Day Five: The West Highland Way
Sunday May 19th
Kinlochleven - fort william
16 miles / 24 km
This morning was the final morning on this trail, so I took it slow. I slept in, put all my stuff in the warming huts to dry out, made a really nice breakfast and drank several cups of tea with two German guys for company. It was a lovely start to the day.
First things first, before finding the trail on the other side of Kinlochleven, I was pinning after some fresh bread. Something particularly lovely about Europe is that even the little run-of-the-mill shop will likely have some really nice fresh bread on offer. Sure enough, down the road from the campsite was a little grocery store filled with fresh baked goods and several gorgeous seed-topped rolls calling my name.
On the other side of town the trail climbs back up into the hills from the valley where the sweet village of Kinlochleven lies. As the trail leveled out I entered “The Great Pass” or Lairigmor which would take myself and several fellow hikers all the way to Fort Williams.
Not wanting to deal with any wet clothes today, I wore shorts and a wool base layer. It was brisk, but at a quick pace I was really comfortable. Fellow hikers inquired several times about my lack of clothing, everyone else was completely bundled and covered from head to toe. To be fair, low grey clouds could have meant rain at any moment.
The pass had the same mood as Glencoe with rolling green hills, sheep with fresh white little lambs at their sides, several beautiful ruins and moody low clouds that gave off a fresh mist.
I stopped for lunch, the best part of the day, at a beautiful little spot with a river rushing by. On this last day I was really trying to make an effort to enjoy myself & to take my time. I began to assembly my lunch: a sandwich of fresh seedy bread, thick slices of sharp red cheddar cheese & the end of my cucumber. However, my sandwich crafting was rudely interrupted by the dreaded midges. Wanting to really enjoy this mid day break, I packed back up to find a better, midge free lunch spot.
Shortly before finally making it to Fort William I took a little detour to see the remains of Dun Deardail, an Iron age fort destroyed by fire. These ruins sit atop a hill right across from Ben Nevis, offering a splendid view.
I thought there would be more to see of the ancient village, but these steps leading up to the fort were the coolest part. A sign marks the detour to Dun Deardail so keep your eyes pealed for it.
At the Dun Deardail Ruins I met two English brothers who had taken the overnight train up from London for the weekend. They offered to take my picture with good old Ben Nevis in the back ground.
Then after 92 miles of walking along The West Highland Way, I landed at the Ben Nevis Caravan & Camping Park settled, you guested it, at the base of Ben Nevis. It was something like 10 Euros for the night, so I found a spot, pitched my tent and headed to the showers.
Later that night I made friends with a neighbor, a funny dutch man, and together we walked through the camp grounds checking out cool vans & caravans before heading to the near by Glen Nevis Restaurant for a beer & some chips (fries).
oh, Ben Nevis
4413 METERS
Ben Nevis was covered in cloud when I woke up. I stood outside my tent brushing my teeth deciding if I would go up or not. I met a few neighbors who had all decided with out a view, it wasn’t worth it. I felt the same way.
However, looking through these photographs and thinking back, I have a twinge of regret. Why did I not hike up to at least the cloud cover. Sometimes in the fatigue of travel or in the momentum of travel you make decisions that in hindsight make little sense. I think the reason I didn’t hike up there is that at the end of The West Highland Way, by no fault of the trail, of Scotland or even maybe my own, I was not myself. I was lonely.
So I will just have to climb Ben Nevis next time.