boots were brilliant. They are like rubber balloons and great for keeping in hiking bags in case of emergency. We used them on 2 longer days to giver her paws a break which worked well.
The section between Rowardennan and Inverarnan was the toughest but also our favourite day. We naively thought the WHW was ‘flat’ compared to Munros but going up and over all the rocks and tree roots around Loch Lomond meant we covered over 1500m elevation. It took longer than anticipated and we almost missed the last food order at the Drover’s Inn where we were staying! Luckily we made it and had a much needed delicious meal (vegan haggis, neeps and tatties!). Despite being tough, it was absolutely beautiful around the loch and Edi was in her element. She loves jumping over tree roots and rocks, she even discovered a new talent – climbing ladders! I was ready to give her a lift and she flew up before I had chance – don’t underestimate wee legs!
From Kingshouse to Kinlochleven, we had walked the Devil’s staircase before but it was such a beautiful clear day with no clouds in the sky and you could really appreciate the scale and beauty of Glencoe. It also felt like a much shorter day and we enjoyed a few drinks with new found friends on the trail in the afternoon sun at the Blackwater Hostel. 
So what’s next for Emma and Edi? Edi turned 10 at the end of April so we booked a wee cabin on Loch Tay and summitted Ben Lawers – the 10th highest munro to celebrate. Other than that, we’ll be getting back to Munro bagging for as long as Edi is fit for them, continuing to break those ‘puggy’ stereotypes!
As keen Munro baggers, we often see volunteers on the hills and hear about rescues you guys have done. We feel a lot safer out there knowing that there are teams who could help us if we ever got into trouble. We hope we never need you, and take as many steps as we can to ensure we’re safe out there, but there will always be accidents and somebody often does need you so we know the funds raised will go towards helping others who enjoy the hills.
You can follow Edith and Emma on their Highland adventures and continued Munro bagging on Instagram: (Edith (@edi_the_puganeer) • Instagram photos and videos)
Our Supporters are an important part of our mountain loving community at Scottish Mountain Rescue and the 26 Teams we represent across Scotland so we would like to say a huge Thank You! to Emma, Edi (The Wonder Dog!) and Friends for their sensational support.
Maybe you too are thinking about taking your dog on a mountain adventure trek, Mountaineering Scotland has some useful advice: Taking the dog | Mountaineering Scotland along with Emma’s really good advice on doggie boots!