david

The final day on the West Highland Way, A great day to hike in Scotland. Kinlochleven to Fort William, this was the longest day on the trail. I covered 16 plus miles today!

The last day on a trek always brings in the thoughts and questions, did I enjoy this trip, did I come away from this trip a better person, did I like meeting the new people I met, was I strong enough to properly hike this trek, would I do it again……….. Lets just say a lot passes through your mind when you are hiking the last day and spending a lot of time on the trail. Here are some of the questions and my answers to myself:
1. Did I have a fun time – Yes, it was a fun, time, meeting new challenges, confirming I can still hike and just loving where I was.
2. Who was the nicest person I met on this trip – That is hard and I will fudge on the answer, I met four Westpoint graduates that were just a few years younger than me and they seemed to adopt me into their group, all fun stories and tales to listen to.
3. Where was the nicest place I stayed – Definitely KingsHouse hotel, it is in the middle of nowhere and it is at least a 3 star resort with nice rooms, with great views, and a super restaurant. It even had a stag (deer buck) that stays around there and adds to the character of the place.
4. What did God tell me while I was hiking – The main thing I got this trip was that I communicate with Him more when I am away from home, strange, but everyday life is routine and maybe we don’t place God center enough in that routine..
5. What was the weirdest thing that happened on this hike – Hmmm, I said to myself, then I remembered the first B&B I stayed out had an older guy helping, he showed me my attic room and then he was the server at breakfast, I tipped him 2 dollars. After I Ieft that morning and was about 200 yards down the road, he came running out after me hollering, I thought I had left something, but no, he just wanted to thank me for the tip and wish me a good day hiking…..
6. What was the best and worst food – The worst was definitely the haggis burger, wasn’t terrible, it was just I knew that I know what haggis are made from. The best was breakfast at KingsHouse, they had everything and that was a morning I was hungry.
Those are just a few questions that went through my head today hiking.

The day hiking was beautiful, the weather overcast. The trail, was one of those where I had a major climb out of the valley first thing to warm up the legs, this one actually burned the legs….. From there, it was gradual ups and downs, but mostly just hiking on a rocky path until we got a few miles from the end. Towards the end, after about 10 miles, I could see in the next valley, the town of Ft. William, but that was just a tease, I still had 2 miles downhill on a rocky path, then 3 miles on trails and along the highway, then when I reached Ft. William, it was still a mile and a half to the real end of the WHW. One long day and long finish, but what a great day. I finished the WHW, some would say I checked another one off the bucket list, but I don’t have a bucket list. I am just blessed that God gives me two feet to walk this trail.

I will post a final thoughts post in a day or two. Thanks for letting me share my thoughts……

2 Corinthians 8:11
Quote: Everywhere is walking distance, if you have the time……

continue to Final Thoughts (when Ready)

I know you think I am away in a foreign country, walking in livid conditions, staying in small inns with limited service. Just getting by day to day. Let me give you today’s details. Woke up after a great nights sleep in a beautiful small hotel in a stop in the trail, not a village, just a stop. The hotel was warm and cozy, the breakfast was a continental choice buffet and added cook to order food, including pancakes and waffles. I had the bacon and eggs, they were very good. After walking a little over 12 miles today, I arrived at KingsHouse hotel. This place is a nice hotel that caters to weekend getaways and WHW walkers. The room I was assigned has a king bed, a desk table and chair and a couch by the large window viewing the hills. The shower and bathroom are just as nice. This room is one probably always assigned to hikers, it has hallway bench with hangers to hang up the hiking apparel (stuff) and to place the hiking shoes upon. Finally, it has a Dyson fan to assist in drying out that stuff. Tonight the group I have fallen in with tried the restaurant, we ate a 2 and 1/2 hour meal, all food was good and presented nicely. Now I am back in my room thinking, this is the life………

I think this trip, as all trips do, remind me that these trips are like a box of chocolate, as Forrest Gump’s mom told him, “life is like a box of chocolates you never know what you will get”. That is part of what makes these adventures so fun, you just never know what surprise is around the corner. I know our everyday lives are the same, some drudgery, some normal habits, some planned times and then that box of chocolates, life jumps out and gives you a surprise. Sometimes it is smooth milk chocolate, sometimes rich dark chocolate and even every now and then some bitter chocolate. What makes life rewarding is how we respond to all these things. When life pulls us down, we have to be willing to lift ourselves back up, when life is too normal, we have to be willing to step out of the box, when life is wonderful we have to be always thankful and when life is a box of chocolates, we have to be flexible enough to enjoy all the flavors.

