taking arthur's seat

true to form, most of my time in ediburgh it was pretty gray and rainy.  i had been pretty good about waking up early and going for short runs around and slightly up some of the peaks just outside edinburgh, but i was barely willing to do that in the rain so i knew the probability of an actual hike was completely weather dependent.  when i woke up one morning to a beautiful sunny day, it was clearly the day to climb arthur's seat.  which is a peak in scotland and not anything to do with any men i may have met at the hostel. (perverts...)

wikipedia claims that arthur's seat is "relatively easy to climb" and it seemed pretty accurate judging by some of the outfits of others who shared my idea for a morning hike.  jean skirts, ballet flats, and even rain boots were ran rampant, so i figured my nikes and cotton layers would be just fine.  they probably would have been had i figured out before i started hiking that there was an easy path and a not so easy path.

see, i told you. skirts and ballet flats...

 maybe the first hint of "this isn't the easy route" would have been the jagged cliffs.

 

photo while considering turning back...

it took me about an hour an a half to make it all the way to the top, which of course included a few "scenic breaks" to eat my self-made-from-the-hostel-free-breakfast trail mix and drink water.  once i got to the top though, i could see all the jean skirts walking up a much easier path. so....next time i guess?

my incredibly practical outfit. i mean that scarf was NECESSARY.

i know it's "all about the journey, not the destination," but i was pretty pleased to finally make it to the top.  the panoramic views of the city were incredible, and incredibly hard to capture on film, but i still made an attempt.

panoramic view with a non-panoramic camera.

sittin' on arthur's seat!