Day 5 West Highland Way - Ewich House to Tyndrum

 Thursday, June 30, 2022 - Ewich House to Tyndrum at mile 53.8, 4 miles

I had a restless night, eventually getting up and reading The Witcher on my phone for awhile. I downloaded a few books just for this kind of emergency. After reading for an hour I got up at 8:00am and Pounce and I went downstairs for the buffet breakfast. I had Sylvia's homemade yogurt with local honey, fruit and an egg on toast. Pounce was brave and tried the black sausage. She said it was pretty good. The coffee was phenomenal. Alas, all good things must come to an end and we packed up our gear and our bounce bag for the luggage transfer service to pick up and send on to Glen Nevis Camping. My room was only 60 pounds for the best stay yet in Scotland. I highly recommend the Ewich House.

We walked the road back to the West Highland Way. We are not purists but we did connect our footsteps. We hiked past the Augustinian ruins of St. Fillan's Priory and the cemetery there and hiked along the River Fillan, passing Strathfillen Wigwams where we stopped for a pee break.

St. Fillan's Priory

Saint Fillan was an Irish missionary who came to spread Christianity in Scotland in 717AD. In 1318 Robert the Bruce established St. Fillan's Priory after he was given sanctuary in by some Augustinian monks following his defeat at the Battle of Methvan. 

Strathfillan Wigwams

Hiking beside Fillan River

This area was full of history and we passed the site of the Battle of Dalrigh where Robert the Bruce fought Clan MacDougall. 

We were only doing a four mile hike today and we took time to relax by the river and Pounce did some yoga. The plan for today was to hike to Tyndrum and then take a side trip to Kerrera Island for a couple days. Pounce had read about the island and planned a train trip to Oban and from there to Kerrera Island. The hike was sunny and warm and we enjoyed the rare sun.

Loch of the Lost Sword

Robert the Bruce supposedly threw his sword in this lochan

The historical placards were a definite bonus along this stretch of the trail. It is always interesting to pass a place where hundreds of people died but you would never know it if not for the memorial. Most of these battles took place 200 years before America was even discovered, but the Scots have long memories.

Right before we got to Tyndrum it started to rain again. We walked to a restaurant called The Good Food Cafe, and it definitely lived up to its name. We had to leave our packs outside. I had a burger with chips and a lemonade. Afterwards we walked over to the Green Welly, an icon of a stop along the West Highland Way. It had a restaurant, outdoor store and a mini market type store. I bought some more postcards and stamps, got some cash from the ATM and we also got a stamp in our West Highland Way passport. Then we walked the trail back to the train depot where the midges feasted on us while we waited for the train to Oban.

Out head nets kept us sane while we waited for the train

Day 4 West Highland Way - Ardlui to Ewich House

Wednesday, June 29, 2022 - Ardlui to Ewich House at mile 49.5 10.5 miles

We woke up and checked our gear. Between the heated towel bars and the radiator almost everything was dry, including Pounce's shoes. Pounce had elected to hike in waterproof shoes, something she had never done before. She ended up regretting it and almost purchased a different pair of shoes halfway through the hike. When shoes are waterproof they do not dry out easily once they get wet. I hiked in regular Altra trail runners which got wet easily but could also dry out fairly quickly.

Many people choose to hike the West Highland Way in heavy waterproof hiking boots. Footwear is always a personal decision but a major disadvantage of boots is that once they are wet they are almost impossible to dry out unless you have a boot dryer or drying room. Foot problems and injuries are the major reasons  people quit the West Highland Way. If you are on a hike for multiple days your feet swell. Boots do not expand. This is why experienced long distance hikers will buy their hiking footwear one size larger than they usually wear.

We enjoyed the buffet breakfast downstairs. Outside it was cloudy but not raining. Check out was 10:00am and we decided to stay until then and take the 10:00am ferry back to the trail.

Before I repacked my backpack Pounce suggested that I line my pack with a large garbage bag to keep my gear dry and she had an extra one that she gave me. I had never hiked in multiple days of rain although I did one test hike with my pack raincover before coming to Scotland. I had assumed that my pack cover would be sufficient. It simply was not. It helps but in the kind of multiday rain that we were experiencing it did not keep things dry.

