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Show THE Page 10 OGDEN VALLEY NEWS March Volume XIII Issue X 1, 2006 Walking the West Highland Way, Part I By Helene Liebman Milngavie in the south and walking north to Ft. William. This would give us a gentler warm-up in the rolling hills in the south before we reached the rugged highland country. A north-facing route would likely put the wind and rain behind us or to our left flank. And when walking in Scotland, one must expect wind and rain in any month! With this in mind, we made one important purchase before we left—new, light-weight, and easy-to-use rain gear; a waterproof jacket and pants John did all the planning, reserving, route-finding, and navigation. I studied the history and geography before we left and took the photos while we were there. We both read the guidebooks. We Long distance walking is not a popular sport; that’s part of the appeal—solitude, peace, desolation. Sometimes a bit of unease—here you are, all alone, miles from civilization. But in some places, long distance walking is more common. This is particularly true of the United Kingdom where there are thousands of miles of long distance routes and lots of options. So, after whetting our appetite on two previous long distance walks in Europe, my husband and I decided to try the West Highland Way (WHW) in Scotland. At 95-miles long, the WHW links Milngavie (pronounced mul-guy), located at the outskirts of Scotland’s largest city, to Ft. William, at the foot of its highest mountain. It follows the shores of its largest freshwater loch, and passes from the lowlands, across the Highland Boundary Fault, and on into the Scottish Highlands. ot J thi had ig—as hat p vious long distance outings—if one of us got hurt, he or she would find a ride for each of the segments and the other would keep going on their own. Getting Started We arrived in Glasgow in a steady rain and made our way to Drumlin Guest House in Milngavie by taxi. Now for our first exploration—the WHW Welcome Center in the center of town and an early dinner. As we made our way to the Center, the rain and wind picked up. It was cold; it was wet; we were a bit worried about walking all day in such weather. No surprises in town or at the Center. Back at Drumlin, we made last minute preparations and retired early. Day 1—Milngavie to Drymen (that’s pronounced “drimmen” We walked the first half of the 12 miles to Drymen in a cold, driving rain. Thank goodness for our new rain gear; we stayed mostly dry! We soon left developed areas and passed through Mugdach Wood. There were thick trees, th ick moss. i ly bluebells. After the woud, we ok ne volling hills and farmland. Just past Glengoyne Distillery (they make single malt here), we stopped at the Beech Tree Inn for lunch. Packs outside, please! After lunch, the route followed an abandoned railroad bed. Fortunately, the rain let up for the offic rest of the afternoon, and we had pleasant walkMaking the Plan ing—crossing a bridge over Endrick Water (that’s After extensive research, we decided to go in a _— passing through the hamlet of Gartness, May. That would give us the best chance of good walking over rolling hills as we reached Weather LO These are teeny flying insects that swarm and bite, Timea and Glenalva B&B. Our hostess Alison Fraser treated us to tea and home-made shortleaving behind a red mark that really itches! Wealen decided Led whe bread—heavenly. When John complimented her on it, she gave him several more pieces to take meaning that we’d walk about 12 miles each day. along; it lasted most of the rest of the trip! Dinner Because we crossed near Scotland’s Ben Lomond, that night at the Clochan, Scotland’s oldest pub— we decided to take a day off from the Way to climb 1734—not very old by English standards but this Scottish peak. At about 3,400 feet, it’s not terancient by ours. ribly high but with a start at sea level and a trail of Day 2—Drymen to Rowardennan about 4 miles one way, it would make for a steep, Thirteen miles today. A great beginning rigorous outing. in sun, but just after we passed through The guidebooks recommend starting in Garadhban Wood, it started to rain; rained on an were breath taking! We went up via the “tourist route,” but came down via ee at first. 5263 E. Elkhorn Circle, Eden UT golf course, close to Pineview Reservoir, Powder Mountain, Snowbasin, Wolf Mountain Ski Resorts & Monte Cristo Pass . $1,950,000 16630 Hwy 39, Huntsville UT Approximately 17.39 acres. Stunning views sive estate. 8” well, 3 approved septic tests, 3 shares of water. $1,500,000 nts thr Oals (NOL to View of Conic Hill. off for the rest of the day. It was lambing season, so we took the diversion at Conic Hill. Just as well—it looked like a steep climb. Around noon we got into Balhalma on the southern shores of Loch Lomond, and we stopped in the Oak Tree Inn for lunch. For the next three days, we'll be walking along the shores of Loch Lomond. That’s Scotland’s largest fresh water loch (lake). Our first glimpse of the Loch was just past Balhalma atop Craigie Fort. The rest of the day’s walking was through thick woods and the path was rocky with lots of ups and downs. Finally, we reached Corrie Doon. Natalie, our hostess, tells us that driving rain (she says it’s raining “bookets,” or buckets!), we can see how their snug little cottage earned its name. Day 3—Climb to Ben Lomond Peak Just 8 miles round trip today, but we'll go from Steep climb to Ben Lomond Peak. sea level to just over 3,400 feet elevation. Billy and Frances, our friends from Edinburgh, join us for the day’s walk. Or, I should say, climb because climb we did! If you’ve ever climbed our Ben Lomond, rest assured this one is tougher. Fortunately, we had our first day of sun. As we got higher, it got cold and windy—teally cold and windy. But the views mention all over any exposed skin); so small you can’t see them; but their bites hurt and itch! Once we got moving, they weren’t a problem. For the next three miles we followed the “upper forest route.” Lots and lots of waterfalls. As we approached the Inversnaid Hotel, the path narrowed and got muddy and rocky. We ate a quick lunch at the hotel while savoring beautiful views across Loch Lomond, and then got started a: More and more waterfalls and lots of beautiful views across the Loch. We came to a family of feral goats lounging on the rocks along the path. With some trepidation, we made our way past them, but they barely moved. By mid afternoon, we turned up a little forested valley and started to peel off layers as it got hotter and more humid. Not 30 minutes later, thick, dark clouds came in from the southwest. We quickened our pace and came to Doune, which consisted of alone bothy (abanere, we got our last view of the Lochs aid. ined northeast to climb out of the loch valley. The next 3 miles were amongst very rough grasses sprinkled with little ponds, or lochans. We caught glimpses of Glen Falloch (the Falloch River Valley) as we descended through a forest of native beech and oak. Just 10 minutes after the rain started to come down heavily, we made it to Rose Cottage, our night’s destination. Looking Ahead So with just five days left to the WHW end, we start to think of Scotland’s highest peak at the end of the journey. Will we be able to climb to the top of Ben Nevis at over 4,400 feet after 5 more days of this? At this point, we think probably not, as our feet throb from the day’s rough walking. Will the rain let up? As we get into the Southern Highlands, will we have clear weather ha heiohte orl athacdi so et tances of Rannoch Moor? 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