Wintery Wanderings

A bit of an epic circuit was planned from Glen Coe, through part of Glen Etive then up over the Larig Gartain pass between Buachaille Etive Mor & Buachaille Etive Beag, back to Glen Coe. The temperature was minus 8oC and didn't look like getting any higher. Hoar frost covered every piece of vegetation and all the burns & streams were frozen solid. Clear blue skies and sunshine ensured a perfect day for winter walking, albeit a long one.

 

However, the doggy duo's daftness of jumping in every ditch, trying to dig and scrape through this hard clear substance that looks like it should be water, ended the epic plans after only a couple of kilometres as Mr Finn (not so McCool) sliced one of his pads fairly deeply resulting in the pack having to head back to the car with him limping along like a poor wee soul trailing behind. So plan B came into action with just one member of the doggy duo... a wintery photo day instead!

Swimming in the Moonlight

A late afternoon wander down to the beach at Seamill after a day of lazing for us (and a day of Sunday graft for the humans). Arriving just before an Autumn sunset, cold & still but beautifully serene.

 

 The beach was so quiet, not a soul in sight, just the gentle crash of waves and it didn't matter to us that it was the moon in the sky instead of the sun, we still ran & swam and played in the waves... although balls and sticks were a bit harder to find in the water!

Autumn in the Park

Shutterbugs!

Sometimes we get a bit excited when we hear we're heading to the beach. We understand the difference between "walk" & "beach"... the beach as everyone knows is our favourite. We eagerly jump in the car, see the sea getting closer, smell the salty air... it all just gets overwhelming and we yelp with anticipation. We race out the back of the car and waste no time in getting our paws across the pebbles or sand and into the cooling waves. Then quickly, as we watch big rucksacks of camera gear & tripods getting lugged out the car, our excitement is shattered as we realise its not a trip to the beach for us but a photographic mission!! Boring!!  We hatch a plan...

Just as we hear that all too familiar sound of the shutter... we run infront of the camera, much to the annoyance of some, but it amuses us no end!!

 

 

 ...or knock the legs of the tripod ... ooooops!!

Back at the Ranch

Relaxing in the Sun

Our accomodation, a giant dog kennel for humans!

Traversing the Trotternish

An epic 2 day traverse of the Trotternish Ridge in Skye, north to south, from The Quirang near Staffin to The Old Man of Storr just north of Portree. 23 miles of breath-taking and rugged geological scenery for the humans and 23 miles of relative freedom apart from a mahoosive cliff drop-off on one side and walking to heel at the tricky bits.... only because of Mr Finn's adrenaline junkie side & previous history of cliff diving!!

Keeping well away from the edge

After a few hours of hiking up & down the various inclines and undulations of the first part of the ridge, we found a suitable flat(ish) spot to set up home in the form of a tent for the evening, eat some food and get warmed up. For us there's something quite natural and instinctual about living out in the open, smelling the fresh air and watching the light dim & fade then slowly stars staring to appear in the darkness of the night sky... Our 2-legged friends were rather more cold, wind-swept & exhausted than us and after a brief half hour or so of taking in the stunning view from high up on this prehistoric plateau decided to get snugged into their sleeping bags for the evening! And so we too get curled up and cosy and flake almost instantly.

Our camp spot up on the ridge

In the morning quite a different view greeted us all when the tent was opened up. Still blowing a gale, and bitterly cold but also a deep greyness that masked all features of the land. We ran out to stretch our legs only to be called back... "Its morning, we want to run!" But no apparently this grey mistyness hides some treacherous feature.... oh yeah that big scary cliff-edge that keeps spoiling our fun!! If we hear that "heel" word again I think we may be slightly grumpy for the rest of this walk! "Heel, heel, heel, heel" Why do they need to say it every 10 seconds, surely after 10 seconds we can go ahead again, I mean, surely after 10 seconds if nothing bad has happened that must mean its safe, no?

