Highlights
•
The highlights of the West Highland Way were everywhere as we hiked through farms,
passing sheep and highland cattle with their cute long bangs; through peat-covered forests,
and along picturesque lakes and rivers. In our first two miles we were treated to a virtual
“dog parade” of villagers out for walks with their canine companions.
•
The stop at Glengoyne Distillery for whisky (yes, with no “e”) tasting added additional
fun to the 12-mile day. We were tired and ready for the coziness of our small B&B by the
time we got into the quaint village of Drymen (pronounced Drum-mon). We were soon to
relish the Scottish pronunciation of their towns and their accents. We were always
brightened, even on dreary days, by the smiles, sense of humor and friendliness of the
local villagers.
We would usually have the bed and breakfast or small
hotel where we stayed make us a bag lunch to carry in our
daypacks. Since the Scots have some unusual flavors in their
bags of potato “crisps,” it made for good horse trading on the
trail. (“I’ll trade you prawn chips for haggis chips.”)
Just to be clear, it was not rosy all the time.
At the end of the trip, we gathered to recall high points
and low points, and there were some.
Low point for Sherry, Mike and Janet was their Day 2
walk in rain, cold and wind. They were soaked to the skin
going over Conic Hill (a.k.a. Cardiac Hill), only to miss out
on the famous views of Loch Lomond due to low clouds and
mist. This was also the day we discovered that coin-operated
clothes dryers on the WHW are too rare.
To top it off, Janet slipped and fell in a great, big pile of
sheep manure. (It absolutely was not hilarious.)
Secondary low point: At intervals throughout the trip
we were attacked by midges (MI-jees), small, biting insects
similar to our no-see-ums. They are especially obnoxious
when going off-trail to relieve oneself. Fortunately it was not
their high season.
We all agreed that our take-away was a feeling of
accomplishment. We did it, without injury or illness. We
braved the elements and found that they added to the
experience. We had time to reflect, get away from the
busy-ness of our lives.
We met walkers from all parts of the world, like Norman,
a Scot who hiked the entire Way in his kilt. Passing him
always added color to the day.
The
94
GILROY • MORGAN HILL • SAN MARTIN
MARCH/APRIL 2017
Devil’s
gmhtoday.com
Staircase