It started to rain as soon as we walked out of the hotel

The Scooby Doo van was a tour guide

Arlui Hotel behind us on the right.

I look back at Ardlui

One thing that really surprised me was how small the towns and villages were in Scotland. I would look at a place on a map and almost always assumed it was larger with more services than it actually had. This was especially true in the Highlands. The Highland Clearances in the 1700s and 1800s were an almost genocidal policy that forced people off the land and replaced them with sheep. The effects of those clearances still reverberate in the land today.

We paid the ferry boat captain another 5 pounds per person for the ride back to the trail and hiked back up to the trail, where we paused for some pictures at an overlook.

Loch Lomond behind me

It was raining again but we finally were at the end of Loch Lomond. I said goodbye without regrets and enjoyed the easier terrain of rolling hills, passing through many sheep filled fields. Black faced sheep abound in this area. We hiked fast in the rain and I was happy to know that we had a room for the night to look forward to at Ewich House. Eventually the rain stopped and we peeled off our rain layers. Today's route took us alongside the River Falloch for several miles before it crossed under highway A82 and the train tracks that parallel the highway.

The rivers and streams were running full force from all the rain and it made for a beautiful sight and sound.

We stopped briefly at Beinglas Farm to use the bathroom. There was a bar, pods to stay in, restrooms, showers, a small store and a camping area. Sadly, they lost their lease in September and have closed down. 

The Falls of Falloch

We stopped to enjoy a snack and the view at the Falls of Falloch until the midges forced us back up the trail.

Sheep outnumber humans in Scotland by over a million. I had never noticed that the eyes of sheep are slitted like the eyes of goats so I mistook the creatures in the next video as possibly goats. But they are sheep. Scotland has had a problem getting enough sheepshearers to keep their sheep sheared properly. Usually the sheepshearers from Australia come over this time of year to shear the sheep because it is their slow winter time in Australia and they need the money. But because of Covid restrictions the past few years they have not been coming.

The Carmyle Cottage

Most cottages and buildings in Scotland are white. It is the cheapest color paint.

The sheep creep tunnel under the railroad tracks

It was low even for us shorties

The tunnel under highway A82

My turn!

Once we crossed to the west side of highway A82 the trail began to ascend up through more sheep country. The sun was out and my feet started to get uncomfortably warm in my waterproof socks. This was a lovely section of trail with sweeping views of the valley the highway and train tracks ran through.

Passing a sheep farm with a cool old rock wall fence

The thistle is the national emblem of Scotland and the West Highland Way

I am not sure what it says about a country that they have a thistle as their national emblem and their motto is basically a variation of "Mess with the bull and you will get the horn". Supposedly the reverence for the thistle goes back hundreds of years. The story is that a group of Norse were sneaking in to attack and had removed their footwear to walk more silently when one of them stepped on a thistle and yelled out in pain. The Norse were then defeated by the alerted Scotch.

The Scots that I encountered were invariably kind and helpful. But historically they were fierce warriors and their ability to hold a grudge was legendary.

I could feel a hot spot developing on my toe and took advantage of this historical marker to change out of my waterproof socks into regular wool socks. But a blister had already begun to form. There was a side trail here that went to Crianlarich but we skipped it to continue to Ewich House. The trail climbed and then descended steeply and for some reason the woods we went through reminded me of the scary woods in the Wizard of Oz. 

I was running low on water and stopped to filter some at a little stream. Even after filtering the water was brown from the tannins but it tasted fine.

The trail descended steeply to a clearcut logging area and then popped out to the road. We took a little side trail to Ewich House, our stop for the night.

