I can’t believe that I am already finishing my 7th day on the WHW in Scotland. When I am trekking abroad, I miss my family, my friends and work. But, I don’t dwell on that, it is a good kind of missing all, not a heaviness or sadness. When I am trekking, I know that my friends are always there in spirit, cheering me on. I know my work is building up on the desk, but hey, I have to pay my dues for getting to come here. More than anything, I love that my family supports me in these adventures, by knowing that, I am truly blessed.
As I was finishing the last couple of miles today in beautiful sunshine I was thinking about how a lot of people trek in groups of friends and family members. Then I thought how good it was I did not bring anyone with me. This week has been challenging and I don’t think everyone sees this kind of challenge like I do.
The rain has affected me, as it has everyone on this trail. I have been inundated with wet weather and when trekking, you don’t have the option of spending an extra night or two in the same place. You have to be at the next stop by that afternoon, rain or shine. I have found the rain refreshing at times, frustrating at times and even downright angry at times. The quantity of water is staggering. The rivers are rushing, water is draining off the mountains in mini waterfalls and the trails have spots that are virtually impassable due to water crossing them. Now, I this leads to how it affects my hiking, I have decent rain gear, but it has its limits, so I do get wet, my backpack gets partially wet because I just have a cover and the water still goes down the between my back and the pack, so the pack is wet. My shoes are waterproof, unless the water is deep enough to go over your ankles and yes, there have been many spots like that. So each night it is a challenge to get everything dried, with rainy weather we have high humidity and clothes don’t air dry out easy in 12 hours. I am in no way complaining, because I love this challenge. My rain gear has probably been used twice in the last 5 years. This a new experience and I like finding out how I respond. I can say I have gone forward and the rain has not stopped or slowed me down and my spirit of adventure is not in the least dampened.
The rocky trails in the first weeks were also difficult, sometimes dangerous. Again, I liked those and am still moving forward. Knowing what I know now on those parts, I would have been reluctant to lead someone else down that path. All were passable, but sometimes extreme caution was necessary.
But that brings me back to inviting someone to come with me on one of these treks. I think we all have different tolerance levels and we all expect different things in life. As such I am very glad I am by myself, conquering what I want to conquer. If I had brought someone else, the responsibility, not to take care of them, but to help them decide if this kind of a challenge is appropriate for them and if they even want it. There will be trails to hike with others, hopefully grandchildren, but at this time, this was not one of those.
All is good in Scotland, my socks are dry, my shirts are almost dry, my pants will hopefully be dry by 7 in the morning. Almost time for me to go to bed and get some rest to be ready for whatever God has in store for me tomorrow. Thanks to all for following this blog. Does anyone really blog any more, I may need to get AI write one of these posts to spice it up a bit.
Romans 12:4
Enjoying your journal. Continue safe and Stay Dry!!