Day 5 West Highland Way – Tyndrum to Kingshouse

Posted on August 16, 2018 by Michael Kane

Day 5 West Highland Way – Tyndrum to Kingshouse

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This was the day that had been on my mind. A combination of a 20 mile hike 10 of it mostly uphill and a need to make a 5:30 shuttle deadline to get to my hotel meant I was a bit uptight about the day.

My kind BnB host agreed to have breakfast ready at 6AM, so I ate as was out the door at 6:20.

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The first 7 miles of the hike were slightly downhill miles and so I pushed a bit on the trail. Honestly it was a generally boring hike. The whole way was in a grey foggy valley and the scenery really didn’t change. This however did help me get into a rhythm as the trail was the old military road to Kingshouse.

I arrived at the 7 mile mark in Bridge of Orchy at 8:40 which meant I’d been averaging 3 miles an hour. This was awesome for me as I normally walk about 2.6 miles an hour on a similar section.

I got my water topped off at the hotel in Orchy and hit the trail again. There’s a trail saying, it’s about the smiles not about the miles. However this day for me, was about the miles. The Kingshouse Road which was uphill for almost 10 miles and was also very cobbly for the first 4 miles.  My feet were not happy.

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Near the end of the hike the midges, little blood sucking gnat-like creatures, emerged with a vengeance. These little critters are the scourge of Scottish hiking and the reason I was carrying a bug head net and spray. For some insane reason on this day I’d left my net in my transfer bag. So the midges were driving me nuts which actually probably made me faster up the last couple of climbs.  Not the best hike, at least the last couple of miles were downhill.

I ended up reaching Kingshouse at 2:30, meaning my overall speed, including stops, was 2.5 miles per hour. Normally it’s 2.0.

I’ve set up a more ambitious schedule on my Scottish hikes than was probably prudent to maximize my enjoyment,  and I’m carrying more weight than necessary each day, but this is also training for the Camino Primitivo in Spain which is up next.

I did however get to have a lovely piece of chocolate cake at a cafe at the end of the hike. – Rev Kane

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Day 4 West Highland Way – Ardlui to Tyndrum

Posted on August 16, 2018 by Michael Kane

Day 4 West Highland Way – Ardlui to Tyndrum

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This day was a hard one to get my head around as I was very focused on my long hike the next day. That makes for hard work, hiking is at least as much mental as it is physical.

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It was a grey and misty morning, there’s a lot of that in Scotland. But the lake was calm and it was a quiet day.

There was some really pretty trail on my 14 miles and weather-wise it was a perfect walking day.  It was right around 60 degrees, a nice breeze, which keeps the midges away, and not a lot of sun.

There was also a lot of history on the trail today. Some really cool informative signs and then some cool Robert the Bruce connections. Including the pond where his famous lost sword supposedly rests, they checked, it doesn’t. Also some cool battlefield sites as well.  And you know, you’re standard thousand year-old cemetery.

I also got up close with some of the trail inhabitants happily it was the little fellow who was a bit aggressive.

Made it into Tyndrum late, had a terrible meal in town and my first haggis of the trip which was by leaps and bounds the best part of the meal. Twenty miles to Kingshouse in the morning. – Rev Kane

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Day 2 West Highland Way – Drymen to Rowardenan

Posted on August 15, 2018 by Michael Kane

Day 2 West Highland Way – Drymen to Rowardenan

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View from my room

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Long slow day today, uphill the first 3 hours culminating in our first real climb. Then the rain came, descending is not my strength, doubly so in the rain. The kicker was the mini-rollercoaster in the last mile, designated on the map as tiring undulating trail. Very accurate description, but dinner at the Clansman and an early bed tonight, no Netflix no keep me up.

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A rainbow i looked down on was the most beautiful thing i saw today.

I learned a good bit about how remote I really am today.

What made me happy was the beautiful landscapes i got to look at all day.

