Anxiety Levels: Low

The thing I am most anxious about at this very moment in time is the fact that I am not keeping up with my blog! And whilst I should be doing better at that, I can't help but think....if that's what I'm most anxious about, I'm doing pretty well!!

Things have really come together in the past few weeks. Since the start of the year really. I'm just a lot more comfortable with myself these days. This is in such contrast to this time last year; when I was really struggling to like myself and where I was. Being in a constant state of anxiety was extremely draining, and not healthy. I am prone to anxious thinking and so I do not believe I'll ever be "cured" of this...but getting it under control has been a battle. I almost wrote 'a year-long battle' but I know myself that this battle has been silently fought for many years now.

Getting it under control has been a huge achievement for me. I am very proud of where I've got to. And...as I mentioned in the previous post...things are going great in my work life. I'm now into my second week in my new job, and I am greatly enjoying what I am doing. It is thought-provoking, challenging, productive, and exciting.

So my anxiety levels are pretty low, I have to say. It is all very good.

I am missing my walking and so I'm really champing at the bit for spring to come so I can get out there. And when I do, rest assured, I will get blogging again. But in the meantime, it is nice to be able to say - I'm just not that anxious!

Broughton Heights, Crieff rambles, and wanders in the Pentlands...

I have not been a very disciplined blogger recently have I? For that I can only apologise. There have been numerous 'wee walks', but of course no Munros, as Meall nan Tarmachan proved its vital lessons. I'm itching to get into spring and summer so that I can bag many, many more.

My thoughts have been totally preoccupied with something else recently. I won't go into too many details here yet, but I may do in the not-so-distant future. I am starting a new, very exciting job next Monday. I simply cannot wait to get my teeth into it, and I foresee many more walks (and thus much more blogging) to come.

In the meantime, I have been fortunate enough to be in a few different places recently, and have done some new walks. The first was last Monday, which was a stunning day with clear blue skies. Dad and I took a wee drive out from West Linton to Broughton for a ramble in the Broughton Heights. I have to confess I have no idea exactly which hills we climbed; it was nice to just walk and not have to think too much about where we were. From a description I have just read, I reckon we walked up and over Clover Law, Broomy Side, and Green Law.

The contrast of the bright white patches of snow with the blue sky made for some incredible views. Some low-lying cloud and fog tumbled across the villages below us like the sea rolling across the beach.

We were both overdressed for such a sunny day; there wasn't any chill in the air and there wasn't much of a breeze.  But despite the sweat (and the snot) it was a great afternoon. Best of all, it was fantastic to be out and about on a day like that.

During the middle of the week, an indulgent trip to Highland Perthshire was highly rewarding. Mum and I headed to Crieff Hydro for a wee treat. A handy bit of research for me as well, visiting somewhere I'd always wanted to go but had never been. We went up mid-afternoon on Wednesday and parked the car at the Glenturret Distillery, the oldest in Scotland. We decided we'd try make it back in time for the 3pm tour, the last of the day, but we knew we'd be pushing it. The walk we'd planned would take two hours; it was ten past one when we set off.

We struggled immediately, and again - winter was to blame. The paths were incredibly icy, and very challenging.

The path from the distillery then took us over the main road and into MacRosty Park - a lovely public park with plenty of dog walkers. I think we both felt slightly foolish with our gaitors on - there not being much mud on the paths. But then we were out the park and following Lady Mary's Walk along the River Earn. It was absolutely beautiful. We imagined it would be busy in the spring and summer, so it was lovely to have it to ourselves on a pleasant day. The path then took us away from the river and up Laggan Hill. There was a lovely view of Crieff in the distance, and we even spotted a deer.

We then realised we had about 20 minutes to get back to the distillery for the tour, so we hot-footed it - literally - back down to the park. We made it back at 3.05pm, and had just missed the tour. But thankfully, the customer service at Glenturret is 5 star, so we were sold tickets at a concessionary price and then hurried to join the tour, which hadn't got too far.

Fantastic. A great experience, only marginally beaten by a tense - and exciting - game of crazy golf the next day.

