Typically, the days I've been free have been the very wet days, and the days I've been busy have been the reasonably okay days. But that's life. I've been trying to get out as much as possible and enjoy the fresh air.
Last Saturday brought a bit of an epic walk in the Pentlands. I didn't really set out to go far, I just thought I'd see how I was feeling and go as far as I felt up to. I didn't fancy a Munro trip but I wanted to do something, so I was away from Flotterstone car park before 10am.
It was a glorious morning, really quite warm, and there were a fair few folk out and about. I had a really nice chat with a couple of guys who were on their way down from Scald Law after an early start.
I was struggling a bit with the 'up' side of things, but made it to the top of Turnhouse Hill within the hour. I thought I'd persevere towards Carnethy and probably Scald Law, then head back. That didn't happen...
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| Top of Turnhouse |
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| Looking towards Carnethy and Scald Law |
I decided the ups and downs would be good training for the next Munros, but on the ascent up Carnethy I decided I'll never feel fit enough. The legs just burn constantly.
Tig was making short work of it though, as always. She actually didn't stray too far from me, which is typical when it's just the two of us. Her recall is very good (except when there's hares around) so I felt safe letting her off the lead.
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| Summit of Carnethy Hill |
An hour after leaving the top of Turnhouse, I made it to Scald Law's summit trig point. I didn't hang around for long, as by this point I'd decided I was going to power on to the Kips.
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| Summit of Scald Law |
But before that, I was going to visit South Black Hill, because I wasn't sure I'd ever been up there before. The detour always seemed out of reach, but actually it was just a short stroll across.
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| Heading for South Black Hill |
Then it was just me versus the Kips. I fuelled up with some jelly babies, and bagged East and West Kips in quick succession. My burning legs were fully in their stride and there was no stopping me now.
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| Going up East Kip...or West Kip |
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| Looking back the way |
Oh, but I still had to get back to Flotterstone. It took me just over two hours from the bottom of West Kip to get back to Flotterstone, on a good path just to the right of Hare Hill, past The Howe, Loganlea and Glencorse Reservoirs. I was feeling pretty puggled by this point, and took to walking on the grass to avoid pounding the tarmac roads.
Eventually I reached the car at 2.30pm, 4 and a half hours after I'd started. My stats on Viewranger were more impressive than I thought they'd be - 11 miles with 875m of ascent - only just shy of Munro height!
A good training walk indeed, but far more than that, an enjoyable day to be out with my dog, in a beautiful part of Scotland. I met some lovely people along the way.
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| Home - and we're both exhausted |
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| From Viewranger |
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| From Viewranger |
Unfortunately this week just gone hasn't continued in the positive mindset I found myself in after Saturday's walk. Perhaps too tired, perhaps the rain got to me. I had planned a Munro day on Tuesday, but it wasn't to be - we had a month's worth of rain in one day so I think that was for the best!
Today was also a potential Munro day but the forecast didn't play ball. I did get out onto the Southern Upland Way with Ross and Dad and the dogs to enjoy a walk to the top of Minch Moor. It was a wild day, wind and rain, but the fresh air was good for the soul.
There have been a number of peaks and troughs recently. Last Saturday's walk in the Pentlands was during a peak for me, whereas this week has been more of a trough. I'm struggling to ride the waves and I yearn for more consistency rather than the constant ups and downs. The downs/troughs are all-consuming and leave me exhausted, a different kind of tired to a day in the hills. They make me feel like I can't even get to the hills. Hopefully there's more ups/peaks round the corner so I can get back out there in a better mindset...
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