Monday 15 July 2019

Going Walkabout in Upper Deeside



There are certain utterances you don't want hear when it is getting late in the afternoon and you have already walked more than eight miles across the hills of Upper Deeside, much of it on rough, stony, hard-on-the-paws Land Rover tracks.
"Hmmm, according to the map there should be a footpath here."

"I really think we are heading in the wrong direction."

"This trail seems to be petering out, it must be just an animal track".

"Well my map is over thirty years old, maybe things have changed".

"If you look closely at the contours, I think we should be keeping that gully to the right."

"This is roughly where I saw an adder last time I was up around here".

"It's getting late, I hope we'll get to Ballater before the tea shops have closed".


And you know what? I had tried to show Gail and her friend Henry (over on holiday from Australia) the correct route, but they called me back shouting "this way Bertie!" And twenty minutes later we were back at the same spot and they realised I'd been right all along. 

Eventually we made it down into the valley and reached the wee town of Ballater, where Gail and Henry were relieved to find Victoria's Cafe still open.

(Admit it! You just 'biggified' the photo above to get a closer look at the cake...)

And I would like to point out that, despite Gail telling Henry I might struggle with the final mile and a half back to the car after tea, it was she who was showing signs of aching paws, not me. 

At Tullich, where the car was parked, Henry's 'smart' watch (which incidentally seems to tell you everything except the time) showed us that we had walked 19 km. It sounds so much more impressive than "nearly 12 miles".

14 comments:

  1. see, that happens to humans who will not listen to a dog. Bertie THAT cake!!!!! THAT CAAAAAKE!

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  2. Hari OM
    OMD Bertie lad, you'd think Gail would have learned that lesson by now... sigh... we'll blame the distraction of having a visitor in the same way two of my pals blamed my presence in their passenger seats for taking wrong turns on familiar roads down under... hugs and wags, YAM-aunty xxx

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  3. Bertie my friend not only are you a most handsome WFT, great hiker you are, in my opinion Smart(er) than the Smart watch ((which incidentally seems to tell you everything except the time). Obviously you have a built in GPS which the Smart watch might need.
    Hugs Cecilia

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  4. We can't believe Gail and her friend didn't take your advice and follow you to the trail. That cake does look delish!

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  5. What a fabulous walk and a LONG walk! How unfair that they ordered chocolate cake and didn't have to share with you, Bertie.

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  6. WHY do humans keep following their silly maps instead of listening to us? The nose knows!!

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  7. Holy cow! That is a VERY long walk, good thing there was cake at the end of this walk....but what did YOU get as a treat?

    Your friend Kiki

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  8. Indeed, that was quite the walkabout. The humans need to put more trust in your wisdom.

    And yes, we definitely bigified that photo - that cake looks delicious!!!

    Woos - Lightning, Misty, and Timber

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  9. What's the point of having a doggy guide, if you don't listen to him! Hope you got something at the Café for all your hard work.

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  10. OMD...why oh why don't the peeps listen to us when we tell them which way to go!! We are tired just thinking about having to walk 12 miles Bertie...you are a true inspiration!
    xoxo,
    Jakey, Rosy & Arty

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  11. Well we guess it all turned out in the end and you were in time for tea and cake
    hugs
    Mabel & Hilda

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  12. Bertie, we know that you knew the correct way to get back to the walking path. That cake sure does look delicious. Thanks for the share. Have a wonderful day.
    World of Animals

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  13. Very impressive Bertie!!! You knows the peeps never listen to us puppers. Sad I knows, butts they thinks since they gots thumbs that they also have bigger brains...not the case! Ma does stuffs like this ALL the time ~ I just have to shake my ears. sigh.
    At least there was DELISH cake at the end! yes, Ma did bigify, and yes, it does look amazin'!!!
    Kisses,
    Ruby ♥

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  14. Well Bertie, my human thinks that either 19 km. or nearly 12 miles, is very impressive. She wishes she could get me to walk that far, although we are both sadly out of practise these days. It's very hot here now, so a quick 20 minutes round the block, as soon as it gets light, is all that we manage during summer months.
    Personally I would have gone on strike when I knew that my companions had ordered chocolate cake. They know that we doggies can't eat chocolate, so could keep it all for themselves. That's what I call really greedy !

    Love,
    Inca xx

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