Happy House Hiker: Day 9 West Highland Way - Kinlochleven to Fort William

Tuesday, July 5, 2022 Kinlochleven to Fort William, mile 96, 16 miles

We fixed ourselves breakfast down in the hostel kitchen. I kinda like the hostel thing. It is affordable and you meet interesting people from all over the world. All the hostels I've experienced on this trip have had a laid back vibe. Our four person bunk room had bunk beds in it but tall people must struggle. Each bunk was barely six feet long. There are not many advantages to being short, but being able to fit onto almost any bed is one of them. It also would have been a tight fit to have had two additional people in that room. It was really nice to be able to hang out things everywhere to dry without worrying about any other roommates.

My tent in the hallway had dried over night and we packed my gear and quite a bit of Pounce's into my backpack. I took the detachable lid off and used it as a fanny pack for the day. I carried my fleece, food, Garmin and water bottle in it. Pounce had her pack but without all her gear it was almost like a day pack.

full pack ready for transport by Ginger Routes

We signed the chalkboard in the hostel kitchen and got our passports stamped. By 9:00am we were on the trail since we had a 16 mile day ahead of us. We were excited to do this section without our heavy packs. Many people do this trail using a daily baggage service. They book their lodging in advance and just carry a day pack with their food, beverages and extra clothes. The advantage of this is they know where they will be staying each night and their luggage is waiting for them at their hotel when they arrive. The disadvantage is that there is no room for spontaneity and the lodging is typically not refundable if you get injured or need to change your hiking plans. You also miss out on great camping opportunities and it costs a lot more money. But with how rainy it is I would maybe go with a luggage service and prebook my rooms if I was to ever do this again.

I don't get it, the trail looked so flat on the map

I signed the date the European way

When the board gets too full they take a picture of it, post it below the wall and start over

Starting the final day

climbing up out of the valley

The day started with a steep climb. It was probably just as steep as Devil's Staircase, but nobody really talks about this section. It was no problem without my heavy pack.

Kinlochleven behind us

The two small white buildings on the hills are where the trail started to descend to Kinlochleven yesterday

It spritzed rain and after we made it to the top we began the drover or military road to Fort William. It was nice and wide and in pretty good shape. The sun came out and the layers came off until I even zipped off my trousers bottoms. In Scotland we call them trousers not pants. Pants mean underwear here.

the layers are coming off

It was beautiful moorland with hills, green and sheep. There were tons of hikers today that we kept leapfrogging and views for miles! After the first rain of the morning it was sunny and warm the rest of the day.

puddles on the trail

Tigh-na-sleubhaich

It is not advised to wild camp inside this old derelict farm house, but just past it are some rock walls of a former sheep pen that provide shelter form the wind. We did not stay here but it looked good.

Lundavra /Lochan Lunn Da-Bhra

This little lake was where the real McBeth lived at one time.

Looking back towards Big Pass and Lundavra

It felt like we were walking in The Sound of Music scenery

Gazing at Ben Nevis the highest point in Scotland

Ben Nevis

Descending to Fort William

We arrived at Fort William in the late afternoon. It was jarring to be walking the last few miles on concrete sidewalks next to busy traffic so when we saw a side trail to the city we took that instead. It gave us beautiful views of Fort William and I do not understand why that is not the official trail, other then they want the hikers to go through the commercial part of Fort William and spend money.