WALKING IN THE MUD & THE MUCK

 “There are no shortcuts to any place worth going”

                             —Beverly Sills

Stats- We hiked from the Storr Dam back southward along the high cliffs overlooking the sea. After 8.2 miles we had walked back to Portree. It was 1196’ of climbing and 1604’ of descent. It rained most of the time and the strong winds were in our faces.

Last evening there was some discussion of not hiking today. The forecast was for a lot of rain…starting off easy at dawn and building up in intensity as the day progressed. We finally agreed to go with the window shade method. Open your window shade in the morning. If it looks good, we go.

And it looks very good. At breakfast there is no rain, some blue skies and the wind has subsided. At 9am we are on our taxi headed to Storr Dam, close to where we started yesterday, but today we hike south rather than north. Our plan is to hug the costal ridge most of the way back to Portree, then drop down to the edge of the sea and follow a path the rest of the way into town.

It is cool at the trailhead and we put on another layer. At 9:15 we are walking, headed uphill of course. Within a few minutes it begins to threaten rain so on goes the full rain gear. We climb up the coastal cliffs until we are a thousand feet above the water. 

                                            Steep descents in the rain

            Looking across to the Storr peak area. The dam where we started hiking is in the foreground 

     Looking down to the sea. The darker land area in the mid upper is the Isle of Rassay. The more distant land mass above Rassay is the Scotland mainland.

After 45 minutes the rains start as do the winds. The wind slowly increases in speed. The rain begins to come down harder and the wind is a full-on headwind. With the winds blowing the rain into our rain hoods and down our collars, it is not long before we are feeling wet. At 2 hours we find a place somewhat out of the wind and take a few minutes for a snack break.  

                                                       Our trail headed upward 

After the break we round the corner of the small knoll we had been sheltering in and enter a new phase of weather. The winds were forecast to have gusts of over 40 miles per hour. We all put on heads down and press onward. Each with two trekking poles, heads lowered, hunched over, and wearing small day packs, I am sure that we looked like three Quasimodos crossing the moorland in a rain squall. 

Hunchback style we continue. The route crosses endless bog areas and long patches of mud and muck (there are lots of sheep here and their droppings are everywhere on the path so the muck is unavoidable!

                                 A thousand foot drop to the sea

                                       The trail hugging the cliff edge

 Very slippery mud!

                                                      The mud and muck

After six or so miles we begin a long descent to the sea. A long and muddy descent. The rain begins to taper off but never completely ceases. We arrive in Portree at one o’clock. Portree is a major tourist destination and the street are crowded with bus tour group participants. They all seem to be looking for someplace to eat. There is no place. The “restaurant full” signs are everywhere. Too many tourists and too few amenities. 

                                              The colored houses of Portree Harbor

                                   The long, long descent to the sea and on to Portree Harbor

We change into dry clothes and go in search of a beer and food. No luck on the food part but we are able to order pints which we need to drink standing up as there are no opens seats in the bar. This is what happens when you finish hiking too early in the day. 

Tomorrow is our last hiking day. It promises to be short but very scenic. As I write this at 5:45 pm, it is still raining hard…

                                                  A very unique plant called “bog cotton”