Well, can I just meet William Wallace, then?!

Written 9 July 2011 - Scotland, Day Two

I really wanted to write my post about the Trossachs last night, but I was so tired by the end of the night I ended up passing out at around 22:30!  But yesterday was an incredible day.  The Trossachs were so lush and green and beautiful, and despite the rain and mud, I loved the hike.  I took a ton of pictures because every time I looked around, there was another gorgeous view I wanted to capture, even though photos never quite do it justice.  It also really Made me want to watch Braveheart.... but then again, what doesn't make me want to watch Braveheart?!

We had to take a bus up to the trail, about ninety minutes, but we stopped in the little highland town of Callander to buy some lunch (the plan was to have a picnic once we reached the top of the trail).  The town was beautiful, and had a great view of the hills through the buildings.

We finally reached the Trossachs, and started out on the trail around Loch Katrina.  It was actually a lot longer and more difficult than I had anticipated; it was definitely an intermediate to advanced level hike, but I didn’t mind.  As far as the hike itself goes, there’s not much to say aside from “We walked, it rained, we stepped in mud, etc,” so I’m just going to let the pictures speak for themselves.  Note that this is just a selection from the 120 photos I took on the hike (at one point, I heard the guy behind me say “We need to make friends with that girl so she’ll send us her pictures…”), but these are some of the best ones:

Starting out onto the trail; it’s still pretty flat at this point…

It started raining about twenty minutes in, but it didn’t stick around too long.  Good thing my camera is waterproof!

Starting to get pretty high up… the views are getting better and better!!

See that (as the Scots would say) wee tree on the mountain horizon?  That’s where we’re headed.

Getting close!

This was definitely one of the steepest parts; a lot of us were on all fours because the rocks were pretty wet and slippery.

The view from the almost-top.

Finally past the tree!!

Getting close to our lunch spot…

We made it!!!

Views from the top… it’s amazing to me that this is what I looked at while I ate my lunch yesterday.

Starting to head back down…

Look at how dirty my shoes and legs were by the end of the hike!

How gross is this?!  This is what my feet looked like after I took my socks off… that’s not a farmer's tan- it's all dirt and mud!

Despite the dirt, it was a great day.  There was also a ceilidh (pronounced “kay-leed”) that evening, which is a traditional Scottish dance party.  I went for part of it and had a great time, but I was really tired and my feet were aching so I turned in a little early. 

I was also feeling a bit nostalgic last night; when I came here with my Fringe friends, the ceilidh was one of the most fun things we did, and so I was missing them all quite a bit.  For any of my Fringe-ers who are reading this, I love you guys all so much and I wish you were here with me!!!!

Today is also looking quite good, but we’re going to spend today in the city instead of the countryside.  So far the plan includes the Royal Mile, Prince’s Street, the Elephant House, Edinburgh Castle, and quite a few other things.  A few of the other girls in my group want to do the Edinburgh Vaults Ghost Tour tonight, but I’m not going…. I learned my lesson with that one last time I was here!!  It was so terrifying I left halfway through and then slept in the same bed as Zoe that night because neither one of us wanted to be alone!  I tried to warn them about how scary I found it, but that only seemed to make them want to go more.  To each his own, I suppose, but I’ll be finding some other people to hang out with tonight!

But ghosts aside, we’re going to meet at the Royal Mile around 11:00 (it’s quarter to 10 now) for a great day of shopping and sightseeing!  Let me know if you need any tartan clothing, novelty kilt beach towels, or postcards of muscular shirtless men in kilts…. I’m sure I can pick some up for you today.   Cheers!