Scottish Highlands
May 2002
| To get to Ben Nevis from
Otter
Chalet, make a left at the end of the driveway, drive to the airport in
Montreal,
and.... Oh, alright....so, it isn't in the Adirondacks, but the
Scottish
Highlands are a beautiful place to commune with Nature. I was in London
on
business in the Spring of '02, and ran into one of those three day
"Bank
Holiday" weekends. Having spent far too much time watching
"Braveheart",
and becoming captivated by the scenery and music, I hopped the train to
Edinburgh,
rented a car, and wandered through the highlands, scaring the devil out
of
several Scottish drivers. Kirk, the other gentleman in the photo above,
was
a 26 year old US Army Captain, awaiting discharge after a hazardous and
depressing
tour in Croatia, and taking some time to travel before returning
stateside.
I ran into Kirk at the start of the trail up Ben Nevis, we struck up a
friendship,
and hiked up together. The funny thing about the Highlands, though, is
that
I had done some reading about the mountains, and after learning that I
lived
within a few miles of several mountains larger than any mountain in
Great
Britain, I didn't even pack my hiking boots. However, once there, I was
overcome
with the mountains' beauty, and went shopping for...hiking boots! |
