Breakaway: Schiehallion

It's amazing how quickly this year has gone by. I hadn't realized just how quickly it was going until I realized that this was going to be my last trip with Breakaway -- really? The last one already?

Usually we split into three or four groups to go on differing level walks (from low level strolls focusing more on distance to high levels helping people bag munros). For our last walk, we all do the same one and reach the top together. Well, together within 10 or so minutes of each other -- someone has to bring up the caboose and I'll be honest, that seems to be my coveted position many days! But that's okay -- slow and steady, right? I'm usually much more of a distance person than a height person, but I'll accept the challenge.

For the last walk, the tradition is to scale Schiehallion, a munro in Perth and Kinross, because while challenging, it can be done by people of varying skill and it's a straightforward walk so almost no chance of someone getting lost if they fall behind.

A munro is a mountain in Scotland over 3000ft (914.4m). There are 283 munros in Scotland and they are named after Sir Hugo Munro, who first cataloged them. It's a popular goal for hikers to 'bag' or climb all the munros in Scotland.

Schiehallion is a munro at 3547ft (1083m).




Schiehallion is located in the area of Perth and Kinross and is considered the centre of Scotland, as well as holding its own place in history:

Schiehallion's symmetrical shape earned it a place in scientific history and discovery in the late 18th century. In 1774 the Rev Neville Maskelyne, Astronomer Royal, camped out there collecting data, with the aid of a plumb line and the stars, on the gravitational pull of the mountain. 237 measurements were taken from two stations, still discernible, on the N and S of the hill. The calculated weight of the earth was substantially correct. At the end of the season a highly successful party was held in which the surveyors' bothy burned down! Charles Hutton, during his work on the survey data, devised the concept of contour lines, so important for modern hillwalkers.

--From the John Muir Trust website, maintainers of East Schiehallion

Halfway up Schiehallion, overlooking Loch Rannoch and Rannoch Moor. And about the place where I'm wondering what the hell I've gotten myself into climbing this thing.


It's like climbing a giant cairn, it's so rocky. But I'm within sight of the top... I think. Each time I thought I was, I'd crest the peak and oh look, another stretch to go. It was a tease.


But good things come to those who persevere! From the summit of Schiehallion, and my first officially bagged munro.


Coming down seemed even steeper than going up, but instead of rocks we get an entire mountainside of heather. In about a month, this entire view will be purple.


As the last official Breakaway walk of the year, we set up camp in a sheep pasture to cook out. And I know that I should be concerned while eating lamb burgers in a sheep pasture but... I'm secure in my place on the food chain. And lamb burgers are delicious.

From there it was another 5km down the road into the next town, Kinloch Rannoch, where the bus was picking us up. By that point we were all exhausted, and I was thankful that I'd been able to borrow some sun block from one of the other girls -- with that much sunshine, and as the first really sunny walk of the year, there were more than a few splashes of red on people's faces. And I've got a stripe of red on the back of my neck from where I didn't quite get the most sunblock.

It's odd to think that was my last walk with the group. I started out the year popping into the general informational meeting because it sounded interesting and hiking was never something I'd really done before (other than the one odd hill in Iceland and meandering a bit outside back home). It sounded new and a good excuse to see more of Scotland. Turns out that fresh air is really good for my soul, and while claiming my one bagged munro isn't that impressive in the grand scheme of hillwalkers, it's a big deal for this hiking newbie. And I'm going to wear it with pride.

And now I want to do another one.

Let It Snow

Apparently we're in the middle of the worst snow here in the UK since 1993. Which I think was a pretty bad year in the States too, so... sweet. It is one of the benefits of being able to walk everywhere -- snow can't stop me.

But we'd planned a Breakaway trip up to Trossachs today, and we made it as far as 15 minutes down the road when the alert came over the bus radio. Perth was closed. Not just a road around Perth, oh no. The entirety of Perth was closed, which meant no way (correction, no clear and open way) up into the Highlands. Nothing. Scotland, for all intents and purposes, was pretty much shut down.

So, in an attempt to salvage our trip, we turned and made our way to the one place in Fife that we knew would be close enough to get to through the snow -- Falkland and Lomond Hills. Which was where we went a couple months ago, so of course one place that I'd already been, but it was better than nothing.

