What a day, what an adventure and truly, what a country!! I have never seen or experienced anything like it. yes, I know, I am only nearly 9 months old, but still.
My human drove us to the base of Ben Vrackie which is near Pitlochry. Apparently it is a Corbett which means it’s between 762m and 914m and has a drop of more than 152m. And no, I am not a whizz kid, I cheated and googled the details.
Let me return to the drive up there. It only took 50 minutes to get to the starting point of the walk. The landscape on the way there was rolling, green and especially hilly to drive through. And it was so quiet, almost desolate. For the first 15 minutes it was like we were the only people on this planet. Sheep and cattle, yes, humans and cars, no. Absolutely wonderful. I could get used to this! And I am pretty sure I am not the only one.
The hike started off very easy, walking through some lush woods, a bit hilly but easy peasy. After a while the landscape changed dramatically and we were soon surrounded by mountains, cobbled and grind paths and yes, it started to ascent gradually. Me being a mountain goat pretty much flew over it. We made several stops so that mum was able to enjoy the beauties around us, took some pictures (of course) and whilst I was off leash, she also did some obedience training with me. I must say that, even though I can listen and take commands very well, I have been slacking a bit whilst I have the other dogs around me. I think I made her very happy by doing so. This of course means that she knows I can do it so she may be a bit more strict with me… (Really, I don’t mind, as I do like to please).
Back to the walk. The further we walked, the more rugged the landscape became. At one point we turned a corner (can you say that when you are in the mountains?) and what did I see: a lake!! Guess who’s tail went wagging even more so? I listened to mum and it wasn’t until she had told me to go, I went in it. By that time I was getting rather warm so it was much needed. I did get a bit upset as I thought an other human was in distress as he was swimming in the lake as well, splashing his feet and arms. It made me very anxious so I started barking to attract the attention of others. Little did I know…
Anyways, we went a wee bit further, up the hill, overlooking this gorgeous lake and mountains to have some lunch. Just a quick bite and some water. And to be honest, I was pleased with the break.
Up until that point the walk was easy… now the real work started. I went running up and down those steep hills and couldn’t control my excitement. Every time mum whistled or called out my name I did come running back towards her (see, obedient) which made her smile. At one point it was getting very steep so she put me back on lead. Not that I wasn’t good but I was pretty much exhausting myself. I too sometimes forget I am still a pup.
Just as we thought we almost reached the top, we had to go on a bit further. Which also meant a bit steeper. We had to ascent over 200m in very short a distance (if you count it as the crow flies). But once we had reached the top… speechless for sure! The beauty, the serenity. I really was on top of the world.
We sat there for about quarter of an hour, after having had some more water and some yummy treats. I lay comfy against my human, with sun on my body. A good thing the sun was there as it was very windy up there.
Descending was easy for me. I just couldn’t understand why it took my mum so much longer. I went flying down the hill, through the bushes, sometimes out of sight of mum… but a whistle or name-call and I came running back towards her. She couldn’t put me on leash as I would have thrown her off her feet. And we didn’t want that!
The decent went much faster than coming up and we made it back to the car in 2,5h (for just over 9km). I’d say that we aced it!
A good day was had!
