Day 16 + 17 (+18): Drymen - Sallochy Campsite - Inversnaid - Edinburgh

May 3

Kilometers: 18

Ascent: 254

I woke to a beautiful morning and a nice breakfast. My knee was painful last night, so I had to find a new route, I couldn't walk up and down Conic Hill. Too bad to miss the Loch Lomond view though! 

Drymen Inn in the morning. I had the two windows on the left side, right above the beer garden. The music stopped at 11 pm and I managed to sleep for a bit before that.

OS Maps suggested a route parallel to the road, but in the forest. At first the trail was very nice, but it soon got wet and muddy. But that's excpected after the rainiest winter in a hundred or so years.

As I took this photo I thought I'd better check where I was. Good thing, I had somehow missed a turn. I retraced my steps for about 1 kilometer and found the trail. More of an opening in the trees, the trail was very faint, obviously not many people walk it. As I kept walking it got more difficult and at times I had to push through shrubbery and trees. 

Eventually I could see the forest opening up, only to arrive at a locked gate. No problem, it was very sturdy and easy to climb 😀 On the map I could see the forest continue for some time on the other side of the large paddock I was now in. Apprehensive about it being as difficult as what I had just walked through I opted for a gate to my right and a short track to the road. I reached a gate and it wasn't even locked 🤩 I followed the main road until I got to Balmaha and a very nice cafe where I stopped for lunch and a rest.

After lunch the trail followed Loch Lomond and I was thinking of when I took my mom to Scotland in 2007. One day we stopped for lunch right next to Loch Lomond with a nice view of the loch. This made the walk very emotional (she passed away 19 months ago), and I was a bit overwhelmed with feelings.

The trail. Beautiful roots, but a little difficult to cross with a bad knee.

Eventually I got to Sallochy Campsite. By now my back was a bit sore, my guess is that I somehow put stress on it from unconsciously trying to make it easier for my knee.

The campgrounds is very basic with three composting toilets and a sink with cold water for drinking and doing dishes. It is divided in two parts, one with larger pitches for car campers; they also have a barbecue on each site. I was in the West Highland Way hikers' area, a larger site with room for 6 one person tents. I was second to arrive and could choose a great spot!

A tent with a view.

Pitching the tent proved very difficult. For the first time since my accident I had to kneel and put pressure on my knee. The pain was quite bad and I had to come up with different ways to kneel without standing on my right knee. It is also stiff, so I can't bend it much. In good weather like today it wasn't too hard, but in rain, when I would like to do as much as possible from the inside, it will probably be trickier.  

Most of the others at the West Highland Way part of the campgrounds were Germans. I spent the evening with a German couple and a German father and son; very nice people and we had a lot of fun, staying up talking until it got dark.

May 4

Kilometers: 21

Ascent: 527

Last night was my first night in my new tent, a Durston x-mid solid 1p. What a great tent! For the past couple of years I've been freezing most nights on trail. This time I brought a digital thermometer, it never got colder than 10 C inside of the tent and I was toasty in spite of it raining for a while. The 1p is to small for me, however. Due to aches and pains (other than the knee) I need to be able to move around a lot at night and I found the tent a bit constricted. 

Loch Lomond in the morning

Due to the rain last night I packed up as much as possible inside the tent, the inner tent as well. I could then wipe off the condensation on the inside of the fly and the raindrops on the outside before finally packing the fly. 

Today I wanted to walk the West Highland Way as much as possible. Yesterday's road walking was a bit boring and I didn't get to meet a lot of people. So when the path started going uphill I happily followed it. It got steeper and steps had been built to stop the path from eroding. The steps just kept going up and the knee was getting a quite painful, so I decided to join the road when I could. The road would come to an end in about 2 kilometers anyway, after that I wouldn't have a choice anymore.

After a coke and crisps at Rowardennan Hotel I continued and soon arrived at Ben's Bakes Honesty Box.

Ben's Bakes is very close to where the road ends. There's a great choice of snacks and drinks, and a nice place to rest the legs. Too bad I just had a rest!

Today there would be a choice between the high and the low route. Before leaving home I had read posts about how difficult the low route was, but also people replying that the high route was just as difficult. I think I now know which is correct.

When I reached the place where the path split I had to make my mind up. The high route continued uphill on a wide track. The low route went downhill on what looked like a nice path. The low route would also pass Rob Roy's Prison, which sounded intriguing. I should have googled it, I know. As always, the path soon got muddy from last night's rain, but not too bad. 

Gnarly trees, so beautiful 

The path lead downhill through the woods and followed the shore of Loch Lomond, with a lot of ups and downs. It was hard going with lots of rocks and roots, and sometimes scrambling over large boulders was required. A couple of times I had to take my backpack off and set it down to be able to climb up or down a rock. For a while my pace slowed to approximately 1 kilometer per hour and I had no idea for how long it was going to be this bad. Having a bad knee didn't help much. I was actually getting worried about not making it to Inversnaid before dark, when the two routes merged and the going got easier again. I met a number of people who had walked the high route and they told me that it had been very easy. Sure, there was a lot of up and down, but definitely no scrambling. One person had walked both routes and said that the high route was a lot easier, especially for someone with a bad knee. I don't think I saw anyone with a full pack like mine on the low route. And I didn't even get to see Rob Roy's Prison! There was no sign and I didn't realize I passed it =(

Bluebells just after the routes joined, a nice, flat path for a little while.

I later learned that the high route was created to facilitate for people carrying a heavy pack (me) or people who had problems with walking the difficult, original low route (also me...). This explains why, shortly after the two routes merge, the trail becomes a narrow path again. There was still some scrambling, luckily I had now met two hikers (with small daypacks) who helped me across the more difficult places. 

I finally arrived at Inversnaid Hotel, three hours later than expected, but before dark. I decided to have dinner at the hotel instead of eating my own stuff, I was just too tired to cook. And I'm happy I did, a three course dinner for only £15! I skipped the starter, though, I was too tired to eat that much food. 

The restaurant staff were all very nice and helpful. When I asked for a quiet table I got my own room! While I had my dinner I could see their routine. Perfect cleaning, dusting of pictures, changing table cloths. Everything I'd except from a much more expensive place. The main course (salmon) and dessert (apple pie with custard) were both very good.

After breakfast (I got my own dining room again for breakfast this morning) I had to decide what to do. I had only a couple of days to get to Oban, where I was to start TGOC, the Great Outdoors Challenge. Three of those days would be through a rarely walked glen and I was worried about my knee. Also, today's section of trail along Loch Lomond past the Inversnaid Hotel is a longer but very similar scramble to the low route which I walked yesterday and there is no alternative. Once you start you have to keep walking or turn back. I didn't feel that I wanted to risk getting stranded somewhere and having to be rescued. I made the tough decision to quit and go back home. There's always another year!

Morning

Waiting for the boat

I took the boat across the loch and could see part of the hillside I walked along yesterday, it looked quite steep! Once across the loch I had to wait for the bus to Edinburgh. Fortunately there was a hotel next to the bus stop. My knee made it painful to stand still, walking was easier, so I went inside to the bar to wait. I was a bit nervous that I'd miss the bus so I didn't wait long, the knee makes me move even slower than usual.

I got a bed at a hostel in Edinburgh. I've stayed there a number of times before and it's a very nice place. My only problem was the girl in the top bunk. She kept opening her window and the mosquitoes kept biting me. It wasn't until morning I realized that there were bedbugs in my bed 😐 The hostel isn't to blame, it's the backpackers that don't know never to put their backpacks on the beds. Fortunately I had everything in a locker overnight and I made sure to put everything in the freezer when I came back home. 

Two weeks after the accident