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!

Treating this one as a section hike, so no resupply! This means 7 days of food. Averaging about 2600 calories and 625g a day.

We’ll, I never thought I’d walk the WHW again, but Freddy VDM from the PCT 2019 group is walking it in May and I thought, why not?

To add some spice we’re treating it, for supply purposes, as a single section so 7 days of food and no cheating when passing shops. No sneaky pasties for me this time!