A most exquisite "Brandy"...totally unbottled.

A magnificent kettle...filled with "Brandy".

One of our favourite Scottish hill walks to date leads to the top of and around the craggy and precipitous slopes of Loch Brandy. We hiked the same circuit twice a year ago (in the summer) and had to go back again this time for the breath-taking views of autumn. This loch is a perfect example of a mountain corrie, or what we would call in the Canadian Rockies, a cirque. The word "corrie" has Gaelic origins and describes a kettle or cauldron - and it's a great description. Designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), Loch Brandy is also home to a rare dragonfly - clearly, this is one insect with discriminating taste. :)

The trailhead is the parking lot for the Glen Clova Hotel and bunkhouse, truly a destination for hill-walkers, mountaineers, and anyone seeking a quiet and remote alpine venue to just "be".

Leaving the trailhead - it's all uphill, and the vista becomes more and more dramatic with every single step. Having filled the backpacks with additional layers of clothing and rain gear (change happens!), we found ourselves adding and removing layers as the often gusty winds blew the cool, clear air.

Hikers can choose to go as far as the deep, dark, and mysterious waters of the loch itself or continue on up the steep, rocky trail to a vast plateau that affords the most incredible 360 degree views. It's more than worth the extra "heartbeats" to go all the way!

Above the loch, the landscape is vast and wind-blown...

...very wind-blown, this day.

Food, any food, tastes so good when you're outside - a cairn is a great place to stop, refuel, and find in the lee of the pile of rocks, a little shelter from the wind.

Preparing a light lunch by the cairn, high above the Loch.

An ancient writer shared a thought, some 3000 years ago: "The mountains shall bring peace to the people." The perspective from these remote and high places brings clarity, not only to the eye, but to the heart and mind.

Scaled against the heights, depth, and breadth of the vast terrain, it is humbling to be reminded how small we humans truly are. We need to apply this scale to the struggles we have with one another in this world - and decide that there is no problem on this fragile, island planet, that we cannot solve together.

It's a very long way down!

"Mountaintop" experiences foster strength and hope. The effort to get there is always worth it and life is all too short not to seek out such opportunities. In the afterglow of such occasions, nothing seems impossible. We must hold on to that thought...and never let it go.

Layers of clothing removed, reluctantly heading down.

Descending to the trailhead, the shared feeling of exhilaration remained and returned to the valley with us.

Back in the "fold" with the sheep and the glorious autumn colours.

Like the stunning beauty of Loch Brandy, enthusiasm and energy for what is possible must be "unbottled", and freely shared. Perhaps, in this simple posting, it can be set free to touch and enrich others in some small way.

Oh yes, the good strong coffees and delicious, warm scones (each with their own little jar of jam) in the hotel pub is highly recommended - the more "fortified" drink only so long as you don't have to drive the scenic but very narrow road with countless blind corners. And then, of course, there are the rabbits, pheasants, and occasional sheep that are determined to share the road - with absolutely no apparent regard for their own safety!

This was one stiff shot of Brandy that was good for body, mind, and spirit. No "snifter" required. :)

Duncan.

The delicious solitude of the "moody" moors...

The thoughtful soul to solitude retires.

- Omar  Khayyam

Trying to "unlock" the gate - albeit, quite unnecessarily! :)

Those sharp-eyed folks who enjoy hill-walking in the glens and Highlands will smile when they identify the "dilemma" in the above image. How do we unlock this gate? Ahh, no problem after all. There is a smaller, one-person-at-a-time, swinging entry gate on the left side...providing quick and easy access. With the breathtaking panorama of the Scottish landscape absorbing our powers of observation - we didn't even notice that it was there!

The "Minister's Path", a 12 km (return) hike from Glen Prosen to Glen Clova, is an another wonderful opportunity to be "alone" in a vast and peaceful moorland. Many years ago, the local minister would take this path (twice each Sunday!) in order to conduct services in the two tiny communities. This, of course, must have contributed greatly to physical fitness - and overall well-being. A good example, indeed, to we modern day folks!

Still enough to hear your own thoughts..

The hills are home to three Scottish heathers - ling, bell heather, and cross-leaved heath. Heather is not native to our home base on Vancouver Island but it grows well and is one of the few plants that escape the resident deer, rabbits, and our admittedly "under-developed" gardening skills. Peregrines, kestrals, red grouse, and deer are also at home here, above and amongst the heather and rough grasses of the moors.

There is a moodiness about the moors, but it's not a sadness. Rather, the very landscape has a "pensive" feel, as if it is in deep thought. Perhaps the ancient hills hold deep memories of the struggles and the triumphs of so many peoples over countless centuries. There is a palpable sense of mystery. Although we encountered only two other people all day, we felt the presence of the generations that had traversed the same hills and glacial-carved valleys.

Trailhead: The Glen Prosen Church - "modern" at just 210 years old.

Loneliness is so very different from the feeling of being alone. I can't think of any "up" side to being lonely. The experience of aloneness, however, can be simply "delicious". It liberates from the distractions of crowds, and traffic. It gives a small break to needing to make engaging conversation and having to be attentive to endless (and sometimes annoying) stimuli - particularly the siren call of our "smart" phones and televisions. Those who paddle solo or who walk the hills alone know very well the connection that is possible to the land or the seascape when there are no such distractions.

Solitude also gives opportunity to hear the often quiet whispers of our own thoughts and contemplations. It is possible that some of those thoughts have waited patiently...for a very long time. And when they are listened to, the experience can be surprisingly restorative.

Duncan.