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Hard day but soooo beautiful,  enjoy the pics and have a happy day my friends. – Rev Kane

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Day 4 West Highland Way – Ardlui to Tyndrum

Posted on August 14, 2018 by Michael Kane

Day 4 West Highland Way – Ardlui to Tyndrum

Images when I can, sorry

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This day was a hard one to get my head around as I was very focused on my long hike the next day. That makes for hard work, hiking is at least as much mental as it is physical.

 

It was a grey and misty morning, there’s a lot of that in Scotland. But the lake was calm and it was a quiet day.

There was some really pretty trail on my 14 miles and weather-wise it was a perfect walking day.  It was right around 60 degrees, a nice breeze, which keeps the midges away, and not a lot of sun.

There was also a lot of history on the trail today. Some really cool informative signs and then some cool Robert the Bruce connections. Including the pond where his famous lost sword supposedly rests, they checked, it doesn’t. Also some cool battlefield sites as well.

Made it into Tyndrum late, had a terrible meal in town and my first haggis of the trip which was by leaps and bounds the best part of the meal. Twenty miles to Kingshouse in the morning.

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Day 3 on the West Highland Way -Rowardennan to Ardlui

Posted on August 13, 2018 by Michael Kane

Day 3 on the West Highland Way -Rowardennan to Ardlui

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Good day so far, little things have gone wrong. Scraped my leg, barman doubled my order and then gave me all my change in coins. The morning hike was totally mellow.

Afternoon didn’t look bad in the guide. Then I had one person mention it was a bad section and another tell me their book said it was the hardest section on the trail. What it was, was the first technical section on the trail. Lots of little ups and downs over roots and rocky paths. A few small scrambles, a ladder and some exposed trail over the loch. I hate exposed trail however when it’s over water it doesn’t bother me as much.

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This afternoon felt like a section of the Appalachian Trail in Georgia, except it wasn’t 40 degrees and pouring. Although I have to admit after the heat of the Mojave, our “hot” afternoon at 66 degrees Farenheit is awesome .

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Cool hotel experience tonight, taking the ferry across Loch Lomond to to the Ardlui hotel.  Writing this offline while sitting in a tree on the banks of the loch waiting for the ferryman to come off lunch, notice the raised ball and come get me.  Also getting my first midge bites, which is amazing.  Normally there are clouds feasting on you. But we’ve been essentially midge free.

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What was the most beautiful thing i saw today, the loch at Ardlui.  I learned that Rob Roy’s cave is nothing more than a cave. And what made me happy was just sitting in a tree waiting on my ferry to come.

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I hope your day has been as happy as my last half hour sitting in a tree by a lake. – Rev Kane

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Drymen to Rowardenan

Posted on August 10, 2018 by Michael Kane

Drymen to Rowardenan

 

Unfortunately images won’t post due to limited wifi. I’ll add when i can but i got a couple up on Instagram earlier at reverendmichaelkane

View from my room

Long slow day today, uphill the first 3 hours culminating in our first real climb. Then the rain came, descending is not my strength, doubly so in the rain. The kicker was the mini-rollercoaster in the last mile, designated on the map as tiring undulating trail. Very accurate description, but dinner at the Clansman and an early bed tonight, no Netflix no keep me up.

A rainbow i looked down on was the most beautiful thing i saw today.

I learned a good bit about how remote i really am today.

What made me happy was the beautiful landscapes i got to look at all day.

Hard day but soooo beautiful,  enjoy the pics and have a happy day my friends. – Rev Kane

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Glasgow Cathedral and Legos

Posted on August 9, 2018 by Michael Kane

Glasgow Cathedral and Legos

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Glasgow Cathedral is one of the check box tourist spots in Glasgow. It’s certainly a beautiful old gothic cathedral and the history contained within is very interesting, but it’s not a long stop, however it is free.

For some reason the church was holding an exhibit the day I was there of a famous Lego artist from Scotland. No idea why and not knowing ahead of time, it was a truly bizarre experience and made for some interesting juxtapositions in the photos.

