It’s very difficult to do anything in our house without being observed by a Beagle or two. This morning we rose early, and though our pups appeared to be still be in comas, I became aware that the watchful eye of Little Brother was tracking my every movement as I prepared for a run.

Not much escapes Mr. Biggles’ attention, even when he’s upside down

If he was really paying attention, he might have noticed that although I assembled all of my running gear, I didn’t pack up the pups’ running harnesses. Sadly this was no oversight; we were headed for the annual Conic Hill race  which is strictly a human-only event.

Even before we’d parked up there was a very noisy woofing incident with a Great Dane (it’s OK to woof at really big dogs when you’re protected by the car) and this raised concerns that Beanie and Biggles might not be particularly well behaved spectators. For that reason, Susan took them for a walk well away from the starting area until the race was under way, so I and all the other runners got to hear the starter’s orders without any Beagle backing music. I’d done one hill race prior to this – Callander Crags – so I had a rough idea of what to expect; a slower start than a regular road or cross-country race, then extended periods of walking when the going becomes so steep that only the elite athletes can keep a running motion going, and finally a rapid descent where courage, sure-footedness and smart route-choosing play almost as big a role in your finishing position as fitness. I found this course far tougher than Callander Crags however. Unlike the Crags it didn’t follow the tourist route up the hill,  and the ascent was much steeper! At times all four limbs were required as we went up short sections of near-vertical rock with precious few foot and hand-holds. To make it even worse, the route isn’t a straight up-and-down affair – it takes you over a series of humps. This is bad psychologically because as the ascent starts to bite and you see those ahead of you change from a walk to a jog, you naturally assume you’re near the top. In reality you’ve merely reached one of several plateaux and the summit is still some way off. It’s kind of like one of those supermarket deals: pay for one hill, get two extra ones free.

When I finally did hit the top and staggered round the little cairn to start the descent I figured the hardest part was over, but again, the course had a trick or two up its sleeve. Just as I started to pick up speed on a runnable (though still somewhat dangerous) rocky path, the course suddenly took a diversion to the side down what I can only describe as a mudslide, then into a boggy field and over a wobbly fence that was just the right height to pose a serious threat to one’s “joy department”.  After that there were trees to go over & under, and a final slippery descent through peaty woodland. As I emerged from the woods I could tell the finish was close because of the crowds, but it wasn’t immediately apparent quite where the finish line was, and I was grateful for timely direction from one of the race marshals. I subsequently discovered there was a reason why the finish line hadn’t been terribly well-marked, and that reason involved a certain small, waggy Beagle.

You see the line had apparently been marked out using flour, and while Susan chatted to the other spectators, some munching occurred. Yes that’s right – Beanie ate the finish line! And that wasn’t the only act of Beagle sabotage today. While I sat in the passenger seat inspecting the many cuts and grazes on my legs, Susan prepared to drive us back home. Just as she was reversing out of the parking space, one the lenses fell out of her glasses. The lens in question had some curious indentations on it, almost like teeth…

Taken in the car park at by the start of the race, with Conic Hill in the background. You’d be amazed how long it took to get them both to sit on that rock and pose for the camera. Or if you’re a fellow Beagle owner, may be you wouldn’t!

Today Beanie and Biggles went for a walk in the mountains and discovered a secret portal that took them into a far away, magical winter wonderland. Just like going through the wardrobe in the Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe. It was all rather exciting, and needless to say prompted a fair bit of baying and aaaarrrfffing!

The forecasts were looking very good for hill walking – some sunshine, very little wind and frozen solid underfoot even at sea level so no mud! We decided upon Beinn Dubh – Glen Striddle Horseshoe. We did this walk just two or three weeks ago but despite promising forecasts we were shrouded in a thick, grey fog for the whole walk. Today our timing was perfect. As we drove into the car park at Luss the early morning clouds started to break and large patches of blue sky appeared. We were rewarded with some great views of Loch Lomond very early on in the walk:

You can just make out the little pier at Luss on the far right

The sun was quite warm and we soon started to strip off layers of clothing:

There was a slight dusting of snow on the (false) summit ahead :

As we reached the snow line the temperature began to plummet and the layers started to go back on:

Ben Lomond in the background

Biggles’ big gob in the foreground

We think the magic portal was around here somewhere. Biggles did sense something mystical and got rather woofy – although it might have just been a sheep!:

Looking back down towards Luss

Very quickly it started to turn into an arctic expedition…although I’m not sure who the sherpas were – me of the Beags!

