Day 5: Option 2: Scarr Mountain
Distance: 17.5 km / 11 miles, Ascent: 850 m / 2788 ft. Descent: 718 m / 2355 ft.
Approximate Walking time : 5 to 6 hours.
Monday, May 20. We had a wonderful breakfast at our hotel with a very friendly waitress and then met up with the gang . They had received advice from their hostess for a shortcut to start and a recommendation for the ‘high route’. Our front desk receptionist was extremely helpful and even provided a map with the recommended alternative.
And this is where my diary notes end… A few days later I had been scribing in the backseat of the car when I fell asleep leaning on the backspace key and lost a lot of text – 3 1/2 days worth to be precise. So now you will be reading what my sketchy memory can recall several months after the fact. Thank goodness for Michael’s photos to spark my brain!
After breakfast we found a local corner store where they had quite a nice deli counter. We picked up sandwiches for lunch. Lucy was staying put for the day and the rest of us headed for the shortcut.
Once again we hiked through green hills and valleys full of moss and heath and fen and bog with intermittent boardwalks to protect the sensitive environment. The weather was perfect for hiking. The trek took us past the Gossan Stones which are two unassuming stones each about 1 metre high. They are aligned on a north-south ridge for the equinox. Another remnant from ancient culture. Very cool.
Perhaps the greatest aspect of these treks is the people. Hiking with this group is never boring. We intermingle / mix up the groups regularly and regardless of who you are hiking with, you have wonderful conversations. I am extremely grateful to be connected with such a caring, kind, funny, like-minded group of people from the corners of this planet.
Back at the hotel, we again had dinner but alas without Lucy as her ankle was still an issue. Dan & Suz and Mike & I played some euchre back at our hotel. There was a very spacious and comfortable area with sofas and tables. And in the lobby, they even had a life-size terminator statue…. I guess they are hoping you will say “I’ll be back”!
