My stubbornness got the best of me – and sometimes that is a good thing in photography!
When I left on my trip to Scotland, it was with a slight sense of disappointment since I knew my knee troubles would prevent me from doing the hiking I wanted to do. I wasn’t going to be able to get that one shot I wanted the most. But I decided to go anyway and make the best of it.
After a few days on the Isle of Skye, there was a surprise hurricane! At least it was a surprise to me, I had no idea they get hurricanes in Scotland. The sideways rain and high winds prevented me from shooting for an entire day, but it was enough time to get me thinking. And my mind kept thinking the same thing:
“The morning after the hurricane.”
I just had a feeling it would be special. So I decided that I could at least try. With the potential of good clouds after the hurricane passed through, I couldn’t help myself. Knees be damned, I decided to try the hike up to the Old Man of Storr in an attempt to get that one shot I wanted the most. I was pretty sure I wouldn’t make it, but thought I would try and maybe I might at least get something worthwhile.
The view of the Old Man of Storr isn’t very good from the road. Here is a shot I got a couple of days earlier. Storr is the small pinnacle you can see on the right side of the mountain. As you get closer, you cannot see Storr at all.
I arrived at the trailhead in pitch black, about an hour an a half before sunrise. There was one car in the lot before me. What a difference between this and mid-day when the lot is crammed with cars that spill out onto the side of the road for half a mile. I can’t imagine what it must be like in summer. An empty lot is always a good sign!
I donned my headlamp and started making my way up the trail. At the beginning, the trail was perfect, nice and wide, with absolutely no obstacles and continued that way until I was about two thirds of the way along.
Then everything changed. The last third of the trail was more difficult and required careful steps since I wasn’t very sure-footed. I had to scramble over rocks, through some mud puddles, and along some slippery sections.
One slow step at a time … and I made it!!!!!!
I got the shots, the ones I wanted and didn’t think it would be possible for me to get. There were even clouds and colours in the sky.
I was so pleased with myself. It took me 45 minutes to go up to the Old Man of Storr and a little longer to go beyond it for the composition I wanted. But I got there before sunrise. I was one happy photographer that morning.
Until I tried to get down…
What took most people about 15 minutes took me an hour and a half!! Ouch!! Ugh. I was inching my way down using my tripod as a walking stick. There were people that passed me when they were going up and again when they were going back down all the while I was still going down.
But it was all worth it.
I felt like I had earned the title: Old Lady of Storr. Yes, my knees were pretty painful for a couple of days afterwards, but I can remember thinking that if that was my last hike it was worth it.
It wasn’t my last hike thankfully 🙂
Anne, these photos are amazing! Spectacular!
Thank you very much Dale! It was a pretty incredible location.
Amazing photos Anne. Thanks for sharing them.
Many thanks Larry, glad you enjoyed them!
Wonderful colors and great composition. Sounds like it was worth the pain.
It was worth it! Thanks for your kind words Linda.
The photos are stunning!!! Your determination is to be admired… I just hope you are on the road to recovery. Thanks for sharing these amazing images; you are my inspiration
Yes, I am on the very slow slow road to recovery 🙂 It takes forever, but I’m doing all kinds of exercises to help correct the problem. Thank you for saying I am an inspiration to you, Danelle, that really means a lot 🙂
Beautiful images and congratulations on the climb. Having a ‘bad’ knee myself and currently unable to walk far, I have great admiration for your tenacity and fortitude.
Hope your knee improved quickly to do more walking and photography. Nothing is worse than arriving at your destination and not being able to complete a challenge.
Best Wishes
Vicki (in Melbourne, Australia).
Hi Vicki, well I knew going in that I wasn’t going to be able to the hiking I wanted, so it actually turned out a lot better than I thought it would. I’m really glad I decided to go on the trip despite my stupid knees 🙂 I know what you mean though, I hate it when I go to all the trouble and expense of planning and travelling only to end up being sick or something. But that’s the risk I take as a traveller I guess. Thanks for your visit and comments.
Gorgeous images. Well done! Especially under the circumstances. I’m having foot trouble right now and am hesitating to try clambering down a small streambed near our place, to photograph flowering skunk cabbages. Your hike makes me give my head a shake!!
Hi Laurie, great to see you here. I think if I were you I would lean towards safety right now since the skunk cabbage is close to your house and will be back next year. And summer is coming – you don’t want to make it worse and miss boating!!! By the way, I heard they changed the name of it to “swamp lantern”. I love the new name 🙂 I hope your foot heals up soon!
Everything about your experience sounded magical. The way of capturing the views are stunning.
Thank you very much Brianna. It was a magical place that I hope to return to one day. I’d like to get more photos from different perspectives, but when I was on my way up it was dark and I was trying to get there on time, and on my way down my knees hurt too much, so I only got the shots from the top.
So wonderful it wasn’t your last hike, but I agree, your photos were worth the pain.
Many thanks Suz, your comments are appreciated 🙂
This is the first article of your’s that I have read, and the first of your photos I’ve seen (certainly not the last). Simply beautiful! Thank you for sharing.
Well, welcome John! I’m glad you enjoyed the blog and photos and I very much appreciate your comments 🙂
So can you “fix” your knees? Your images are so wonderful it would be tragic if there is no remedy so that you can continue to thrill us all with your magic!!
Yup, with lots of physiotherapy they are correcting themselves and I’m back out there hiking in the wilderness again. I still have to tape them to go hiking, but after awhile I shouldn’t have to do that anymore either. Thanks for your concern Rebecca!