The intrepid climbers (Kimbra and myself) set off this morning towards Ballyhoo. No rain, a little cloud at the top and lots of mud on the road out to the foot of the hill. And up we went, higher and higher, slower and slower in my case and using various excuses, such as Dubarry's not being suitable for such climbs, for the fact that my legs haven't climbed mountains in some time- 55 days on wee Berri, where you don't really make your legs go for more than a few metres is not the best training for the Ballyhoo Summit attempt!!! But we made it to the top just in time for the sun to come out and the views across the island and North out into the Bering sea, were awesome!! The sea was the most fabulous turquoise in places from up there and looked so calm and inviting from such a height!!! It was incredible to have eagles soaring beneath us, and what's more, we saw lots of other wildlife and flora too… curious little black bird with a red head, a ptarmigan we think and some little white birds that inevitable scattered when the eagles appeared!! Lots little yellow and purple arctic flowers everywhere!!
After a little pause at the top for cookies we carried on along the ridge and began our descent at the other end. After getting stumped by some pretty steep bits- sprained ankles not wise at this stage in the big scheme of things, we backtracked and worked our way round and down in the side- definitely a mountainside suited to haggis, which I had to explain had two legs shorter than the others so they can walk round mountain sides level. In exchange she tried to find me some trees that might have had drop bears living in them. I didn't actually think she was going mad until she kept seeing what we have come to believe are lemmings, out of the corner of her eye!!!
Further down, a big patch of snow was covered with little worms that had frozen- bizarre, how nature works and the grass around these snow patches looked slick and slimy but were in fact bone dry and crackly.
I took charge of being official photographer while Kimbra built a snowman, complete with dead worm dreads!!!!
We then headed right out to the very edge of the next hill that was once the scene of a big military operation in WW2, lots of rusty bits of metal and dilapidated buildings and ruins of bomb shelters and lookouts and gun positions and such. Fascinating to consider what each individual pile of wood might have housed and been a building for at some stage. Hopefully we will get to the WW2 museum in a couple of days to get some more information about it all….
And now, tonight, I fully think we deserve to be assisting the Cape Cheerful bar and Amelias with their profits!!!
Lots of love
McQueen
Xxx
Ps no gearbox arrived yet!!
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