18 miles , 43000 steps

Too tired to post the day but had to show you what happened at our last 4 Miles.

My phone went off and I never have it on and I got a call from Fred and Joan, singing me Happy Birthday.

9 miles_23000 steps

We finally saw one of the big 5. Liz got a bit friendly with it.

Ok so did I…..

After another wonderful breakfast we headed off to Kinlochleven on a trail promising spectacular views. It didn’t start out that way…..here is what we were supposed to see at the start and what we saw.

A couple miles down the road and across from Buachaille we had a small mountain to climb ourselves with the name of the devil’s staircase. The pictures don’t do it justice of the ascent and the amount of serpentine turns we had to take to get to the top. With every turn the mountain behind us became more visible – sort of.

Well as we know what goes up must come down. The next 5 miles was walking through a combination of Machu Picchu/Andes and Pyrenees with a little bit of Jurassic Park thrown in. We did not have rain for most of it – but there was a lot of fog so we did not see as much as we could, but what we did was spectacular.

We ended up with the last 2 miles in the rain coming into a darling little town, I believe, known for aluminum smelting. Unfortunately, the aluminum museum was closed- Liz was disappointed.

We called it an early night (it is 9pm as I write this and turning in) to get ready for our 15 mile birthday last day hike. See you in Fort William.

10 miles, 24000 steps

We hated to leave the Inveroran Hotel but had to get on our way. There are a variety of ways that “walkers” can walk “The Way”. You can what they call wild camping where you can set up your tent along the way. You can also make a reservation at a camp site which are typically near an Inn and offer a separate sheltered area to sit, dry off and have your meals. What we did was book through a company called MacsAdventures.com. They made our reservations at bed and breakfasts and even offered a service to transport our luggage from place to place. This way we only had to carry a daypack. Each location has been different but all of them offer a hot shower, a comfy bed and hot tea and Scottish shortbread (not to mention adult beverages).

Today took us on old military roads (constructed in the Scottish during the middle part of the 18th century as part of an attempt by the British Government to bring order to a part of the country which had risen up in the Jacobite rebellion of 1715) through the Rannoch Moor – 50 square miles of boggy moor. It started out pouring rain and then:

The sun came in an out for most of the trip through the moor with sites of rainbows along the way.

We got to the Kingshouse Hotel at the base of Buachaille Etive Mor. It was rainy like sideways rain that we could not get a good shot of the mountain. We will try in the morning.

Outlander Alert:

For all you fans this is where they filmed the beginning scenes. Glencoe appears in the opening credits of every Outlander episode. With stunning mountainous scenery, it provides a perfect example of the rugged beauty of the Scottish highlands. … Having defeated the Jacobite uprising of 1689-90, the British Government had to police the Scottish highlands.

Today’s hike was short compared to the days before – only 9 miles and it was a breath of fresh air on our feet and legs. We had mostly military road to walk on and the sites were glorious

The rain held off for most of the day. We stopped many times in amazement on where we were and what we were doing.

With every hardship there is a side that we don’t always see. I try to look at the positive side of everything and believe that our lord shows it to us if we choose to see it.

We came across a little village called Bridge or Orchy. It was the first time we saw a sign in Gaelic. It had a train stop a hotel, community center and yes, a bridge.

We loved that this town was so concerned for our safety.

The last mile or so is always the hardest especially when you can see your hot shower in the distance.

It is a bed and breakfast in the middle of the highlands and a little place of heaven. It is run by a couple and a bartender from Hungary. They have been working everyday since the beginning of the season in April and will be shutting down in two weeks for the winter.

When we arrived we were asked to bring down our wet clothes for the drying room and what we would like to have for dinner and our packed lunch the next day.

There are only 9 rooms and booked a season in advance. We were able to get in because of our late season booking.

Having dinner like this on a long distance hike is incredible and we enjoyed every bit of it from the Haggis to the steak and Guiness pie to the sticky toffee cake and ice cream.

We are heading out but where we are going there is no WiFi or cell service. Talk to all on Sunday. Just for fun look up the weather where we are going to.

12 miles, 31,000 steps, 1/2 way done

Hey, guess what the weather was today? You won’t guess….yup, RAIN. And not only rain, but some wind thrown in just to make it more interesting. We are a bit sick of the rain but today’s hike was a good one with lots of interesting sites.

At one point we had to use a sheep creep to continue our our path.

The best part of today’s hike was when we reached Crianlarich crossroads. It meant that we have officially completed 1/2 of the WHW.

We stopped for a quick, and I mean quick, picnic lunch before heading off fo the next half of the day. A beautiful view greeted us – with the sun.