When I think about the way God has blessed each and every one of us, including or especially me, I am reminded that even when I think I am in control and I can choose the chocolate I want out that box, I am not. God is the one in control. God is the one that makes sure were never have more negatives that we can deal with. God is the one who provides our needs, not necessarily what we want, but all our needs. Also, God is the one that provides the so many blessings we receive in this life. When I am away from my normal life, there is time to think about the many blessings that we have in life. I am not going to list mine here, but I do want you to slow down long enough to think about what God has given you, I am sure the list is long and if you ever tried to write them down, the list would always be incomplete. God does lead us and I am so glad of that.

Now God is leading me to get some rest for the next 2 days on the trail north. And by the way, the temperature is supposed to be a high of 45 tomorrow, so I guess we are sharing in that Texas weather this week.

Psalm 37:25
Quote of the day: see above

continue to Day 9

Ok, is everyone tired of talking about rain, I had a beautiful day – the last hour – of my hike today, the sun came out and all was beautiful. The only problem I had then was I stopped in a forested section for a phone call and the midges attacked. What is a midge, a tiny fly like insect, slightly bigger than a gnat. This is their breeding season so they swarm anything that smells of blood or body order. The females try to bite for your blood to feed the eggs. they are so small that if there is a breeze, they can’t land. But stop in a calm spot and Swarm! Some people here even wear head nets to prevent them from getting to open skin. I have used a bug spray that has worked pretty well, however, since it was supposed to rain all day, I didn’t put any on. The sunshine woke them up!!! If you are moving, that usually keeps them away, it is just when you are stopped with no breeze, they are 10 times worse that a mosquito swarm on a warm Texas night.

Back to today, the hiking was good, trails were mostly old military roads, so a small rocky surface that has been worn down over a 150 years are so. The views are still quite stunning and the landscape is changing as we move further inland into the Scottish Highlands. It seems so strange as the hills here have such a low tree line. That is because of the geology ( rocky soil ) and the climate ( windy conditions ) that keep the trees from growing, so you see this expansive pastureland above the trees.

In the following picture, I passed an old Celtic cemetery that was started in 813, the oldest identified grave dates back to the 10th century. This area has a rich history and culture. This may be part of Great Britain, but the people still like to think of this as a separate area.

Today brought a little work, but really just some mileage and trying to keep the rain gear working. the rain was continuous. But that is just another part of what makes these treks exciting, challenging and enjoyable.

The food is good here, everyone needs to try haggis (pronounced Hay-Guys) once in their life, not bad, but don’t google them if you think might get a chance to try them sometime. The lamb meat is delicious and the hamburger meat is a little gamey, but good. Everyplace also has 3 or 4 deserts, ice cream and a couple of cakes or pastries. The group I have fallen in with will usually try one or two, so I get to see them served. We ate at an Indian food place tonight, I know this is Scotland, but the guys wanted a variety.

I saw few people on the trail today, maybe they were all moving about the same pace due to the rain, but it didn’t seem as much as normal. As you can saw in the first picture, even the trail was awash from the rain.

Tomorrow I get up and start the process all over again, I just hope my shoes, socks, shirts, pants and shorts dry out tonight.

Acts 14:17
Weird Fact: It takes 2 to 7 minutes for a raindrop to fall to earth!

continue to Day 7

WOW, another day on the West Highland Way, but this one was one of those “hard” days, short mileage, but difficult. Remember I talked about yesterday’s rocks, roots & mud, today was a tougher day because of the short ups and downs with the steps only on those rocks, roots or mud. I have learned in Texas and Colorado that wet rocks are to avoided at all costs, they are slippery and the fastest way to a major slip and broken leg or arm. Well, with the rain we have been having, every rock is wet, if not also with water still running over it, almost every rock is muddy as we all step on them. Now I am forcing myself to slow down and take those kind of obstacles slow and steady. I guess I also need to mention the roots, you know how slick wet wood is, add to that the gnarled mess roots are and they are just waiting to catch a foot or an ankle. That makes it triple dangerous on the trail I was on today. Where I normally cover ups and downs like this at speed of 2.5 to 2.7mph I ended up showing 1.9mph on my garman watch.

