Funny how given a gap, not even the biggest of gaps, that almost anything can feel new again.
Be it Galaxy Counters, Black Sabbath’s Sabotage album, that thing we did last week or walking in the Cairngorms.
My heart swelled at the beauty of the trail through the trees, and it soared skywards as my destination came into view. The distance passed quickly as I swam in the new colours and moods rolling from the hillsides, the Cairngorms are unfamiliar, and all the more wonderful for it. I walked through four seasons, I camped at what I could have sworn was an abandoned south Atlantic whaling station (had I had more time I would have searched for the hidden submarine pen with the lost nazi gold on board) and then walked through snowy sunshine to stand in the UK’s second highest point.
It was like I’d been dropped onto another planet. A planet where a pair of ptarmigan (now in summer coat, d’you think they changed just a little too soon?) come up and cluck at your feet a little bit, rather than B Movie infantry shooting at your flying saucer and then getting their asses kicked by Gort. Jeez, no way I’m getting him in one of my tents. I wonder if he’d rust if he got left outside?
Wouldn’t the Wizard of Oz have been much better if the Tin Man hadn’t been that camp Vaudeville affair and had been a badass space robot instead? The Wicked Witch’s flying monkeys would have gotten shot out of the sky and hit the deck in flames before they even got near the happy band of campers.
I’ll be back sooner I should think. The Cairngorms I mean, not the fantasy land (which is not unlike South Park’s Imagination Land) that I also occupy much of the time.
I just saw two ptarmigans myself two weeks ago on a trip in Norway, halfway through changing coats, and a butterfly flittered by with a metre of snow still on the ground, talk about too soon. He’s an early adopter I bet.
Are you running from killer ptarmigan or doing the Macdui Jig there?
Last week I had an infamous grouse break from right under my feet, it always scares the hell out of me when they do that and they’re so well camouflaged…
Aye Tomas, he’ll be sitting sunning himself at the best spot when the rest of the butterflies arrive saying “Me? Yeah, I’ve been here for ages”
It is still an amzing mix of seasons just now, a good test of your kit selection.
I think Gable, that was “trying to look like I’m walking naturally and falling over in the process”.
Grouse are deadly, I’m sure they hold their launch until your foor is an inch above their heads for maximium heart attack potential.
He’s running from Ferlas Mor…. the Big Grey Man probably gets upset at the sight of purple and orange :)
As you know, I’m all about science and dinosaurs, but there was an incident, two incidents I should say, where I swear to you someone was walking tawards me across the boggy strip that separates Loch Etchachan into two, just a few feet from where I was camped.
I retreated to the tent and a cuppa on both occasions.
How come in the movies they never ward off evil monsters with a nice cuppa…? :))
(Think how Alien might have turned out if, as the wee beastie rips out of John Hurt’s belly, Sigourney Weaver stands up and announces “I’ll just put the kettle on then” ;O)
See, that works for me.
The Predator was distracted from his relentless pursuit of Dutch when he unexpectedly found a bag of jam doughnuts…
You should write in to The Angry Corrie. They like any kind of ‘spooky’ hill incident.
Even spookier was me outside at 0200 taking night shots in my boxers and playing air guitar to Sabbath on the iPod to keep warm while camners did a 60 second exposure of the tent and loch :o)
I’ve been trying to think of an appropriate Sabbath Track to capture the moment, but as I only ever owned one album the best I can come up with is “Fairies wear boots” (Real men wear trail shoes)
:o)
I can assure you from experience that the Grey Man is just a twentysomething offshore worker from Utah.
That’s actually more scary.
Talking about dinosaurs, how about taking this wee beastie up to Loch Etchachan. D’you think we’d get him up there in that wheelie bin thing you were using?
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/7768061/Dinosaur-park-to-give-away-model-brontosaurus.html
Aye, I’ll have that!