Monday, May 13, 2024
West Highland Way-Stage #4-Rowardennan to Inverarnan
Today’s Miles: 15.4
Total Miles: 44.5
Remaining Miles: 51.5

Whew, Monday was our hardest day yet. Not only was it long, but the trail was hard and slow for most of it. A lot of the literature and people we met along the way say that yesterday was the hardest section of the entire walk. That’s good news…because now it’s done.

I’m going to call yesterday the British Bluebell day. We’ve never seen so many Bluebells, fields and fields of them stretching almost as far as one could see. They were gorgeous.

 

Our morning started with passing another honesty box. This one was so cute it was hard to pass up…but we did.

There were also lots of waterfalls along the way. They were very pretty.

 

Much of yesterday’s walk was through beautiful deciduous forests. They were so peaceful, serene, and picturesque. 

One of the things we had been hoping to see were the feral goats living along the trail. We almost missed them, but Janet spotted them, and they even posed for us nicely.

“Here’s lookin at ya, hiker!”

Scotty, Nessie, and Piranha even took some time out to play in the moss.   Nessie was interested in seeing if she could find her Scottish ancestors. We thought we met one (a slug) along the trail, but he didn’t seem the least bit interested and curled up and slimed away. “Too bad, Nessie.”

There was one spot where the trail squeezed between a tree and a rock. We didn’t see how we were going to make it, but with some grunts, groans, and sucking it all up, we got through.

Late in the day, we came to what is called a bothy. It is a hiker’s hut that anyone can use along the trail for shelter. When we got there, it was clear and a large family and some friends had essentially taken it over, so we didn’t get any pictures inside. They are not especially comfortable but they are dry if it was pouring outside.

We liked this picture because it shows the Bluebells, Loch Lomond, and its reflections of the surrounding mountains. It really is beautiful scenery.

Towards the end of our day, we left Loch Lomond behind. We have been walking along it for two days. It has been beautiful, but the trail is challenging. We will now enter into even more of the highland country.

To all of you who have been praying for good weather for us, keep it up. God is answering your prayers. We have had thunderstorms the last two days, but only after we arrived at our B&B. And most of our hiking weather has been accommodatingly cool. Thanks be to God. It is pouring again today (Tuesday), but this is our day off, so it’s perfect. And we’ve been safe and stayed upright—that is until we hit our beds and then we are out for the count.

God bless you all and thanks for traveling with us.
Coe