Ewich House

We knocked on the front door but no one answered. Eventually we just opened the door and went inside. In the front foyer was a boot dryer and we removed our shoes and set them to dry on the foot drying rack. We waited in a front seating area and really wanted to be able to check in and get our rooms. Eventually Pounce went outside and looked around until she found Sylvia the owner working in a garden, who apologized for not hearing us and came inside to give us our room keys and check us in. The Ewich House is run by Sylvia and her husband, Swiss citizens, and it is immaculately clean and welcoming. The old building had been remodeled extensively and the rooms were bright and cheery.

I took a hot shower after Pounce showed me how to turn it on. The showers always seemed to defeat me in Scotland. They are not as intuitive to turn on as one might think and certainly nothing like how they turn on in the United States. As I dried myself off after the shower I discovered a tiny tick on my thigh and used my tweezers to pull it off and flush it down the toilet. Ticks are abundant in Scotland and I was lucky this was the only one that I found the entire trip.

Our extra bag was waiting for us that we had bounced ahead with the luggage transfer service and I changed into my town clothes. Sylvia was kind enough to call a cab for us to Crianlarich after my wifi call failed. (They have very slow internet) Ian the cab driver was great. He picked us up and took us to Crianlarich Hotel for dinner and told us to just have the hotel call him when we were ready to go back to Ewich House. As the only cab driver in tiny Crianlarich he is know by everyone.

Cullen Skink soup, a fish chowder

I decided to try Cullen Skink soup, which is a popular fish chowder that reminded me a lot of clam chowder. I have made an effort to try as much of the local cuisine as I could, with the exception of black sausage, which is basically blood sausage. For dessert I tried the toffee pudding which is actually a cake and very delicious with ice cream and a runny toffee syrup. The front hotel desk called Ian for us and he took us back to Ewich House. 

Day 3 West Highland Way - Rowardennan Lodge Youth Hostel to Ardlui

Tuesday, June 28, 2022 - Rowardennan Lodge Youth Hostel to Arlui around mile 39.3, 11.8 miles

When I was researching the West Highland Way I discovered that hands down the third day is supposed to be the hardest. It is the day that the most people quit. I was to discover for myself why this is.

I slept well and woke up feeling ready for the day. We went downstairs and had breakfast in the hostel dining room. They had cereal, eggs, toast, oatmeal, cheese, fruit, croissants and other things. It was a lovely breakfast and I sat with Lauren from England and talked about her hiking plans for the day. At the table next to us sat a group of men wearing matching shirts. In response to my query, they said that they were hiking the trail in four days as a fundraiser in honor of a child named Maddy who had died of some kind of rare disease. I tried to look up their charity at justgive.org but I was unable to figure out exactly what it was. I wished them luck on their venture.

I took a quick stroll around the hostel and wished I had not been so tired last night. The view from their windows of Loch Lomond was stunning. But we needed to pack up and get moving. It was raining steadily and we had a decision to make. Do we take the low route or the high route? Because of the rain that was forecasted to last all day, we decided to go with the high route. It was a less dangerous route than the low, especially in these conditions. The high route is actually a former military road and avoided several miles of steep, slippery trail conditions.

Today was an exercise in foot/eye coordination as I tried to stay out of the wet and mud. Eventually I gave up and just walked through all the puddles. I was wearing my waterproof socks, which were not waterproof. However, they acted a bit like a wetsuit. They allowed the water within them to warm up and so although I was wet, my feet were not cold.

Gloomy views of Loch Lomond

The high route road

And back down to Loch Lomond we go

Up I go again. Rinse and repeat all day.

It rained all day. The creeks and streams rose and became raging torrents across the trail on their way down to the lake. I was grateful for my hiking poles to help me cross them. After four miles the low and high routes merged again and we ran into a group of hikers that we'd met at the hostel who had elected to take the low route. Their description of their experience reinforced the wisdom of our decision to stick with the high route.

Three miles later we crossed a raging stream with a nice bridge over it right before we arrived at the Inversnaid Hotel.

The Inversnaid Hotel is a very nice hotel that was once a hunting lodge for the Duke of Montrose. Because so many West Highland Way hikers stop there they have a separate entrance for the hikers with a room with tables and electrical plug ins to charge electronics. Hikers eat in the bar if they want to order a hot meal, not the hotel dining room. We had to leave our packs on large wooden shelves at the hikers entrance and take our shoes and boots off and walk around in our socks inside the hotel, which seemed odd but I'm sure helped save their carpets from mud. Outside was a faucet for filling water bottles.