Focus? Ok... Ball Ball Ball

Mel has said we need to work on our focus & concentration....

 

I've been trying really hard but I don't think I can give any more concentration to a ball... my eyes might pop out!!

Finn, on the other-hand puts a whole lot a effort into relaxing & chillin' out!

September Sun, Surf & Sand

Mega Monoliths

Well what started out looking like a normal forest walk quickly turned into an exciting rocky, scrambly walk up to these amazing stone towers of huge proportion. Just what we love, somewhere new, weaving along the path, adventuring off down slopes and inbetween rocky outcrops. We had an epic time although not quite as epic as these pinnacles... they made us feel awfully small!!

 

On the way back down the steep slopes we paused for a moment to look out over the Sound of Raasay to the islands beyond....

....then quickly, we were off again, racing down the grassy foothills.

Chilled-out Camping

Chillaxin'

A Mutt & His Mountain

A Man Mutt & His Mountain

 I (Drift) really do feel on top of the world when standing atop some rugged mountainscape viewing the great expanse of land that lies out before us from way up high, nearly touching the clouds... Mr Finn, on the other hand permanantly has this attitude of aloofness! 

 We revel in the days where we have the complete freedom that the Scottish landscape allows us, every inch of it is our own, no restrictions, no restraints, no roads or people to consider or worry about. We run and run.... and run and run, like we'll never run out of energy. 

 We wonder sometimes what keeps them (Mel & her friends), we could have climbed this mountain 4 times in the time it takes them to summit once! But we don't care, we just run ahead to just out of eyesight then back again, checking they're still there. 

"They're knackered, but we're ready to go again!"

 More often than not the Scottish highlands provide us with so many treats, pebbly burns running with icy cold mountain fresh water, deep gloopy muddy bogs to bathe in, the odd grouse that entertains us by not going up till its inches from our noses. If it had just sat still we'd have been none the wiser, but instead we give chase... until those flappy things they have take them far out of reach.

Mucky Pups

Late Summer Sun

Let Sleeping Dogs Lie

Woozy Woofs!

Poor wee soul Finn had a slight disagreement with a shard of glass at the beach a few days ago. After slide tackling a tennis ball in the soft sand, he managed to nearly slice off his stopper pad just above his paw. Quick visit to our favourite Vet and all is well, a few stitches and a stookie and he'll be right as rain.... once the wooziness wears off!

A week later looking a bit more with it but still taking it easy and doing lots of lazin' in the sun!

 New bandage for a few more days

The Hills Are Alive!

Its great having the hills as our back garden, perfect for little after work adventures but with the feeling of freedom of bigger hills.

A short, steep & fast hike up onto the plateau then you can wander as much or as little as you want. We can happily spend an hour up here running around in the heather or 4 or 5 hours hiking across the moorland to Duncolm.

A wee rest and view down the Clyde to the coast.

"Hmmm, not sure about those young cows coming to check us out, they're quite big!!"

Drift is 4 today!!

Happy Birthday Drifty boy!

It's my birthday... I'm a big dog now! 4 years old, well if your counting doggy years, that makes me 28. But still, a dog in my prime. I've come along way from that day I was rescued, from being nervous & scared of everything, unsure of the whole world and whether anyone would treat me well to being as bold as brass and the most happy, contented & loved dog for miles. What better way to spend your doggy days than chillin out with my best bud Mr Finn, running for miles & miles along sandy beaches chasing balls & surfin the waves, enjoying forest walks & paddling rivers or doing some serious hill training with our Dad across the mountains of  Scotland. Fate may not have dealt me a very good start but it sure is making up for it now!

So what now, do I have to grow up and be a role model for little Finn, take the role of top dog and pack leader.... well things are pretty good as they are so I think I'll stay just as I am. What is it they say...
"If the stick ain't broken, why find another one?!"

We're no posers...

No time for posing today... well maybe just one to keep Mel happy...

We're just going to run...

...and run

...and run...

...and then run the whole way back again!