West Highland Way - Day 3

Today we hiked 13.5 miles. Before hiking we stopped at a little store to buy lunch and snacks as we weren't sure if there were any services along the way. We talked with a local who was telling us about the weather here in the winter. She and her family are headed to Disney in October. She would have talked all day had we let her.

The beginning of the hike was easy, rolling hills through the national forest. Sometimes we were high with great views of Loch Lomond and passing by many waterfalls. (About 40 throughout the day!) With all of the water running down the hill, the area was a lush green. Sometimes we were down low on the Bonnie banks of the lake.

We met Sophie (originally from Germany) and Oscar from London. We have played leap frog (we would stop, they would pass us, they would stop, we would pass them) with them for a couple of days, but today we started together and had a chance to talk. We also met a mother- daughter duo from Germany, a pair of older ladies from Colorado and PA (State college area), and a couple from Cleveland. Lastly we met up with two guys from Sydney, Australia - James and Simon.

We stopped for a bite to eat at a stoney beach along lake and later found a hotel that did serve drinks so we had a coffee. This is where we meet the Australians. The trail after this stop was difficult. The book described it as more of an obstacle course than a hike. That was a good description. We did a lot of boulder climbing and carefully picking our way through rocks and tree roots and around mud puddles. At first it was fun but after a while it got very tiring. It was a very good leg workout, one might even call it exhausting. Along the way, we talked to a guy from Poland on bicycle. He was carrying it more than riding it, not sure how he did it.

We had to catch a ferry to get to our hotel across the river. We joked with the Australians that the last one to the ferry had to buy the first beers. The ferry left hourly at 10 past the hour. The Australians had to run down the path to catch the ferry. We were 5 minutes too late and had to wait 50 minutes in the rain for the next one to arrive. We bought their beer at dinner.Baca selengkapnya