According to Bill (host at our current B&B), rain is a bad word on the Isle of Skye. You can’t tell someone that it might rain today, because then they will just want to leave the Isle. Instead, whenever speaking of any precipitation, they reference it as mist. Well… we had just a little “mist” today. The day started out fairly dry (sprinkles don’t count as anything here… that’s just everyday normal). We headed out early and arrived at the Old Man of Storr trail by 9:30 am. It seemed like it would be a good time for a hike…. too bad we didn’t know the hike would last over three hours! About 45 minutes in, it started “misting” pretty good and only progressively became harder the farther we went. HUGE hike basically straight up the side of a mountain! I thought I was going to die. Fortunately I have the best husband (it’s a fact)… he was the model gentleman – stopping when I looked like I was going to die, offering to carry things, and most of all, always offering his hand when he thought I would need some extra stability coming up or down off of a huge rock. I’m pretty sure the whole place was envious, rightfully so. Raised him right, Darla =)
Anyways, by the time we were about 30 minutes from the very top lookout, the wind picked up and the “MIST” came! Holy mist. Of course, we were so close that we had to keep going. We got to the top, looked at Old Man and it cleared up. The wind died down, and it was only slightly misting. Very, very pretty! However, pretty much the second we stepped off the lookout rock, it started misting and gusting again. Pretty much misted steadily until we made it to our car. We looked like drowned rats.
We brought stuff for a picnic after this hike, but since the mist wouldn’t let up, we ended up picnicking in our car – right next to a picnic table and gorgeous view. Good enough for us though. I just wanted to sit in the car with the heat on warming up. It was only about 50 degrees at the bottom of the mountain, I can’t even imagine how cold it was up at the top with the wind and rain. Had to have been low 40s – in wet jeans/capris and only a wind/rain breaker.
Next stop (it was still misting and we were still really wet from the last adventure) was Kilt Rock. A huge waterfall that falls into the ocean. Really pretty! I had to take the pictures for this one though, because Kevin wouldn’t get that close to the edge to see it. I don’t blame him; it was a huge drop, but I wanted to see it.
The last adventure of the day (yes it’s still misting) was a bit of off-roading to find a tiny little memorial that Kevin found while scrolling on Google Maps. Like literally just on Google Earth mode walking through the streets and he happened upon this super small memorial. It was added to our list, and we actually found it somehow! There were multiple people buried here, but one in particular was dated back to 1079 however historians believe there may be older burials here since it was most likely a pagan Pictich ground (which basically means really really old pagan village).
Soaking wet at this point, we just headed back to the B&B a bit early. Did a load of laundry and ate dinner. Penny (host at the B&B) was kind enough to give us some laundry soap to use, so we didn’t have to buy a huge box of it at the Co-Op store. She also let us sit in the dining area for dinner, and even brought us out some real dishes since she wouldn’t hear of us use paper towels as plates. We were only doing PB&Js… Highly recommend this B&B! They are actually celebrating their 39th anniversary tomorrow, so we bought a card and will leave it on the bed when we check out.
Alright, enough dialogue…
Oh wait… we saw a Gypsy camp (I’ve never seen one before… very cool/unique/different/not sure what adjective to describe it) and also tons of sheep. They really do stop traffic around here.
At the very top of the lookout rock with the Old Man behind us. If you can’t tell, I’m a little chilly…
The reason we started this hike. You can’t even see our car – that’s how high we are.
This is about the halfway mark of the Old Man of Storr trail. That circle is surrounding a person, and that arrow is pointing at the look out rock. This gives a little perspective as to how much we had to hike in the mist, and also how rough the terrain was. This hike is not for a new hiker. Most people stop at this point, because you can now see the Old Man. Of course that’s not how we (*cough*Kevin*cough*) roll(s).
Our lovely car picnic. Yes those are pancakes. Yes we made PB&J sandwiches out of them.
The perfectly mist-soaked picnic bench and our view. Perfect spot for a picnic…
