We've slept in, my alarm was set for 7am but we didn't get up for a while...I could hear rain coming and going, hitting the tent walls and a slight breeze slipping inside. It wasn't cold and I was rather cosy buried in my sleeping bag.
Walking by 8:30am, today was the day of ridge walking. Lot of ups and downs and big ups and downs. Hiking along I muse at how odd it is to be hiking a trail without any signs or arrows. Kind of liberating in a way. You can roam freely but also find yourself off trail and following a route carved out by sheep hooves. The ground underfoot is very boggy and covered in moss, long grass and plants suited for the wet environment. This surprises me as we are so high up and on a slope, you'd think it would drain away. It has made sourcing water a lot easier though. Up and down we go seeing a few other hikers and were grateful to finally descend towards Old Man Storr which like the Quairang is full of tourists - like us -but all huffing and puffing going the opposite way to us - up hill. I'm happy that we've already done our hill climbing for the day and can now go down hill, unlike the other tourists.
"How much father?" a red faced woman asked, presumably her partner.
"Not that far" he replies, "It's just up here" I suppress a snort, knowing full well it is a lot further than - not that far. I can picture just how busy it must get in the summer holidays, lots of new infrastructure has been recently built, especially aimed at camper vans with waste water disposal points and bins.
Once at the bottom we reach a newly built car park and toilet block. A small construction site sits beside it as new cafe is in the works. We use the facilities and top up out water bottles. Hiking on, we leave the tourist hot spot and swap it for a scenic reservoir. Cuckoos call out and the traffic soon dies away. Calling it an end for the day, we pitch beside the reservoir on a lovely flat patch of short grass. We deploy the midgie net but amazingly, despite being in Scotland and beside the water, they are not out to night. I quickly had water to my cous-cous and begin to undress, hoping for a dip before my body cooled down after walking. Hearing voices I quickly yank up my trousers as two hikers amble by, they waved happily and hike on. I watch them turn off into the hills, do a U-turn and end up camping 60meters away from us. As they fuss erecting their tent, I strip off, dive in the reservoir, paddle around before drying myself and settling down for my cous-cous.
We watch the sun set on the opposite hills and embrace the stillness - not only in the air but in ourselves, after hiking all day, it feels wonderful to just sit still. Bedding down for the night, we sleep with our heads next to the door in hopes of catching a glimpse of the northern lights.
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