Settling in Scotland

look, a bird, a plane, no its a NEW BLOG POST! I can only do that since it's been over 2 weeks since I've written a real one. Sorry everyone.

Now to catch up! Over the past 3 weekends, I have, hiked the Cairngorms, twice, visited Edinburgh, and actually did some homework, crazy eh.

After my Austria trip, I felt as though I needed some time to settle in. The first 3 weeks were a whirlwind, and going to Austria in the 4th didn't calm the storm. So, two weekends at home ensued, a solid bike (which is not so solid anymore due to a broken crank arm), some good training time with a lot of outings in a single, and a couple papers came of it.

One weekend, Will invited me to come hiking in the Cairngorms! I thought, oh how nice, a little stroll through the rolling hills of north eastern Scotland. Not so much. We left town by 7, and headed out to the Lin of Dee, near Braemar. From there, a 31 kilometre hike, with just over a kilometre of verticle ensued. It started beside the Dee, which flows into the North Sea in Aberdeen, and is the river I row weekly! The path followed the river, but we veered off into a heather covered valley. The forest at the bottom of the valley was amazing! Far different from anything we see in Canada, sparcely populated with very old looking trees, and small streams running into it from all directions. We wound our way up the valley, stopped for some snacks (mmm PB&J), and met some fellow hikers, with thick Scottish accents. From there, the ascent began, first we came to a bothey, a small cabin that is for general public use, and the spark for a few trip ideas in the near future. We continued up, way up, through high crags and away from the bothey.  I told myself, save the view for the top, and it will be way better. I don't know if it was better, but was it ever spectacular. We crested the top of the saddle and almost immediately infront of us was Loch Etchachan (pronounced etch-ken). It was crystal clear and was frozen perfectly flat, despite it being t shirt weather in the valley. I turned around and Scotland continued to amaze me. High hills surrounded us, with spots of snow, steep cliffs, sharp summits, and flattened plateaus. Well worth the walk. We huddled behind a rock for shelter from the wind, and ate our lunches, and continued, up, to our final destination. Or so we thought. After continuing a little too far Loch side of the next climb, we came  up and over onto a saddle coming off of Ben Macdui, the 2nd highest mountain in Scotland. Tucker and I were unaware of the navigation problems, so savoured the beautiful views from the top of steep cliffs. The Dee sparkled in the distance, having originated from a hill top Loch just the other side of a climb from us. After learning of the little mix up, we headed back aways, and then up, again, to the top of the Derry Cairngorm. We summited, stopped for a snack, and out of the blue, came the white. Snow, everywhere, a complete whiteout, making it a little hard to start the climb down. However, it settled and we continued to make our way back to the car. On the way down, there was a large patch of snow banded across the hillside. When life gives you snow, slide! Much nicer than walking. Back down Derry Cairngorm, through the valley, along the river, and by the time we were back at the car, I, and my feet, were definitely ready to be done.

The time at home continued, homework, bonfires, surf pubs, a few more random nights out, and trip planning ensued, camel trek through the Sahara anyone? Toby, another cousin, came down to visit Aberdeen, and we went out for another hike, in gale force winds, ending in a spectacular sheltered valley, with the sun shining and mountain hares bouncing out of 200 year old hill side sheep enclosures. It's amazing the diversity of landscape that surrounds Aberdeen, from sea, to rolling hills, to deep glens and steep Munroes. Amazing.

Aberdeen is great, but it was time to properly see and experience Edinburgh. Our first trip as a group for a long time, and we were all getting fiercely excited. It began with a field trip for Art History, but that came with a ride down on the bus which wasn't so bad. Kendra and I met up, bleary eyed, and headed down to catch the bus. 3 hours later, we...weren't in Edinburgh. Gah, finally the bus made it around whatever was stopping a punctual arrival, and we set off into the National Gallery of Scotland, herded by a very Harry Potteresque, "First years this way!". The building was beautiful, the art was, art, and I wasn't particularly upset when the droning stopped.

Let the adventures begin! We got out as fast as we could, and headed for Arthur's Seat! A city side hill over looking Edinburgh and the sea.  And then, the unthinkable happened.

But that, my friends, will have to wait for next time, I'm tired and have early class. Check back soon for more! I promise I won't be so slow.

"its the best of the best for me"

G

who knows the song? dont google it cheater!