Mike Cawthorne began hill-walking on Ben Nevis aged seven, and has been climbing mountains ever since. He has worked as a teacher, professional photographer and freelance journalist. He has an intimate knowledge of the Scottish Highlands, undertaking his first long-distance trek there in 1982. As well as Hell of a Journey he has written two other books: Wilderness Dreams: The Call of Scotland's Last Wild Places (2007) and Wild Voices: Journeys through Time in the Scottish Highlands (2014). He lives in Inverness.