My name is Mimmo and I am nine years old.
Sunday the 11th of October my mum woke me up at 8 am because we planned to climb the Ben Chonzie, my first Munro. I was very excited, even if I had done already lots of hills, mountains and long distance walks with my mum.😀
We arrived at the car park at 10.15 and we got ready - we put on hats, boots and gloves (and a wee pee behind the car). The weather wasn't too bad, luckily it wasn't freezing or raining. Unfortunately, I was starving before we started climbing so I finished all my crisps! 🍟😅
After walking for about 10 minutes, we passed over a pretty bridge. I tried to find the way to put my feet in the river below, but I did not manage as the bridge was to high; however, my mum took a picture of it. We also passed two gates and a dam before to start the proper climb. The first hour I was really tired and I stopped every five minutes, using each rock as a chair, which eventually made my mum really frustrated.
Anyway, this is the first amazing view my mum and I could admire. Energy in my legs increased as I started to take pictures using my mom’s phone, and I did not feel tired anymore.
What was even more amazing is that there was no fog at all, and I could see mountains, rivers, and lakes miles away! During the walk we met other families, including one with a child who was a bit older than me. My mom and I decided to have a secret competition with them, and we tried to reach first the top of the hill, which was good fun! I think we won, but obviously they do not know to have lost 😊.
However, the last part of the hiking was even more amazing, because it was very muddy and I enjoyed getting dirty. When we got to the top there were not more than ten people, and I have still no idea where the rest of those we met went! We ate some pizza left from the night before and an apple; and we stopped for around 10 minutes, as it was quite cold. My mum's hands were frozen, so I had to continue to take pictures for her and organise her big rucksack before we walked back.
When we got down we followed some metal bars that helped us to find the path. Walking down was much easier and I started to ran down. We only stopped once at a small river that had clean water, where we drunk and washed our hands. We also met two cyclists who appeared from a small hidden path: they told us they arrived from the other side of the mountain.
I am looking forward for my next one, and I hope that some other children from this forum will join me!