Editor’s note: Over the next several Saturdays, Mark Lorenzoni will be writing about his eight-day hike on the West Highland Way, a 96-mile path that runs along the lochs and Highlands of Scotland. Lorenzoni completed the hike with his wife, Cynthia, as well as his sister, Lisa, and her husband, Tim. Each Saturday, Lorenzoni will write about a specific day of their hike.
After a restful night’s sleep in our cozy B&B, we were greeted by a gorgeous sunrise over the quaint village of Drymen.
Charlottesville Sports
Mark Lorenzoni: Hiking Scotland's West Highland Way is an stunningly scenic adventure
- MARK LORENZONI
Charlottesville Sports
Mark Lorenzoni: Walking the West Highland Way — Day 1, Milngavie to Drymen
- MARK LORENZONI
We were excited for today’s 16-mile leg of the West Highland Way, as it was set to take us up over the foothills of the Scottish Highlands and then down to the start of the path along the legendary Loch Lomond.
As we ate our delicious pre-walk “English breakfast”, Cynthia and I gently broke the news to my sister, Lisa, and her husband, Tim, whose legs were still in pain from having completed the longest single hike of their lives the day before, that today’s hilly route was going to easily outdistance that. Despite the daunting thought of dragging their sore legs over 16 undulating miles, they both excitedly responded with “We can’t wait, let’s get to it!”
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And, with that, us four aging baby boomers set off from the village of Drymen to Loch Lomond for the second day of our 100-mile Scottish journey northward to Fort William. After carefully navigating our way along a mile-long narrow path on the village outskirts — a path that was precariously lined with Great Britain’s notorious and dreaded stinging nettles — we found ourselves walking through a dense forest of towering evergreens.
A few miles later, as we emerged out of the pathway of pines, our eyes were suddenly treated to a stunning, iconic Scottish scene: endless fields of beautiful purple and pink-highlighted heather. Rising up out of that brilliant sea of heather was beautiful Conic Hill, our first Highland ascent.
While making our way through the colorful heather, by way of a narrow, winding path, we noted fellow hikers way, way up above us in the distance. As we began our slow ascent, we all agreed that the word “hill” was misleading, for it looked and, as we huffed and puffed, felt very much like a mountain!
Thanks to the recent rains, the path leading to the top had been turned into a rushing mountain stream. So, between trudging through the water, the steep ascent and following a convoy of brown cows who were lumbering their way up the same mountain stream path, it was slow going to the top for our foursome. We all agreed, as we rested against our poles about halfway up, that this was our first real terrain challenge of the hike.
But, alas, the rewards far outweighed the challenges of the climb, for the view from the summit, looking down at the mighty Loch Lomond, outstretched for as far as could see to the north, was absolutely stunning. Islands of green were scattered throughout the endlessly long loch and tiny sailboats of all colors dotted the massive body of shimmering water. All four of us just stood there for several minutes, mesmerized by this stunning panoramic scene.
To our surprise, the incredibly steep walk straight down the other side of Conic Hill, leading to the shores of the loch, made the earlier ascent seem like child’s play. For more than a half-mile, we gingerly worked our way along massive, slippery, moss-covered stone steps that literally went straight down.
It seems that the Scots don’t believe in gentle switchbacks. Instead, they seem to feel that the best way down a hill is to take the fastest, most direct route: a straight line downward! Within a few yards of hitting this nose-dive descent, we had slowed to a crawl and even with our trusty poles, we still couldn’t muster a pace any faster than one mile per hour.
We finally, after having pounded our already sore quads to mush, arrived down to the shores at the southern end of Loch Lomond, Scotland’s largest lake in terms of surface area. The paths along the loch were still quite muddy from the recent rains and, along some stretches, were even covered by water but thanks to the flatter terrain, we were able to pick up our pace again.
I absolutely loved the scenery, as I found it to be a thrilling treat to be walking along this beautiful body of water. From my left shoulder I was in constant eye sight of majestic Highlands of green rock towering up along the western side of the loch, all the while with their beautiful silhouettes reflected perfectly in the water. I simply couldn’t get enough of these unending stunning views.
After hiking for nine hours and covering 16 miles, our long second day of hiking the West Highland Way drew to a close as we arrived in the tiny village of Rowardennan.
After our long day of hiking, all four of us were more than ready for a drink at the pub, a hearty meal, a hot shower and a good night’s sleep. We welcomed the rest, as everyone we had chatted with while hiking that day, warned us that the third day was by far the toughest of the entire 100-mile journey due to the “technical bouldering” along a ”treacherous” six-mile stretch of the path along the loch in the middle of another 16-mile trek.
Sounds like the real fun was just about ready to begin!
Mark Lorenzoni, who is the co-founder of the Ragged Mountain Running and Walking Shop, hung up his running shoes last year, after a half century of running, and now starts each day with a brisk walk. Lorenzoni can be reached by text at (434) 962-1694.
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