Five days to the trail race. But today first another walk. One where we think we see a fairy.
My arms are cold, my head is cold, yet sweat runs over my back. This is steep, seriously steep. I lean forward, hands on my thighs, and make my way thr
ough the little bushes that are brushing the fresh mud of my shoes.
Sara follows close behind me. This is going to be her first serious mountain walk. Or aren’t we allowed to call Craigellachie a mountain? It is 493 meters high. When does a hill become a mountain? I should know. We watched the funny movie The Englishman Who Went Up a Hill But Came Down a Mountain. It was in there somewhere.
Cairngorms National Park
There are a lot of great walks around here in Aviemor /the Cairngorms National Park. We chose this one, because it’s not too long, but it is steep and challenging at times. Not too long is nice for the legs, as they felt tired yesterday, but pretty good today after last night’s yoga. Steep and challenging at times, without small ridges or big drop offs is a good way for Sara to get used to doing harder walks.
An extra benefit is the profile of the walk. It starts steep, lowers down a little, climbs up again and then descends all the way back to the village. It’s almost a miniature version of the Three Mealls Trail race I am going to do next Sunday.
Walking this one, makes me even want to run it. But I promised myself another day of rest. Besides that, this holiday is not my holiday, it’s our holiday and we’re in Scotland to walk, read and rest.
Top of Craigellachie
After the sheltered climb through heather moorland we follow the small path along an open plain and up to the top of Craigellachie. The wind blows straight through our t-shirts. It felt almost too warm a couple of minutes ago. Now it is time for jumpers and beanies.
When we reach the top, we find shelter behind a pile of rocks for a few minutes to have a good look around us. A 360 degrees look over Aviemore, the Craigellachie National Nature Reserve and the River Spey.
As the sun hasn’t reached this part of the mountain yet, we decide to move on, back to the forest. Here we find a little shelter to sit and have our breakfast.
Did we see a fairy?
When we get up again and start walking, we suddenly hear a rustling noise in front of us. When we stare into the distance, we see a blond girl with a blue jacket and blue shopping bag rushing over the path. She turns the corner and is gone. There is no other path, but the girl has vanished as suddenly as she appeared, which makes us wonder if she was a fairy.
Back in Aviemore we grab a quick coffee (Sara) and tea before we drive home to our Shepherd Hut, where we sit down in the sun and read for the rest of the day. Except for one stop over at Nethy House cafe, for another tea, a brownie and to read some more.
PS: Started reading Above the clouds by Kilian Jornet. I will let you know how I find it.