Glad for it all, have a happy day my friends. – Rev Kane

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Day 1 – Hiking the West Highland Way

Posted on August 9, 2018 by Michael Kane

Day 1 – Hiking the West Highland Way

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Day 1 saw me leaving Glasgow for Milngavie (pronounced Mull-guy) and hitting the trail. I was excited to get hiking and got to the train early. Arriving in Milngavie early paid off, the luggage transfer folks were early and so I hit the trail by 8:30, well sort of. I dawdled around in town and then at a local community center looking for a restroom, but by 9, I was on my way.

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It was a beautiful day for hiking, the temperature was around 60F all day with clouds and sun and a little breeze. Which meant no midges! It’s still early but some blackberries had even started to ripen so I ate my first and thankfully supersweet trail berries of the year.

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Critter count for today, 8 domesticated dog only 2 on leash, 2 slugs, a duo of ducks, some swans, 1 crow, a ton of titmouses and other LBBs, countless coos, a shitload of sheep, a bevy of butterflies and one lone beetle.

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Not much to say on this front other than the flowers have been lovely.

Got to eat my first trail berries for rhe year and they were super sweet and awesome.

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The trail also overlaps with the newly developed John Muir Trail.

It wouldn’t be a Scottish hike without a whiskey distillery on the trail.

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On the way onto Drymman someone left up a gift for us Tolkein fans.

I hit Drymen about 2:15 which once my stops were factored out meant i was hiking about 2.7 mph today.  This made me super happy as I’ve been working on improving my speed on flat sections. I normally hike 2.4 mph regardless of slope. This is fine going up or down but I needed to move faster on the flats, so today was a success on a mostly flat 12 mile section.

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It feels great being back on the trail. Initially I encountered a string of less than friendly hikers but it improved as the day went along. I’m missing the type of instant community that forms on less supported hikes but I also realize all community takes time to form. I did meet a lovely young hiker from Germany though, her name is Ella and she was very nice.

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I am returning to my 3 questions for the hike.

What was the most beautiful thing I encountered today and that would be all the flowers. These were my favorite.

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What made me happy today? Quite simply a beautiful walking day in the Scottish countryside.

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What did i learn today? That my training to increase my pace has been at least somewhat successful.  Also that deepfried Mars bars are a thing in Scotland and not just a county fairs.

A tradition for me hiking in Scotland,  my end of the hike Magnum Icecream bar.

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Have a happy day my friends. – Rev Kane 

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Finally in Scotland

Posted on August 7, 2018 by Michael Kane

Finally in Scotland

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The view from my room

So I finally arrived in Glasgow on a cloudy but nice evening.  Currently the European sporting championships are in town, my hotel is full of track cyclists.  I think the mascot is an Otter.

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I grabbed a taxi from the airport, nice guy, good information, that is of course what I could understand. I love Scotland but it always takes a few days to start try to cleary cut through the accent. Scotland, like most of the UK is a lot like America, but there are subtle differences everywhere, like standing instead of walking people on the crossing lights.

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After a very long night’s sleep, today will be spent exploring and running errands. Although on my walk last night I did find something interesting, those if you with young kids will likely be familiar. My 4 year-old nephew kept trying to explain this characters name to me and I just couldn’t get it, now I do.

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Off to explore, have a happy day my friends. –Rev Kane

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In First Class and out if place – part 2

Posted on August 6, 2018 by Michael Kane

In First Class and out if place – part 2

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My pod on the plane

If you missed part 1 of this post you can find it here.

I wanted to just follow on last nights post with my experience on the plane. My personal pod was fabulous, watched Black Panther then laid flat and passed out for 6 hours. Dinner was fabulous.

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You get gifts in international business class, too bad you don’t get to keep the headphones. Noise canceling headphones on an airplane are heaven.

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Customs was a breeze, got a really friendly and chatty clerk who was interested in my hike and asked a lot of friendly, curious questions.

Wandered through terminal 5 at Heathrow until I landed at the British Airways first class lounge. Not quite as nice as JFK, but couches, wifi, buffet who could complain, certainly not the Minister of Happiness.

 

 

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