I got out for a solo hike yesterday to a new spot, doing a loop over Ben Ledi (a corbett, not a munro) in the Trossachs and part of Queen Elizabeth Forest Park. It was a gorgeous sunny day on the hills and, even though I was just putting one foot in front of the other, one of the coolest things I’ve done in the past couple of months.

Here is a map of the route along with my activity tracker from the hike.

🗾 OS Maps route

Here are notes from the day:

Ever since I started doing monthly hikes last year the weather has never cooperated. Today though, i finally got clear skies and sun.

It was crazy windy on the mountain ridge. Listen to the wind and check out these poor geese, they had to fly sideways to go straight.

The wind was so intense I could hold my phone straight. Check out the wobbly lines in the panoramic from all the gusting.

I brought my paint set for a few quick paintings along the way.

Here are some additional photos:

I can’t wait to get out again.

Nature is not a place to visit. It is home.

Gary Snyder