And covered in snow, the Falkland Estate has a very holiday card/Narnia aspect to it. It was cold, very cold, and giant snow turning into sleet for the day, but it was fantastic to get outside and trudge around in the snow. Now, all I needed was a sled and I would've been set.



Scottish roses, why are you still blooming through the snow?



Narnia, plain and simple.

I didn't get the build a snowman, but maybe tomorrow. The BBC says that we should expect a bit more snow, even here on the coast, so we'll see. As much as it makes a mess, I'm hoping that we do. I was out of town so I didn't get to see St Andrews covered in snow, so I'd like to see that.

And just for good measure, a picture that was supposed to be a pretty smiling picture, but a huge snowball dropped from the trees and bonked me in the head just before my friend clicked the picture. So, instead of me happy and pretty, you get side-eye and glaring at the snow. Not what I was intending, but it entertains me too much to delete. Enjoy.

Breakaway: Gairloch (Day 3)

Monday was our last day in Gairloch, and as much as I love St Andrews, I really did not want to leave. Coming home means having to deal with home things again (even if it's still Reading Week -- at least being out of town meant that I had the excuse not to do work).

So with everything packed into the cars, we set out for our last walk. We had the option of low-medium, low, or extremely low. Which elicited a chuckle from the group at breakfast, but a fair number of takers because we were all exhausted.

For those of us in the low group, we went back to Loch Maree to walk around the perimeter and just enjoy a nice, simple forest walk. The most we did was climb up a rocky hill to overlook the loch and one of the islands containing trees from the ancient Caldonian pine forests that used to cover Scotland.



Loch Maree and her pretty little waves.


From our lunch-ish perch overlooking the loch and the forests.


Parting shot of Loch Maree and Beinn Eighe and all of the wonderful places we'd been that weekend.


Which meant it was time to pile into the cars and head home, passing through more snow than is appropriate as we approached Pitlochry and stopping at a brewery with free tours -- and we picked the time they weren't actually running the tours. I voted to head to the distillery just up the road outside of Inverness because I like whiskey more than beer, but was outvoted by tired people. Silly tired people.

Now I'm ready to go back out. All I need to do is scrub the boots and the gaiters, and we're back in business.

Breakaway: Gairloch (Day 2)

Sunday in Gairloch was cold. Ridiculously cold. And windy. Did I mention cold and windy? I thought that I was going to be prepared for the wind in Scotland because I grew up on the water and we had wind and cold during the winter and that was quite normal. But there was nothing that prepared me for the way that this wind and cold cuts right through whatever you have on unless it is windproof. And even then, it's wily so it can find a way under the windproof garments.

I got talked into doing another low-medium walk even though my legs were still burning from the previous day with the promise that the one today would be more indicative of a traditional low-medium walk. Fine, it's cool. The burn will feel good.

I don't remember the actual name of where we went (which means I should probably pull out a map and figure it out -- all I remember is pulling off to the side of the road and going through a sheep gate, but that doesn't exactly narrow down the choices in Scotland, does it?) but it was a lovely long rocky path with small lochs and a valley... and a lot of mud. It had snowed a bit the night before and so now the ground was alternately solid and muddy. Lovely.



The forest path before we got up to the rocky hills.


Ah, here we go.


Make sure to add a stone to the cairn as you pass.


Again with the desperate and lonely beauty of the area.


At this point the path headed down to the valley and we were given a choice. We could all go down to the valley, or a few of us could break off and go cross country to circle back to the path. Considering that the valley walk was an extra 7km, and we'd been shaking with cold as we ate lunch, and the fact that I'm pretty sure my legs could get me down into the valley, but up was another deal all together...





I opted for cross country! Which was a bit more interesting than just staying on the path. It was more solitude with the five of us who broke off and a feeling of being out in the middle of the landscape alone.

It's an interesting feeling -- that feeling of being alone in a big, wide expanse. I'm sure that some people would find it incredibly uncomfortable, but I think it's liberating. Fresh air, a chance to clear the mind, and a chance to completely ignore any problems back home for a few glorious hours (or in this case for a few days). No iPod, no constant conversation... a rare opportunity to spend a little time alone with your thoughts as you walk.

It's... uncluttered, I guess is the best way to describe it. And there are far too few times when I feel uncluttered.

