Meandering in the Mamores

We have a couple of days off again and the weather this summer has been fantastic, so we are champing at the bit to get out and enjoy it all together. As soon as we see all the outdoor kit coming out the cupboard and being laid out ready for packing, we get excited and are eager to get on our way to whatever adventure awaits!! Patience is not our best trait!

After an initially tricky start through tall dense bracken, taller than all of us, offering no views, we eventually find our way onto a great path taking us through beautiful wild deciduous woodlands and across lots of cool waterfalls and burns... of course as tradition dictates, we have to stop at every bit for a paddle and a play in the fresh flowing waters. Occasionally we see some Roe Deer darting silently through the undergrowth... too fast for us to chase but Drifty boy trails their scent with his nose to the ground but looses interest & returns when he realises that they're off & running and out of reach! 

We then start to ascend up & out of the trees onto a hill path with fantastic views of the Mamore mountains all around. Its not the sunniest of days but still really warm & high humidity in the air so refreshing to come out of the trees and feel the slight breeze blowing around the hill-tops.

So we're about 20 kilometres into our walk in the Mamores, a fair old distance trekked pretty quickly. We've hiked through dense bracken, warm woodland dappled with sunlight, breeze blown moorland and high soggy peat bogs. We stop for a brief breather and some food... Miss Mel is taking some close-ups of handsome Mr Drift, ears all perked up and alert, looking full of energy and rearing to get going again....

....meanwhile behind, little Finn McCool is less than full of beans, almost sleeping sitting up, totally drained of energy and stamina... looking all but broken instead of bright-eyed & bushy tailed. For the final 12km he sticks to the heels of Mel, trudging behind, head hung low, not enjoying the freedom of the open hill-side as Drift does, running all-over, exploring every nook & cranny along the way. Finn really needs to learn to pace himself and not run all-out at the start leaving no reserve for a long day in the hills.

Tick-tastic!!

Apparently its a bumper year in Scotland for two things in particular this summer. One is the midges, well whats new there.. we can deal with them!! The other is these little beastie blighters... ticks!

Just back from a wee overnight camp and wander in the wilds and the Doggy Duo are indeed tick-tastic... nearly 30 i've twisted out already. I'm sure in the next few days a few more will gorge greedily on their rich healthy blood and show themselves. They are almost microscopic to start with and swell to the size of a small pebble.

Summer Solstice in the Wilderness

Normally, after work she comes home, we go out a walk to our favourite park and meet all our doggie friends and have a daft run about for a couple of hours but this was a most welcome surprise. Although we were slightly suspicious of the ready-packed ruck-sack sitting in the hall just waiting for a quick grab & getaway. We just love a wee impromptu escape to the wilderness or actually any kind of escape to the mountains... these are the best kind of walks!!

We left our humble home just after 6pm and enjoyed a sunny summer evening car journey up the west side of Loch Lomond, through Crainlarich & Tyndrum, then over Rannoch moor and quite quickly reached Bridge of Orchy where we left the main road and followed a single track road to Victoria Bridge which sits nestled & hidden in at the head of Loch Tulla. 

Our destination is highlighted in the distance.

Before we knew it we were out... running with the wind in our fur and scents on our noses and hitting the trail for adventure!! It wasn't quite as sunny as when we left Glasgow but still late evening warmth and the some moody lighting on the mountains. We made fairly speedy tracks along the path to try get camp set up & some food on the go before dark! But of course no walk is complete without a dip & a splash about in the river along the way. 

A wee river crossing, pretty shallow compared to the Winter!

Cooling off in the warm summer evening.

Nearly there, we race ahead!!

We arrive at our favourite wee overnight camp spot, quickly set-up our abode for the night and Miss Mel feeds us our well earned tasty morsels as she gets some food on the go for herself, then after... a state of the art anti-midge device keeps them pesky little beasties away... a camp fire!! 

Kitchen with a view.

Anti-midge measures.

Patrolling our camp spot!

We sit and take in the peace & tranquility, looking over Loch Dochard and listen to all the sounds of nature floating across on the wind. The witching hour is upon us and the Red Deer Stags are calling to gather in their hinds before settling down for the night, Black-throated divers wail their haunting call and it echoes eerily around the amphitheatre of mountains, Sandpipers flit & twitch along the shoreline before nesting down and toads start to sing their nocturnal chorus. 

We go for a wee wander further along the path for half an hour or so, just taking in the very last light of the day. Its after 11pm and there is still some fading silvery light in the sky between the hills just lighting our path... we turn back and turn in for the night all cosied up together in our snug wee tent!

Solstice sky... still light after 11pm.

Last light before bedding down for the night.

Drifty Boy is 6!!

Happy Birthday to Drifty Boy!! Seems no time at all since his last birthday, they come around all to quickly when you're having so much fun together. We've come a long long way together over the last few years. Here's a few of our favourite adventures!

Summer Surfin' - Sanna Bay, Ardnamurchan

Wilderness Walks - Glen Kinglass

Epic Winter Walks - Glen Finglas

Traversing the Trotternish Ridge, Skye

Through-hike of the Lairig Ghru, Cairngorm

Winter Walking, Glen Nevis

Summer's Here!!

Trail Blazin'

It's a lovely warm early summer afternoon and we're getting ready to go out for what we think is our normal walk, but wait... Miss Mel is putting her running shoes on! Turns out we're all going for a bit of a trail run up on the Eaglesham Moors at Whitelees. 

Starts of with a wee 3 kilometre slow meander up to the view point at Blackwood Hill. A brief breather and look at the view and we're off again....

We're getting into the swing off this... loving the team spirit, all running together. A little more climbing up towards the trees and then it evens out for a while across Flow Moss... we're totting up some distance at nearly 8km. Time for another well earned rest!! Then we're on the home stretch, another 3km takes us across Craigenfaulds Moss then just a final kilometre push and we're back at the car. All in all a fine little run and great way to get some energy out!!

Some have a little less stamina than others!! Poor little Finn.

No showers, just April sunshine!!