Lyrics: “Faithful Son” ~ Frank Turner, 2009
One of my (many) plans for this vacation was to go on a few hikes. I didn’t do as much of that in Inverness and that’s ok. Yesterday I went out for a route I found on Walk Highlands, which is my go-to page to find hikes (“walks” as they call it here as if it were just a stroll through the park). I probably should have paid more attention to various aspects of the description for this one like
Rough coastal walking; there is a fairly continuous sheep-path for most of the way. The ground is boggy and crosses slippery rocks above the cliffs in a few places so care is needed.
It came with a 3 of 5 rating for grade (difficulty) and more important the “bog factor”. Which means it would be wet and muddy in places. Oh so many places.
There were a few times where my mind went into a bit of despair, when I lost sight of the track, which wasn’t always as clearly visible as I’d have hoped. Once I had to scramble up a rocky slope from a beach. Once I had to move downhill through pretty boggy terrain proper drenched parts of my boots. There were a few moments when I thought “Oh God, I can’t do this”. Then it did help to remember what I already did achieve to do on previous hikes. Albeit in much better physical shape, but still. I persevered and walked on and of course made it back to my car safe and sound. In not such a bad time for a 9 km walk along the coast. And the views were worth it of course.
Anyway I was pretty knackered after. I forgot to put on sunscreen, yes I know rookie mistake, and felt rather hot when I got home, as the sun was out shining for the whole time. No sunburn though. I probably also should have brought more water than the 2x 0.5 litres I packed. Next time.
I made an Insta Reel about it all last night and here are some of my photos
I don’t know if it was the exhaustion or the exhilaration or that various body parts were aching from moderate to uncomfortable extent, but I didn’t sleep all that well last night. For the first part of the night I also vividly dreamed of looking for the right track and scrambling up slopes and rocks and all kinds of hike-related things.
I know I shouldn’t pay too much attention to my smartwatch measuring my physical state and stress level. But it does worry me a bit that even on a proper rest day like I had today I still feel a bit agitated and off. And that the watch confirm it. High stress levels, rather high resting heart rate, no noticeable recuperation at all. All I did all day was sit around and read. Possible paying too much attention to my smartwatch stats. Self-fullfilling something?
I’m still having my mind blown by the “Stolen Focus” book. More on that tomorrow maybe, now I need some food and then sleep / rest.