Always nice to get a change of scene, and some rest and relaxation. I would highly recommend the Crieff Hydro crazy golf course; nine holes of Scottish landmarks. The food was amazing, the hotel was busy, the wine was tasty, and the company was fun.

Another weekend of disappointing Scottish rugby has passed since then, and here we are at the start of a new week. Tomorrow brings a Valentines Day train ride to Inverness, but today brought another nice walk. Dad and I headed for the Pentlands this time. We walked from Harlaw, near Balerno, towards Glencorse reservoir. It was interesting to see the other side of the Pentlands than the side we saw in December. We could see both East Kip and West Kip ahead of us as we made our way past Loganlea reservoir.

 The terrain changed at the same pace as the views changed. There was always something different to see. It was most enjoyable, and another lovely February day.

This was a beautiful tree-lined downhill section.

So another fine walk, another area discovered, more knowledge gained, more sweat sweated, and more miles under my boots.

I endeavour to blog again more regularly in the coming months; as I said at the start, there are many more walks to be done. For now, there is a lot of exciting stuff going on. Dark clouds are shifting. Although, on that note, I have to end with this picture, which I love too much not to share:



Happy ambles.

Almost a third Munro...almost!

Ahh I am disappointed to be writing this about an unsuccessful attempt at another Munro; I so wish I could proclaim '3 down, 280 to go!' That was certainly the intention. But common sense had to prevail over the determination to bag another mountain.

Myself and Dave set off this morning towards Killin. The forecast for today was 'cold and clear', and due to be the best day of the week. I was desperate to climb a Munro this week; or to rephrase that - I was desperate to achieve something this week. I knew there was a lot of snow on the mountains in the area we were heading to, but we had coped with Schiehallion...so, we'd be fine, right?

No. We were attempting Meall nan Tarmachan, another on Steve Fallon's list of 'Ten easiest Munros'. A laughable concept and surely an oxymoron: 'easy' and 'Munro'. I'd heard good things about this mountain, and as Killin is technically my ancestral home, it all seemed to make sense. But I think we were just too keen.

I have to decide whether I'm serious enough about climbing these mountains to purchase some serious mountain climbing gear. I will certainly not be going up another snowy mountain without some sort of ice grip on my feet or in my hands. I don't want to give up the idea of bagging Munros in the winter, because the snow does some absolutely incredible things to the scenery. But I know that I'm not going to be one of 'those people' who buys a different pair of hiking boots for every season of the year. So the compromise is surely to buy some gear (like ice grips for my boots or spiked walking sticks) and persevere.

I think today was a good lesson though, as the above paragraph would not have existed if we hadn't attempted Scotland's 89th highest mountain today. Did get away with Schiehallion, but that was a well-trodden path, so the snow was packed down and straightforward to walk on. Meall nan Tarmachan is a far less-trodden path, and the snow (and ice) was - this time - extraordinarily challenging.

We plodded on as carefully as we could, slipping and sliding along the way. The path weaved its way up. In the snow we could see fresh tracks created by two guys walking ahead of us. We could tell from the small holes in the snow that these guys had the proper equipment. In the distance we could see them at the top of a summit. We could also see a further summit in the distance, and Dave did say he reckoned it was the top of Meall nan Tarmachan. I refused to believe this, or I would've lost all moral. It was all white - and it was very steep. We kept plodding up to the first summit.

looking back towards Loch Tay

But when we got to the top of MnT's 'minor summit', it was clear to see that we still had that steep snowy bit to go. I think almost instantly, with a sinking feeling in our stomachs, we knew that this was one summit that would have to elude us - for now. We watched as the two guys ahead of us hesitantly attempted the final push for the summit. But we watched in dismay as they struggled and - gave up. Now, if they couldn't make it with all the correct equipment, there was just no way me and Dave were going to make it. Good intentions and determination can't always get you to the top of a snow covered summit.

It was a horrible feeling to head back down without having achieved another Munro. But it would have been completely foolish - and probably dangerous - to continue. Gutting, but the right call. Lessons learned.

Meall nan Tarmachan - I will be back!!!