Happy ending to ‘long distance’ relationship

A Scot ended a 2,658-mile walk between Mexico and Canada by finally asking his long-term partner to marry him.

Dundonian Kenny Mackinnon battled waist-deep snow, sweltering heat, plunging temperatures, swollen rivers, rattlesnakes and bears.

And just after the Canadian border the 54-year-old, who now lives in St Monans, ended the long trek by proposing to Irene, his partner of 15 years.

Their rings are to be made from a sample of obsidian, a black volcanic glass, that Kenny collected on his way along the Pacific Crest Trail – the same walk featured in the 2014 film Wild starring Reese Witherspoon.

Kenny, who ran the SYHA Hostel in Durness, Sutherland, for 10 years, began one of the world’s toughest trails on April 13 and finished five months later.

Now he plans to walk from Kirk Yetholm in the Borders to Cape Wrath in Sutherland with Irene acting as a back-up in a camper van.

During the Pacific Crest Trail, Kenny carried a 34lb backpack and averaged 21 miles a day.

“There were three times I felt like giving up, but I said I would sleep on it and then carried on the next day.

“I believe in myself more now. I feel I can do anything if I put my mind to it.

“If you have dreams try and make them a reality,” said Kenny.

“I lost a stone and a half during the walk. This was certainly the toughest challenge I’ve ever undertaken, though marriage might be tougher!”

Kenny Mackinnon with his wife-to-be Irene.