Around 9am Sunday morning, I met up with some Wee Grumpy Runners, a local running club to do a long trail run. I was hoping for 33 km, or something thereabouts. After posting a note on their bulletin board, and trading emails back and forth with Fiona, I was excited to finally be meeting up for the run!
A super fit gal, Vicki, met up with Dennis for a moderate bike ride, while equally talented Fiona and Andy met up with me for the run. The runners and bikers parted ways at the Uig dockside, to meet back around lunchtime. As we watched Dennis & Vicki pedal away, my excitement rose! Where & what would we be running!?!
Andy drove us to the trailhead on the edge of Uig. His mini-cooper is sooooo cool! I worried about all my sunblock rubbing off on the leather seats, but he said it was no big deal. What a guy!
When I saw the trailhead for the run was at a cemetary, I made some off the cuff joke about the morbid location for the start of the run…Which got us off to a fun and light-hearted start!
The plan was to run up Bein Edra (local mountain) and back down to Uig, making a big loop. Andy had run a half marathon the day before, so he ran for about 30 minutes and bailed. I thought it was rad he came at all, considering the race the day prior. Besides we had a lot of fun, the three of us chit chatting while we warmed up on the “flats”!
From the cemetary until the gate, the run is on a gravel two lane road which passes local farms. Passing through a gate, the road deteriorates to a single lane and eventually disappears. After passing over a creekbed, there are just faint remnants of the road-but it’s definitely still there.
At what seemed like a random location, Fiona pointed up the boggy hillside to a diagonal land scarring which angled upward and towards a saddle. This is apparently the remains of an old fence or road. It stands out from the boggy scrub, but it’s not immediately obvious!
We made a bee-line for that fence/road and ran smack dab into a second creek. This one was more agressive than the first creek. Up the creekbed, we could see and hear waterfalls. How pretty!
I found a constriction in the creek and we hopped over it without a problem. I should say that by this time, my feet were already pretty wet so I wasn’t worried too much about slipping into the water! I wore gaiters, but they were more to keep pebbles out. There’s really no point in trying to keep feet dry in Scotland…it’s more about dealing with wetness.
VFFs would be the ideal shoe for bogs, in retrospect, I should have brought them along and changed into them once we went from road to bog. The bogs were delightfully squishy and kind on the feet. The only misgiving I’d have is the ankle strength…which could be improved upon with training!
Fiona and I were no longer running. The steep and boggy slopes of Bein Edra slowed us to a jog or slow run. The weather was rapidly worsening from almost summer to early spring conditions. We worked through hail and super strong gusts of wind. Making our way up to the saddle between Bein Edra and Bealach a’ Mhoramhain was quite challenging!
Every now and then, Fiona and I would make eye contact. Each daring the other to be the first to admit we need to turn around. Turning around for a picture, I witnessed a massive cloud get sucked right through the saddle which was now below us. It was as if a titanic sized vaccum cleaner had been turned on. The cloud just disappeared before our eyes!
It looked very threatening. However, I deferred to Fiona. Since she’s lived there for 20 odd years, I figured she had the experience necessary to make a weather related judgment. My biggest concern (being from CO) was lightning and thunder. She stated that in May it wasn’t typically a problem and I believed her.
When we reached the summit, 20 minutes later, we were both drenched to the bone. The wind was howling ferociously and some of my fingers were starting to tingle. A few times I reached out to Fiona and we held each other steady. It was obvious we should turn around *Now*! So, we decided to head back down Bein Edra instead of finish the loop.
We bolted down that mountain. Or, rather, we clawed our way down! In order to make any advancement down the steep slope, I had to fully lean into the wind and dig into the boggy tundra with my toes. I carved divits out of the turf and hoped the wind would not suddenly stop. If it did, then I would be eating a mouthful of bog…and the thought didn’t appeal.
I’ve noticed this strange pushing downhill phenomena on two other occasions, on Mt. Meeker and coming down from the Continental Divide near Milner Pass. When this gusty wind thing happens, it seems to have one of either two affects on people:
1. They either become frustrated at having to work downhill.
Or
2. They realize falling is no longer an option, or something controllable, so they throw themselves into the effort with childish, almost reckless, abandon.
Fiona and I opted for #2! We were giggling with excitement and hooting and hollering. A few times I stumbled, but the wind held me up and gave me a second chance. Super cool!
When we got back across the big creek, Fiona pulled out her phone and left a message with the crew. I was happy her cell phone worked as I figured somebody would be wondering how we were doing…since we were running in a spring storm.
About 3 miles from Uig, we met up with Vicki and Dennis who drove up to the cemetary to collect us. But, Fiona & I were having so much fun that we decided to run all the way back to Uig. Besides, I was still pretty wet and I thought the extra mileage would dry my clothes.
Back in Uig, the four of us had lunch in a dockside cafe. I had a lovely Brie & Cranberry Toastie (grilled cheese)! What a great combination. I can’t believe I haven’t thought to make a grilled cheese sandwich with brie and jam before…Genius!
Dennis and Vicki told us about their adventure ride, Vicki making use of all 27 gears. There is one humungous hill which Vicki was able to ride up without dismounting. Dennis was amazed, he said it was a doozy! And, they were caught in the same torrent of rain and wind, except they were deprived of hail! Both commented how, at one point, they had to practically push the bikes downhill.
I guess they’re more with the #1 crowd (reference to aboves comment!)? Or maybe it just sucks more to push a bike AND a body downhill, then just a body!
Fiona gave us a quick tour of the Pottery shop where she works. It was super cool to see how they make the pottery and I tried to think of something I might want to paint but my mind drew a huge blank.
We made impromptu plans for an afternoon run the following day. I was totally psyched to be seeing more of the Wee Grumpy Runners! A bonus 10k run, who would have thunk it!
Dennis & I headed back to the hotel. After getting cleaned up, we took a nice drive around part of Isle of Skye. We headed down to Sligachan then Dunvegan (castle there was closed) then back to Portree. It was a beautiful drive!
Back in Portree, we foraged the town for food. Cafe Arriba supplied us with nourishment in a lively and cheerful atmosphere. The view from our table was a-m-a-z-i-n-g!!! I had the mezza plate, which was (yummy)^3. I scarfed it all down except the garlic. I only ate one clove. Afterall, we would be running again tomorrow!
I didn’t want to make the Wee Grumpy Runners regret our 2nd date 8^) Ha-ha-ha.
Tags: Cafe Arriba, Isle of Skye, Scotland, Trail Running, Uig