I grew up hiking every summer with my Mom and Dad. I’ve always enjoyed it. Jake and I climbed a 4,000 footer in the White Mountains on our 3rd date. Together we’ve hiked in various places across the US and in Banff. So, how did it take me so long to figure out when each of us say, “I love hiking”…that what we love is oh-so-different?! I like the act of hiking and most importantly the view you’ve earned seeing by the time you get to the peak. It’s all about the view. He likes the workout (and probably the view…?). What this means is that the pace in which we like to get to the peak is oh-so-very-different. I’d rather race a half marathon than do an all out sprint to the top of a mountain. I bet that if I got a race bib for the hike it would make my approach more like his. But I’m sorry, the bottom line is, I don’t like sweating, huffing and puffing and massive burning in my legs unless at the end of it I’m able to log a PR and destroy every other female in my age group.
In all seriousness, the hikes we’ve done over the past few days have been beautiful and memorable. I’d say I did my first true scramble yesterday. Don’t need to do that again. Ever. We planned a trip to the Isle of Skye not knowing what we’d actually do there. We had heard that it was beautiful and a trek to get to so figured this is the kind of trip where we want to spend the time getting to the hard-to-get-to places (Orkney this weekend!). We had no idea that we’d have so many great hikes to explore.
Monday we arrived in Skye late in the afternoon but it was sunny so we took advantage! We took a nice drive up the coast and hiked Quiraing (5+ miles). I’d highly recommend it (yes, even though you don’t get a race number at the start). We only saw a handful of other hikers and I couldn’t stop saying, “isn’t this amazing”?!….the green hills, the sheep, the ocean, everything about it was breathtaking. It started to rain on the way back and got really windy and I wondered what it would be like to spend the night out there. Luckily we made it back to the trailhead just fine but the adventure continued when our car went off the road on our way back to Portree. I’ll let Jake blog about that experience.
Tuesday we gave our legs a bit of a break after back to back hikes and did a 2 mile walk out to Claigan Coral Beach. I’d skip that one if I were you but it was nice to be outside and eat our lunch on the beach! It’s a coral beach in Scotland which is certainly unique…but I’ve seen some pretty incredible beaches so I’m just saying….if you have limited time on Skye - you can skip that one.
Yesterday we tackled Coire Lagan (6+ miles), our only hike in the Cuilin Range. It was the nicest weather day but I’m done with hiking for a few days! The trail starts on a beach and when you are an ocean lover like me, that is pretty awesome. I wasn’t expecting a hike to start at the ocean which made it even more of a find. At what I considered to be the summit, we discovered a beautiful tiny loch in the middle of the gigantic, jagged peaks. The water was like you’d expect to see in Jamaica - not Scotland. The view of the ocean, the loch, and the surrounding peaks was incredible. Since we literally weren’t at the top, and we could see that another hiker had gone further, Jake wanted to tackle the scramble up the scree (hands and feet up loose rock). I certainly couldn’t sit around and watch so I insisted I was into it and I went too. It was scary. Unstable footing and not knowing if the person above you would loosen a rock that would come flying at your head. Next time I’ll take up yoga and enjoy the zen setting. Anyways, I learned that it’s ok to not do everything and try to be less competitive. Probably a good lesson to learn at the beginning of a year long journey. It was good to challenge myself and do a scramble up a mountain on all fours but still, I’ll leave that to the next gal. Unless of course we end up getting ourselves on a future season of Amazing Race - then watch out…I will be the first one at the top of that damn jagged peak!
The "zen" moment I should have continued instead of doing this:
The day started with our cribbage tracker indicating that Jake was up 3-0. By the end of the day I was up 6-3. So…he can win on the trail and I’ll win at the table with the cribbage board and the Tennant’s. I’m sure he’ll take the lead again soon with cribbage but for now, I’m enjoying having won six in a row.
~Jesslyn