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Many of you must have noticed that I've been absent from Walkhighlands for the last couple of weeks. Now the right moment has arrived to face the personal agony and tell my story. I needed some time to rest, both physically and mentally, but I think I'm now recovered enough to talk about... about how it feels to be ALIVE.
I don't want this entry to turn into a soap-opera like drama, but memories are still fresh...
We've been unlucky recently - a long stream of bigger and smaller accidents, preventing us from getting the full advantage of the wonders of the great Scottish outdoors
First, in July last year, I managed to fall of my bike and injured my wrist. Nothing serious, I could still walk and climb, but it was only the beginning. In August, poor Kevin damaged his back so badly, he had to stay away from any heavy exercise for two months. He managed to recover for some late autumn time climbs, but then... I broke my front tooth and suffered badly till it was fixed (some of you will remember me from WH meet, a bit swollen and half-conscious
). With the tooth sorted, we enjoyed some wintry madness in December, but the luck wasn't for long. In January, my wrist pain came back, plus I caught some nasty flu-like infection. Again, of the hills for a couple of weeks. And having just recovered from all problems for Valentine's weekend... I thought our bad luck could not get worse, but obviously it did!!!
A local walk, Fairy Glen waterfalls, BP still with bandaged wrist, but looking forward for future adventures...
On Saturday the 13th, with weather promising, we drove to Skye to spend some time in the Storr sanctuary. The idea was maybe to even visit the summit if conditions were right, but generally, we just wanted to spend time among the great rocky pinnacles and cliffs, take as many snaps as possible and enjoy the short spell of good weather.
The Storr looked splendid from the distance:
All the forest has been cut down in the area and from the lower slopes, the cliffs of Storr looked imposing:
Can you spot the Old Man? he is well camouflaged!
We climbed the path to the sanctuary, where we spent some time taking photos of different rocks from different angles. Normally, I'd post a long TR with lots of them, but as today's story will cover a longer period of time, only a few of, what I think are the best snaps from this fascinating area. We have been here before many times, we climbed to the summit and snapped these rocks from above, too, but on that particular Saturday the light was good and the sky was so lovely blue... Enjoy the magic world of Trotternish!
The distant Cuillin mountains:
Panoramas to the mainland:
The Old fart still standing
Old Man and the Needle:
Mind boggling world!
A couple more...
Zoomed:
Just amazing, there's no place like Scotland!
Having spent enough photo-time by the Old Man, we decided to continue on the path north and have a peek at Coire Scamadal. So far so good.
In the photo below, it looks like I'm doing God knows what kinda scramble
but I was actually on the path, playing silly poses, so it looked like I was struggling. Silly me. Ten minutes later, I was far away from laughing!
The dangerous corrie above us:
The path actually circles this corrie and climbs the slopes to the right. We followed. What happened next, I don't want to describe in too much detail. Even thinking about it hurts!!!
I don't know how, I don't know when, suddenly I lost my balance and went flying! Obviously, I slipped on something - probably an icy rock under soft snow. It doesn't matter anyway.
I hit the ground with a loud THUD! and I felt my knee meeting something very hard. A split second of pain and then... I don't know. I turned myself face-up and sat there for a while. My mind sort of detached from my body and then I noticed, I dropped my walking pole. Still in this strange state of mind, I told Kevin to go and get it. Then I began to wonder if Lucy (my little fluffy toy) was still in one piece!
Sure she was, but I wasn't. My knee was still hurting, but I managed to get up, brush the snow of my ass and got to the nearest large rock. I pulled my trouser leg up and saw... a hole in my knee, red drops sipping out. Luckily, there wasn't a lot of blood, but it looked nasty enough! Kevin came back with my walking pole, saw the cut and immediately decided, it would need stitches. We put bandage over it and began our walk back to the car.
Funny, it didn't hurt a lot as I was walking down. I took it as good sign. Obviously the knee wasn't broken and a cut... well, a cut will heal, I was saying to myself.
We went to the nearest hospital (Broadford) where I was patched up with seven stitches. The doc said, I wasn't going to lose my leg (ha ha ha), but I would have a scar to remember the Storr!
I took a picture of my knee with stitches in and I was considering posting it here, but decided it's too graphic so instead, only how it looks like now, after two weeks
Scarred forever... Not that I care a lot about it, as long as I can climb hills!
The doc also said, stitches should stay in for 10 days and no exercising, no crouching or jumping on one leg for two weeks. Obviously, this is a notorious body part to heal, as you have to bend the knee every time you take a step and it pulls the skin apart. That's why stitching was necessary. I was lucky I didn't break my leg!
Now came the recovery time. The first week I spent on the sofa, reading Stephen King's Dark Tower series (I'm into the 4th part so far) and excusing myself from any housework
Thankfully, the cut was healing fast. After the suggested 10 days of rest, I started going for a walk every day, just to move the leg! It felt heavy and a bit sore to start with, but less and less every day.