Can you tell me the steps to take on the trail in the above pickup ( click to enlarge)? If you said the left side where the trail looks to go, you are wrong, the dropoff on the left is about 10 feet down, that is very dangerous. If you said scramble on the rocks, you are right. There are actually enough stepping area that if you take large steps up you can safely go there. The one thing I have found about the rock here, it is very rough, so even wet, it has some traction. I know you probably don’t care about rocks, but they have been a large part of my life the last two days, especially today.

I loved coming to my inn this afternoon, It was across the loch, so when I got to the crossing point, I had to raise and big plastic ball on a flag poll to signal the ferry that there were passengers that wanted to cross. Off course I got there and they wouldn’t pickup anyone until after 3, maybe lunch hour. So I got to sit on a log on a gravel beach, visit with new friends and read some more of the 2nd book in the series. It is amazing the simple things we get to do on a trip like this. But it really is the simple things that bring the most joy we have in life. I am blessed to be here.

Tonight I had a great dinner with 4 West Point graduates from 1979 and the wife of one who also served in the military. They had gotten together thru social media and one, who was a hiker, suggested this trip. I have seen them (re) bonding over the last few days, it is fun. But that is the life on the trail. Our table visited with an immigration lawyer from Miami, this was her 3rd time to visit Scotland in the last couple of years, she loves it here. We are all on this trail and that gives us a common bond for the next few days. it is always fun to talk to people from all different walks of life.

Today on the trail was said to be one of the hardest days and I texted my brother and said I can now attest to that. But like every day hiking, it was a good day. Tomorrow will be longer, but not as challenging. Except, the rain is back!!!!!!! Also, if you have any question about how tough today was, see the picture below, they left a shovel in case anyone needs to be buried.

I must say, everyday has brought God’s beautiful creation to my eyes, I hope one or two the pictures let you see that also.

John 1:3

Quote – Me – I love meeting new people in these situations, I just wish I wasn’t so shy elsewhere…

continue to Day 6 (when Ready)

Another beautiful day in Scotland, a few showers this morning and another one in my final stretch off the trail up to the B&B I am booked at tonight. Speaking of that B&B, it is 3 kilometers off the trail and uphill all the way as it is inland from the Loch (lake) that I have been walking along for the last couple of days. When I got to the B&B, an elderly lady checked me in by relaying all the rules, then her helper showed me my room, 3rd floor attic room, literally, it has a spiral staircase. Once in the room, I have about 3 feet in the middle I can stand up straight within, the rest is a slopping roof line. I have no internet tonight, so this won’t get posted till tomorrow. This was a nice place to stay, just really limited head space. This was probably the best sleep I have had on the trip.

Today’s hike was fun, basically close to the Loch Lomond shoreline, but in the hills beside it. Today had a ton of quick ups and downs, the challenge was that most of today was a single track trail, just enough room for one person. Also, fairly rough, the ups were rocky and the downs were also rocky. Rocks, when wet and muddy scare me, So at least on the downs, I went pretty slow, as did most everyone. Did I slip on any of the rocks, NO, but I almost took a tumble on a wet root that was large and nowhere else to step. Today was fun, a little challenging and pretty good weather.

I didn’t leave Rowerdennan until 9:30 as I couldn’t check into the B&B until 16:00 (4:00pm normal time). I got to Inversnaid, the stopping point about 1:30 and had a 2 hour lunch overlooking the Loch. There were fewer people on the trail and they seemed pretty spread out. Once I reached the lunch spot there were a bunch of hikers, some sitting around the bar/lunch room, a bunch in the room I was in, they call it the hiker’s room, it had 6 rows of long tables and barstools and also some outdoor tables. The lunch stop was the Inversnaid Hotel and it directs all hikers entering to leave their packs in a pack room and also remove their hiking shoes/boots and put them on racks in the pack room. As you can imagine the pack room was a mess……..It is polite for all hikers to never were their shoes into a house, hotel or inn unless the host says it is ok. You can image what mess those boots carry on them.

Many times on the trail, it is a nice time to sit and eat a long lunch. The view I had today was fantastic, the meal was good and the company was varied but fun. About 2:30, the hikers all left to go to their hotels or back to the trail. That gave me about an hour and a half to just read a book, not a physical book, but and electronic book. It reminds me that we all should read books every so often, there are some great stories that are written and just waiting to make our day.

Joshua 5:15 (but we are not on Holy Land, but we are on land the God created)
Quote – Unknown: “Dirt is just your shoes’ way of saying they had fun!”

continue to Day 5