Breakaway: Gairloch (Day 1)

So, over the weekend I headed up with Breakaway to the highlands, staying in Gairloch. Totally a last minute thing, as I was the person going 'please, please if you have an extra spot I'll totally keep it warm'. Cheers for one extra seatbelt. Friday through Monday hiking and generally enjoying the outdoors. As it's Reading Week this week, I needed to get out of town and this was just what I needed.

We stayed at Carn Dearg in Gairloch and it was absolutely gorgeous. The views from the front porch of the hostel were out of this world. And on a clear day, like we were lucky enough to have for the majority of our visit, you can see the Isle of Skye across the loch.


Sunrise from the front of the hostel.

The group tends to split and offer 3-4 walks of varying difficulty and length so that everyone can enjoy a day outside at their skill level. Me? I'm a low-medium. A good walk, a bit of height for the views.

So Saturday, those in my group headed out to Beinn Eighe and Loch Maree at the National Nature Reserve to do our walk. Gorgeous, stunning... and way more high steps and vertical movement than I thought I was signing up for. By the end of the walk I am exhausted and sore... and still thrilled for the view.



On our way up, overlooking more of Beinn Eighe and Loch Maree.


The desperately beautiful landscape as we get further up the range as it evens out for a bit.


The peaks got snow overnight, and the part of our group that wanted to make it up the munro got to play in the snow. I was fine just taking a picture.


Victorious as we get to our cairn at 550m (which is in another picture, but I like standing on the rock better) and decide that it's time for lunch before beginning our descent. Which, like the ascent, was steeper than I was anticipating.


And with it being steeper both up and down my legs are exhausted by the time we make it back down to Loch Maree. But, since we finished a bit earlier than anticipated, we decided to go check out part of the beach at Loch Gairloch that the low walking group did that day.



Sunset as we walk down to the beach. This has to be one of my favorite pictures I took all weekend.


The beach and the waves and the sunset -- couldn't get better.


Oh wait, climbing up to the cliffs to overlook the crashing waves does make it even better.


Stunning -- and the best part was that there were two more days of it!

And with it getting dark at 5pm, we head back to the hostel for dinner, which consisted of a really good curry that had actual spice to it. Shocker! Most of the food I've had in the UK has been pretty spice-less. Of course, the curry was also made by our Luxembourgish club president, so perhaps that made a difference? Regardless, delicious.

Breakaway: Lomond Hills

It's amazing what a good walk in the woods will do to clear your head -- one essay done and turned in this morning, and one to go.

The good walk in the woods was on Sunday. The university has a hillwalking club, Breakaway, and I thought it was a great way to see the countryside. Since I have no car and can't really get out and about on my own *lol* Anyway, full day of hillwalking and hiking and since this was the navigation trip, learning how to use a map and compass. Which is a good thing to learn and makes you feel incredibly self-sufficient.

We went to Lomond Hills which isn't too far from St Andrews. But it was open spaces and a gorgeous day -- seriously, we couldn't have asked for a prettier day -- and it was just what I needed to clear the stress out about these papers. We did both hills and I have no idea just how many kilometers we walked in around 6-7 hrs of walking around. But it was a lot, and boy did I feel it this morning. But you know what? It's a good sore.

I ended up with a slew of gorgeous pictures of this area and I'm ridiculously excited for the next walk. There's a weekend walk this weekend, but I'm not sure that's going to happen, even if I'd love going way up into the Highlands for the beginning of Reading Week.

But I digress, pictures...



Looking back at East Lomond, the first hill we'd already gotten to the top of and down, as we made our way to West Lomond.


Feeling pretty awesome standing in front of West Lomond as we approach. I wouldn't be this smiley halfwaup up when my calves were burning like fire.


The view from the top of West Lomond looking over Fife and gorgeous Scottish landscape. I love how farms make such a pretty patchwork from the sky. It was worth the hike.


Our friends as we walked through the area.


A look back as East Lomond in the distance as we walk through more of the area to check out the forest.


The forest where they have awesome things like waterfalls...


... and tree-lined paths that make you feel like you're in the middle of a Robert Frost poem.


Finding an adorable little organic cafe after we get out of the woods and find the road down towards the village.


And after a very long day of walking, finding our way into Falkland to catch the bus back home.