Another glorious sunrise on Carnethy Hill

Ok, back to what this blog is about....me in hills.  Recently those hills seem to be the Pentlands - with work, weather and other pressures I've not been getting further away but that is OK.  I've had some good times.  Work has been tough and I am struggling with things at the moment, so these weekly escapes are vital.

I woke early this morning, about 4 am, my mind chewing things over from last week and thinking on the week to come.  I dozed on until about 7 and then got up, driving out of town along to the layby jsut short of Silverburn and onto the Kirk Road.  Last week all this was frozen solid.  This time it was wet, a huge puddle that I had to avoid by  a big detour.  Then on up the path.

I turned to the right to head up Carnethy, stopping from time to time to snap the sunrise behind me.

As I got higher the wind got stronger and on the summit it was a battle to stand.  It was one of those winds that takes your breath away, I had to turn my head away to breathe and did not linger on the tops, coming down the ridge towards the bealach, pausing briefly to greet a group of three guys on their way up. 

It was glorious.  Scald Law, the kips and East Cairn hill clear ahead of me.  The wind battered me as I carried on down.  Exhilarated and alive.  In my head I was going over a couple of conversations from the week, thinking of how I could have handled them better, how I could have "won" but then I realised that it was all pointless.  Winning is silly.

At the bealach  I looked at the time and decided that there would be no Scald Law today.  Fighting the wind and stopping for photos had taken time, so I turned and started down, heading into the sunshine.

It felt like a proper walk out, descending and then out on the flat for a while, finally getting back to the car and home for a bath.  It set me up for the day and the rest of the week.