Ok, I must admit, I booked my overnight stays really late in the process. It is absolutely amazing that I have places to stay each night. The West High;and Way is a well traveled trek and close to 100,000 hikers per year trek down this trail. The overnight stay options are very limited. For full service there are small inns and multi room bed and breakfast locations. Then there are some true hostels that provide only a bed and no guaranty of anything beyond that. Finally some people hike this trail and wild camp overnight along the trail, But when you start serving 100,000 people with those limited facilities in a 5 month period, the common wisdom is you better plan and book early if you are not camping outdoors. Maybe at least 6 months in advance, if not more. I did not book early…….
My wife approached me at the end of April and just mentioned she was bringing in a few house guests for a two week period starting towards the end of May. All girls, her sister, her nieces and their children, a house full….. She said, I know you don’t mind, which I don’t. But then she said one additional thing, I think she said it jokingly, maybe you might want to go hike during that time, maybe Utah or somewhere for a few days. I didn’t give her a chance to think beyond that statement, by two days later, I had found a booking service that had a cancellation on the West Highland Way and they offered it to me, the timing was almost right and of course I had to say, place my name on it and where do I pay. Sherry knows better then to offer me the opportunity to take a trek somewhere. I try to never disappoint her when she offers (jokingly or not).
After booking the places to lay my head each night, then came days and days of checking airline fares, trying to catch the best deal, problem was, there were no good deals. I was fixing to have to pay alot just to get there. One evening, I finally pulled the trigger and booked on United. Sherry kept searching around and found a travel broker that she asked me to try, so knowing United had a 24 hour free cancellation policy, I called the travel broker the next morning, by noon, I had a travel plan that was way cheaper than United and actually better connections and nicer seats. So at this point the only thing left to do was to plan the route to from the trek to the Glasgow airport. That was easy, taking a small city train that runs from the airport to the Glasgow main train station several times per hour, then taking a regional train from Glasgow main station to and from the West Highland Way start and finish. All is done and then I just had to sit around a few days and dream and review plans, not to change anything, but just to enjoy the thought I was actually going to Scotland to trek this trail.
Now comes the real preparation day. Packing the night before I leave. You have been there and done that, you always plan to take just a few items and even if it is week or more travel you know you can get all your things into that small suitcase, the same one you carry onto the plane or throw in the backseat for an overnight or weekend trip… That was the thoughts I had. I was going to do it, I even made a trial run of packing the overnight suitcase tonight. I am traveling light, a few shirts, 2 pair of hiking pants and a pair of hiking shorts, not much right? Well, believe it or not, I almost got it done, problem was I had to undo the expandable portion that lets the bag be wider, but I still had a few hanging items that didn’t fit, mainly my trekking poles, those need to go into checked luggage, seems like pointed poles are frowned on in carry on luggage. At 11:00pm, I gave in I pulled out the mid-sized Osprey roller bag and repacked. I now have tons of room, but definitely not an overnight sized suit case… What did I pack, well, actually I only have 2 pair of pants, since I am wearing the 3rd, 5 shirts to use hiking, effectively giving me a colder day 3 layers and a warmer day 3 layers. The weather has been warm over there, low 70’s, but some days are forecast to be in the 50’s, this sure isn’t Texas weather. Back to packing, 2 other shirts for evening wear and on the plane, 8 pair of socks, but I am also taking two pairs of hiking shoes, so the packed ones will hold most of the socks. I hike in Vasque shoes for good trails and in rocky trails, I love my Oboz, they have a tough sole that keeps rocks from pressing so hard on the feet. But, the packing goes on, I use a cpap, but even with a mini, it still takes up room, then my diabetic supplies, then my toiletries, then a few other minor items, like clothes pins for when I wash clothes, an electric plug adapter, a night flashlight, small, but still…….You get the story, things just add up and keep filling the bag, making it heavier and fuller. Then finally, the hiking poles, the thing that will save my knees on the downhills, keep my uphills strong and keep my speed even on the flats.
At this point, I realized packing a suitcase for a trip is just like my life. I keep adding things in to make life more comfortable or to keep me cleaner or to give me more entertainment. Or, just to have just in case I need it or might want it. I wonder how many of the items I packed fall into that last category, that just in case I need it. Then finally, the last thing I added, my hiking poles, some call them walking sticks, these are the things I will probably use every day, the most important thing that will help keep my going up, keep me steady when going forward and help keep me from hurting when I am going down. The problem is, when I hike my weekly day hikes, I usually don’t carry my hiking poles, so when I am going those shorter distances and everyday trails, I feel I really don’t need them, but when the big trek comes, I want them.
See where this is leading me, in my life, I have the ultimate help walking, Christ, he gives me strength on the uphill trudge, he keeps me level on the everyday travels and he soothes the hurts when life is going down towards the valleys. I just hope I do better keeping him beside me on those plain old everyday trails, he wants to be there on those ordinary days just as he wants to help me on the big trips…..
Not so famous quote from an unknown source: “Just in Case” is the curse of packing”
Psalm 55:22
Safe and fun travels David.