Last day! We set off through Kinlochleven dreaming of a hot meal that wasn’t either couscous or noodles. A pretty ascent then descent down into Glen Nevis, dodging the motorcross riders and being sad at the number of tress felled since we were last here.

Pretty descent, with Freddy once more falling when filming, and headed straight to the Ben Nevis Inn for a great meal.

A night a the wonderful Chase the Wild Goose Hostel, which is highly recommended, if a little out of town. This is also a good starting point for those wanting to walk the Great Glen Way.

Today, up and over  the Devil’s staircase and a uneventful stroll to Kinlochleven.

However the descent to Kinlochleven, past the hydro-electric pipes, was pretty.

The most fun part of the day was Freddy repeatedly falling over while taking selfie videos….

At Kinlochleven there is a rather nice campsite, so we took a short day (a nero? I need to get into PCT speak). The ice climbing centre was open so coffee was enjoyed in the dry. We grabbed the best spot in the campsite beforehand – Freddy’s nous most welcome.

We also met a young couple from New Zealand, one was a ultralight nut who was probably wearing cuben-fibre underpants. I love how young people are so often trying to show off. I of course tormented them with my political views – the young are often so indoctrinated these days it is almost too easy!

 

It was an overcast day as we crossed the Orchy to enter Rannoch moor. However visibility was good and the clouds just added to the atmosphere as we crossed Rannoch Moor.

Spectacular views, but was a bit fatigued so the stop at the Glencoe ski area’s coffee shop was very welcome.

The Kingshouse Hotel was under refurbishment, which was a shame, but we found a beautiful camping spot on the river. Almost immediately, the clouds disappeared an we had a gloriously sunny afternoon! A really idyllic spot with spectacular views.

 

Now I’ve been extremely bad and neglected to post the last few days! I hope to be more diligent on the PCT.

Apart from a bit of mud-hopping early on this was an easy day to Bridge of Orchy, at the edge of Rannoch Moor.

The Bridge of Orchy hotel used to have a bunkhouse and was very welcoming to walkers, and indeed many years ago I enjoyed a cup of tea here after a particularly wet day. Another year I used the bunkhouse – and another I camped nearby next to the river! (Yes, I’ve done the WHW a few times…). However now the hotel has been refurbished and is chasing a higher-class (or heavier wallet-ed) clientele. But don’t despair, the station buildings at the nearby railway are now a bunkhouse! Freddy knew the owners and thankfully they had a spare space due to a cancellation. A bed!

 

The full bothy emptied out and we were soon on our way towards Inversnaid. Just a thirty minutes in we came across something like a mirage, a small shack selling supplies and coffee! A couple from the Aberdeen area had bought a remote cottage and started selling to hikers. With the effort that they made we had to partake 😀

The walk to Inversnaid was pretty, a bit up and down along the Lochside but not too taxing. Inversnaid Hotel and the falls beside it made a spectacular view, but the Hotel is not particularly hiker friendly so we moved on.

Now today we only covered 11 miles but the subsequent were hard miles – steep inclines up and down the Lochside with awkward ground, many large rocks with ankle-breaker cleaves. Walking poles today were a lifesaver.

Stopped at the Doune Bothy for lunch and a coffee and met many of the hikers we’d seen before. My feet were hot after the tough section, see this:

Beinglass Campsite is a beautiful spot with nice facilities and showers, the first for a few days. However it was also the weekend so many people up from Glasgow. Some, like the family from Paisley we sat with were great company (and bought us a beer). Others… well a drunk Glaswegian couple having a domestic from 1am and 4am while stumbling clumsily around the site shouting ‘where the f*** is our tent’, tripping over people’s tents and sometimes opening tent doors to check was, well, an experience. Well they say that the West Highland Way gives a taste of everything Scotland has to offer.

After breakfast a little lost lamb came visiting our tents looking for mum. Realising we weren’t suitable candidates it ran up the hill and soon a matching bleeting was heard as mum came 😀

Hopped up Conic Hill and got a great view of Loch Lomond, one that was shortly to disappear as the mist rolled in. Descending into Balmaha we dropped in on a B&B Freddy once stayed in and were offered tea and more importantly WiFi which I used to kick off more form filling for the new job.

Next was the rather up and down but very pretty lochside path to Rowardenan. Now the hotel there is pretty awful and a polite question as to whether we could use their benches to eat our wraps if we bought a couple of coffees was rebuffed.

After another lochside path we arrived at an idyllic cottage in the woods scene, Rowchoish Bothy. By the time the sun went down there was a great fire in the hearth and 15 people from England, Scotland, the Netherlands, Australia, Czech Republic and Germany! Of course with that many people there were bound to be some snorers!

Woke to rain and hunkered down to wait for it to stop before emerging perhaps at 7.30 to make some decent porridge.

The day didn’t really change, weather wise, complete cloud cover and light rain on and off.

However a visit to the Glengoyne Distillery was morale boosting, as was their 10 and 18 year old single malts…

Took a detour to Devil’s Pulpit, a spectacular gorge which was hard to find and even harder to get to. Resisted the urge to laugh Freddy down to steal his sitmap. I will continue in having a cold arse when we stop.

Rather nice ‘summit to eat’ meal before getting into bag. It’s a damp and chilly night tonight.

Somewhat panicked by the amount of work to set everything up for my new contract. I hope I can do some online from my tent and delay the rest. Otherwise might have to cut this short 😐

Lazy day as I started with a large breakfast in Glasgow before meeting Freddy VDM in the afternoon at Milngavie. Freddy is on the PCT 2018 Facebook group and is also planning the hike for next year.

A gentle stroll out to a glorious spot beside Loch Craigallian and an early camp.

Then a phone call confirming I’d got the job I interviewed for yesterday!