The next half of the hike started as we entered a very thick conifer plantation. I learned that Scotland did not have any trees because of the quality of the soil for over 3000 years. Conifers are planted since they can thrive in the thin soil and later used for energy – meaning less reliance on foreign sources. You can see in the above picture areas of these trees.

We were inside the forest for at least an 1 1/2 hours which gave us a wonderful refuge from the rain.

After passing an old viaduct we had only 3 more miles to go and our dogs were howling and needed a pick-me-up to get us to go the last bit.

When we crossed into a farmers field and were greeted by some onlookers that just made us laugh.

We passed the ruins of St. Fillan’s Chapel and its graveyard that dates back to the 8th Century and is protected today.

We also passed areas of great battles. One of them was the Battle of Dalrigh

We are staying tonight at the Tyndrum Lodges which provided us a wonderful treat – laundry and a drying room for all of our wet clothes and gear. We are looking forward to a short 10 miles hike tomorrow which we are grateful for since it is going to be —- what? Yes, you guessed it RAINING.

It was a tough day – not gonna lie. At bed time my Iwatch says 16 miles and 36000+ feet. We started out a bit later then we wanted to because of the comfy accommodations and promise of a big Scottish breakfast before we left.

Last night we stayed at a traditional bed and breakfast. We had our own room and a private bathroom. The place was homey and spotless and run by a wonderful women named Adele who shared stories of her grandchildren and how she got into the B&B business. The breakfast did not disappoint:

The day started out in sunshine and took us through the most beautiful pasture.

Through fields of fern and across creeks.

We then hit our first challenge of the day: Conic Hill. The views will be worth it they said- and so we began to climb.

We had a quick lunch and then headed off for another 7 miles mostly along the shoreline of Loch Lomond and over wooded hills. What should of been a 7 hour day turned into 9 when we reached Rowardennan Hotel.

Weather update: even when they say no rain-it rains- often. It will be sunny and then a cloud comes over and pack comes off rain gear goes on. 20 minutes later pack comes off rain gear gets stowed. This happened at least 5 times on a day that was supposed to have no rain.

We have another tough 14 miles today with what is described as the toughest terrain. We are pushing and supporting each other every step with tough love and of course laughter

Like this one:

We had Haggis Balls!

12 miles, 36000 steps

What do you get when you cross a sheep, a woolly cow, a hiker from Holland, a wee dram of whisky and a rainbow? Our first day on the trail.

We started out about 830am and the sun was shining on us. We were anxious. Were we prepared, what lied ahead, would our feet outlast the trail, what about the weather, where were we staying – all these were running through our head as we took the first step.

We had a 12 mile hike ahead of us and were thrilled that the sun was out to send us off. In fact, we were treated by something that meant something to both of us.

Ok, back to the sheep, cow, girl and whisky. I was telling Liz that how cool would it be if we saw all the things they said we would see on the trail from the “catalog”. Well we saw them today – bear with me on the pics.

It was a great trail and the weather cooperated for most of the part. We still have not figured out when in Scotland it says 50% rain everyday. Does that mean there is a 50% chance of raining or that it is going to rain 50% of the time. We will let you know. Well, here is what the rain brought today.

Just off the trail was the GlenGoyne Distillary and when we met Rachel from Holland. The three of us decided to take a quick detour-in the rain – to see if we could get a wee dram and we did.

How cute is that pic — mine was not as cute

We still had 6 miles to go but the shot warmed our cockles. A lunch stop at Beech Tree for soup and then on to Drymen.

We got to our B&B at 430 (yes since 830) and needed eats – so we went into town to go find one of the oldest pubs and get lunch for the next day. We went to THE PUB in town and low and beyond met up with Rachel.

An amazing first day. Tomorrow is a 14 mile hike so heading off to bed.

We are staying at a small town called Milngavie.

The history of Milngavie dates back to at least 1600, when there was a mill here in a village known at the time as Millgay – remember how I told you to pronounce it yesterday? Makes sense now, right?

Today it is a suburb of Glasgow and known as the gateway to the West Highland Way. Not to mention it is super super cute.

We found the gate where we will be starting from in the morning and met our first fellow hiker to chat about why, where, and when.

We will be following mainly timber posts bearing the thistle-in-a- hexagon logo. Haven’t figured out what it means yet but I am sure we will.

Covid test update 2: we both received negative test results today so we are all set for the rest of the trip.

Dinner and packing tonight to prep for our first 12 mile hike tomorrow that yes-the trail leads us to the Glengoyne Distillary. Hikers on The Way are invited for a wee dram. I think we might just have to indulge to help us with the next 5.

We are heading to Drymen- weather? Who knows? They say just wait and see and it will happen when it happens. Talk to you then.