Weather was nice and I enjoyed strolling the paths around Beauly, admiring the white bulk of Wyvis on the horizon:
Spring is around the corner... One day I went to visit my feathery friends, the Beauly yellowhammers. They nest in the same place every summer and I've been watching them for years. The mild winter 15/16 must have encouraged them to stay put rather than move south for the coldest months. On Tuesday, the 23rd of February, I caught them flying their courting dance. Never saw them mating so early before. Shame I didn't have my bridge camera or video recorder, just the little pocket cam...
Funny, how one comes to appreciate local attractions when more ambitious targets are out of reach... Local views along River Beauly...
...Beaufort Castle...
...and signs that seem to only refer to dogs
Two weeks after my accident, with stitches out and the leg getting stronger, I decided to give it a good try and walk along Loch Coulin. I wasn't really sure what to expect and didn't want to tackle anything seriously long before I could test the leg on flat surface.
We have been here before so no need to complete the circuit if my injured knee started hurting... But it didn't give me much trouble. I used two walking poles, just to be on the safe side. the day was cracking and I was kicking myself, if it wasn't for the bl***dy leg, I'd be up there, enjoying wintry climbing in all its glory!
Sadly, for the time being, the views towards snowy hills had to suffice. And there's nothing better than Torridon in snow and sun.
A few photos from this "test walk".
Beinn Eighe across the bridge:
Liathach:
Sgurr Dubh across the loch:
Lucy still alive
A gate to nowhere? A stargate maybe?
White hills... Great panos:
The old bridge over River Coulin by Torran Cottage has been damaged, but there is a brand new metal one in place, the old one most likely won't be repaired:
By Torran Cottage Kevin noticed that one of his gloves has gone missing, so we spent some time looking for it, our search was successful and my chum was reunited with his precious item.
We returned to the car walking at slow pace, me still not sure what to think about the recovering leg. A short day, but I was feeling optimistic.
Smiling Panther with Torridon Giants in the background:
On Sunday, weather still fantastic, I went for a big risk and convinced Kevin to walk around Loch Affric. It's a 10 miles route but I knew I had to try something a bit more serious. The good news was, the knee didn't feel any worse after the Coulin circuit, so it was time to face demons.
It was as much about my mental recovery. Walking around Loch Coulin was a Sunday stroll compare to Affric circuit. I had to prepare myself for returning to the hills... In my first week after the fall, when my knee was still all yellow and swollen up, I had nightmares that maybe it was seriously damaged and I'd never be able to climb again. This would be a disaster for me and I didn't want to slide into depression... I've been through some tough times in the past and I know how it feels to be on the very edge. I was more afraid of depression than of any knee pain! I had to convince myself I was on the way to full recovery. I'm going to make it. I'm a panther. I'm a survivor. I'm ALIVE.
Sunday morning saw us parking in Glen Affric - the car park is free for the winter months, but toilets are closed.
We got ready and began walking. I knew I wasn't going to be fast this day but who cares. We were indeed overtaken by quite a few able-bodied walkers, which usually gives me frustration but that day I was more interested in completing the circuit than taking part in long distance racing
Good morning, Glen Affric:
Just as we were passing Affric Lodge, I noticed to my utter horror, that the newly built workshop and the cottage next to it have burnt down. Shocking! Somehow I missed this in local news. it happened on the 21th of January. Here is Inverness Courier note on this:
http://www.inverness-courier.co.uk/News/Firefighters-tackle-Glen-Affric-house-fire-22012016.htmLuckily, nobody was injured in the fire.
The path in places was very icy so we had to take alternative shortcuts
I'm always amazed by Glen Affric, especially in winter time. Having climbed almost all hills here (and some more than once) it never seems I've done enough justice to this area. The beauty of this spot lifts me up every time I return here. The best medication for depression!
I'm going to recover!!!
Allt Coulavie was half-frozen and very low, even with my dodgy knee I had no problems jumping across:
By the time we reached the opposite end of the loch, I was confident that my injury was definitely healing well - I felt no pain, just a slight discomfort in the left knee. Wow, I was so relieved!
Beware, mighty mountains, I ain't done with you yet!
The mighty mountains didn't answer my plea but they didn't look surprised, either
We stopped for a long break, tea and leg stretching by Strawberry Cottage...
... but soon we moved on, admiring the beauty of the landscape:
I feel like meowing again!
Views across the loch from the track on the southern side:
One more short break, just to sink in the views... I couldn't go upon the hills, but I was happy to be as close to them as possible:
My leg did surprisingly well, it seems that moving on flat surface, even long distances, doesn't affect the knee. So at least I'm mobile. Sadly, jogging is still out of question, so I swapped it for long local walks. Yesterday I did 9.5km. The leg is still not 100% recovered and it may take some more time to heal, but no matter what happens I'll keep fighting. I'm a survivor. They say what doesn't kill you makes you stronger, well, I have learned my lesson. Be more careful on slippery paths and don't take anything for granted. Life holds many surprises, but it is still great to be ALIVE.
