the west highland way
Day 6 – Glencoe Nountain Resort to Kinlochleven
Today was a bit of a contrast from yesterday. The scenery was still spectacular, but the blue skies had gone. It was chucking it down when I set off. I put full waterproofs on for the 2nd time on the trail and set off into the mist.
The waterproof kept the weather out, but also kept the heat in. Balance keeping dry with keeping cool has been a real challenge. Most of the time I’ve opted to just get a bit wet. This morning was a different story though because the rain was heavy. The wind was also quite strong at times, and that helped.
The trail followed the A82 for a while. There were beautiful views of the moors, The Buachaille and the 3 Sisters.
The road noise was loud at times and I was glad to be heading away from it and up the Devil’s Staircase. It wasn’t as bad as the name suggests, a climb of around 300m over 20 minutes or so. I’ve driven the valley lots of times, but the from up here were something else. You could see the river disappearing off into Rannoch Moor in the distance.
When I got to the top, a rainbow came into view, and the smell of weed filled the air – the Stoner-Hobbits were nearby. Sure enough, I rounded a bend and the 2 of the were propped up against the grass bank, each with a spliff in hand. I said hello.
“That almost killed me!”
“Sorry, didn’t mean to startle you.”
“No, the devil’s staircase!”
“Ahhh”, I smiled back. “Every time I see you you’re sat down and there’s a nice smell in the air”.
“Aye.” they smiled back, furtively. “It’s medicinal. I’m 54. I need my pain killers. It’s great. We just teleport from spliff to spliff!”
I chuckled and wandered down the trail.
The rest of the trail was a steep decent down the valley-side. I’ll need to go up the other side in the morning, but trying not to think of that!
I reached the pub and celebrated with a couple of Guinnesses. I’m in a hut again, but it has a proper bed with duvet and pillows.
Last day tomorrow. I predict a tear in my eye at the finish line.
