High

This morning the sun was out again...mostly. We were all determined to take advantage of it to go hike up to the rock called the Old Man of Storr.

A few years ago, I read an article in a National Geographic Magazine, about the Hebrides. In true NatGeo style, the photos were stunning. There was one in particular, of the Old Man of Storr, that inspired me so much it has been the background on my computer ever since. I never get tired of it. So today, one way or another, I was going up that mountain. Happily, everyone else was up for the challenge as well.

When we got there, the evidence of yesterdays rain was on everyone's shoes. The first part of the trail was a convenient drainage route for the water off the mountain and we were wishing we had wellies with which to slog through the many inches of mud. "But it's just mud", we thought.

A forest restoration project was going on, which is nice, but it meant we had to share this part of the mountain with some heavy equipment. So while we thought we could slug through some mud, we we got to what could only be called a mud river, created by the tacks of the forestry vehicles, we had to take a few minutes to determine the best way of crossing. We WERE crossing. A few logs for crossing and a little mud later, we were over and the trail started to dry out.

The trail went up gradually sometimes, other times, not so much, but there were brilliant views at every turn. It was so nice to be breathing fresh air and getting some exercise after spending so much time driving and touring. I'm so proud of Candy who trooped up that mountain like a pro. We climbed until we got to the tree line and the rocky out crops the call the Old Man, were on display above us.

The trail from this point looked more like a stair way than a trail. Candy decided to enjoy the view from a nice rock near by, while Shawn and I made for the rocks above.

It was such a beautiful day and such a beautiful place. We couldn't resist climbing up all the way to the base of the Old Man, where I could use some of my new rock climbing skills. :)

Once there I looked out and saw the view I had been staring at on my computer for years. The rocks, the cliffs, the green grassy mountainside, leading to the forest...then the ocean. But we could see more. The neighboring Island of Rassay, and even mainland Scotland. There are not words to adequately describe the wonder of it all. But it is if all the beautiful things we have seen all along this trip were only previews of this place.

- Sara