Hiker lunch room at Inversnaid

Since it was about noon the place was packed with hikers. Pounce and I ordered hot meals in the bar to help us warm up. I had steak pie with chips and a half pint. As usual, the food was delicious. When lunch was over I returned to find my pack completely soaked from the wet things that dripped down from the shelves above. Back out into the rain we went. Our goal was to stay at Doune Bothy in about four miles. A bothy is a building that typically provides shelter from the rain. It usually has a fireplace and fire wood. As we hiked along we discussed our hope that someone had started a fire and that it would be warm and dry when we arrived.

The trail was slippery, wet, rooty and rocky with some steep ups and downs as it wound beside the lake's rocky shoreline. The relentless rain meant almost no views. There were several places on the trail that felt pretty sketchy but because of the rain and the necessity to keep moving I did not get pictures of most of those places.

All that rain does keep things green

There were several staircases like these

The trail was very tough ups and downs over slippery rocks and close to Rob Roy's Cave the midges made an appearance and feasted on my legs. Eventually the bothy came into view. I was soaked to the skin and longing for a warm fire and a place to get dry.

Doune Bothy in the distance

Doune Bothy

Sadly, our hopes of a warm fire were not to be. Someone had left the cabin door open and the floor was flooded from the rain. There was no firewood and it was cold, dank and dark. Quite honestly, the place made my skin crawl.

We set up our stoves on a table and heated up some water to make some hot tea. Another group of hikers tromped in so we were unable to change into any dry clothes. My head was spinning and I began to text my husband on my Garmin. 

I carry an InReach Garmin with me when I hike because John, my husband, likes to see where I am. I turn my Garmin on track mode when I begin hiking and half a world away he watches on his computer as I move up the trail. When I stop for the day I send him a message that I am safe and stopping for the night. It has an SOS feature in case of a true emergency but it also allows me to text and email certain people through a satellite. The only problem is that you have to toggle to each letter to text. I sent him a text and asked him to find us a room at Ardlui, the closest place with lodging. Without wifi I could not look up anything myself.

Texting John on my Garmin inside Doune Bothy

We decided to start hiking the mile to the ferry to Ardlui in case he found a place for us and as we hiked we found a nice camping spot by the lake. We had not heard back from John so I sent him a text that we had found a place to camp for the night. He texted back frantically, "No, I found you a room! Go to the ferry!" The ferry ran only once an hour and we hiked as fast as we could to get there on time. We could see the boat coming across the lake and we ran the last bit down to the dock. Another couple was there waiting for the ferry boat as well. The boat captain sent the other hiker back up to lower the flag that he had raised to indicate that someone was there to take the ferry and we each paid five pounds for the ride across the lake to the hotel. 

The ferry boat to Ardlui

So happy to be on the boat to Ardlui!

When I learned about Ardlui in my research I thought it was a bustling town. Turns out it is one hotel with a restaurant and a car campground. I could not believe that he was able to get us a last minute room. Turns out it was the nicest room at the hotel, and the most expensive, which is probably why it had not been booked. Quite honestly, I would have paid double the price of what I did pay because I was so desperate to get warm and dry. Every single thing in my pack was wet except for my sleeping bag which I keep stored in a dry sack.

King size bed with a fireplace

A copper tub in the large sitting room

Trying to dry out all my stuff

We hung things on the heated towel bars in the bathroom to dry and Pounce figured out how to turn on the radiator so she could dry her shoes on it. Hers got soaked the last half mile in a stream ford.  I warmed up with a hot shower and then I called John to thank him for getting us a room. He is my eye-in-the-sky trail angel!

The toughest day of the hike was over and we had survived. We ate dinner in the bar downstairs and I had salad and fish patties with a well deserved hard cider. The comfy king bed was calling our names and I collapsed into bed and slept like a log.