100 Climbs

I'm setting myself the goal to climb Arthur's Seat 100 times in the next 12 months.  It's practically on my doorstep, the views are ever-changing and you never know who you will meet at the summit.


Climb Number One:


Wednesday, August 31

Just up the hill from Dunsapie Loch  (Portobello in the distance and the white blank area is the Firth of Forth leading out to the North Sea.)

Weather: warmish day (60 F, which is warmish for Edinburgh), no rain, which always pleasant, light breeze
Time:  31 minutes, up & down
Time spent singing & nattering to myself:  23 minutes
Perspiration:  mild, and I needed to remove my sweater three-quarters of the way up.
Clumsy misstep resulting in possible death: 0
Clumsy misstep resulting in near mud-covering and humiliation: 1




Although Festival has ended the kids are back in school, the hills around and paths to Arthur's Seat are still busy.    I pass & am passed by a variety of climbers: older tourists, students, and those fit outdoorsy types running, not jogging, up the hill.  I'll be taking the "easy way" up until I can get the best of the vertigo that bothers me on the steep, narrow stone steps on the opposite side of the hill.   Not many dogs today.  Maybe I can borrow a neighbors for some of these climbs.


http://walking.visitscotland.com/walks/centralscotland/holyrood_park_arthurs_seat


At the peak I offered to take a photo for a lovely older couple -- he was perfectly posed against the city view and she was taking the picture, so she joined him for a great photo.  I don't think I would carry around the massive camera they had, I was nervous to take it while standing perched on uneven rocks.  But their holiday photos are probably spectacular.  I'll continue to buy postcards and use my small sony.


I'm trying to avoid being "plugged in" during the climbs, other than checking in & photos.  Good time for prayer and contemplation.


Here's to Day Two, I need to leave now to avoid what looks like a big rain shower heading my way.


Cheers.