Eventually we reached the summit where the views were out of this world. It really did feel as if we’d been transported into a magical winter kingdom. And not a soul in sight. There were tracks in the snow but fresh snow had fallen on top of them so it looked as if we had the mountain to ourselves.

The natives looked and smelt a bit strange but were friendly enough:

From the summit, a broad ridge continues around in a horseshoe shape for 5 kilometers or so. We set off on our journey along the ridge with spectacular new views opening up at almost every step:

The Arochar Alps in the distance

The Arochar Alps again. That’s the Cobbler second from left (top). Weather permitting we’ll be up there next week

Boy was it cold up there! The Beags didn’t seem to feel it. We had their winter coats with us but didn’t need to put them on

Looking forward along the ridge…

..and looking back towards the summit of Ben Dubh

All too soon we reached the end of the ridge and stumbled across a second portal to take us back out of the magical Kingdom. We lingered here a while, not really wanting to leave this special place.

But then again, it had been quite a while since Beanie and Biggles had breakfast and there was a lovely scent of sheep wafting up the hillside. Before we knew it we were hurtling through the portal at breakneck speed with a familiar ‘aaarrrfff, aaaarrrrfff, aaaarrrooohhh’ echoing in our frost bitten ears!

Our Beagley adventures in the mountains have been brought to a virtual halt in the past month or so due to the limited daylight hours. We’ve taken the opportunity to prepare for an action packed spring and summer of hiking and running in the mountains. Paul and I have joined a running club to help us build up our fitness. We’ve entered some cross country races, 10ks and have even started doing hill races. The pups have been running regularly along local trails, on the beach and cross country as well as some lure coursing and off-lead running. But perhaps most importantly we’ve been working hard on stopping the pups from pulling so much….especially when we’re running downhill!

In the last week we’ve had a couple of nice days so we took the opportunity to test out our Beagle calming measures in the hills. Sadly, when the fresh air hit their noses all the training went out the window and we spent most of our time arse-surfing on the downhill stretches:

I think we may have to accept this aspect of our little monkeys’ behaviour!

Our first hill walk of 2012 took place in the hills around Straiton – a small, picturesque village set amongst beautiful countryside. Our walk started in the village and climbed up the hill to the monument that you can see on top of the hill in this picture:

Sheltering from the bitterly cold wind behind the monument

Looking back towards Straiton from the monument

From the monument we headed across the moors for a while…

…before arse-surfing down the hill behind our excited, baying Beagles.

The walk continued along the river for a while before crossing a little bridge:

Of course, Beanie and Biggles had to climb up to have a good look:

We continued along a pretty trail for a while with plenty of obsticals to keep the Beags entertained..

…then another steep ascent up through forest trails to a viewpoint on another hill before making our way back to Straiton for icecream and sardine flavoured bones. We’ll definitely be doing this walk again – probably running it next time!

The forecast for today had been excellent – blue skies, sunshine and superb visibility. We’ve had a few hard runs this week so we decided upon a relatively easy hill walk with fabulous views Beinn Dubh – Glen Striddle horseshoe, Luss. Unfortunately the forecast couldn’t have been more wrong. All we saw during the entire walk was dense, gray fog! It was still a fabulous walk – one that we’re really looking forward to both running and walking in better weather. The downhill section was very wet today – almost like a water chute. After slipping and falling umpteen times (with the help of our little angels) we eventually gave up and let them hurtle down the hill dragging us behind them on our bums! T’was fun….and very cold and wet!

It wasn’t really the weather for photos but Paul did haul out the camera for a snap of us on the summit of Beinn Dubh