Sunday arrives, and my longest section of the trail by far, 19 miles distance and across some terrain that was wilder and more remote. Morning Prayer seemed to be emphasising the goodness of God, which made me aware of all the beauty and grandeur of this landscape also being tainted; the occasional pieces of rubbish lying around as well as the historic injustices that have taken place - the Highland clearances, for example. Much of today will be on the Old Military Road, built in the 1750s to allow troops from the south to quell rebellious Scottish clans.
I had been awake in the night, a little anxious about the day. My biggest concern was that when I reached the latter third of the walk I would be so tired and, possibly, feeling alone and miserable that I would slow down further and not enjoy the experience.
I had breakfast as soon as the restaurant opened and was on the trail for 8. I had spent some of my time awake working out the times and distances to the, albeit few, obvious break points. The trail was quiet and relatively easy and so I was surprised to pass my first possible lunch stop by 11am, and so I keep on going from the Bridge of Orchy towards Inveroran. I knew this next section was tougher, gaining altitude into the mist, but I found myself at the Inveroran Lodge by 12. A cup of tea and a piece of cake were in order, along with a brief chat with walkers I’d met on previous days.
However, as I set out just after 12 the rain started and fell heavily for an hour. I felt ok in my rain gear, and tried to keep going and enjoy a sense of experiencing the elements and being able to keep moving. The track rose steadily through pine woodlands before emerging onto Rannoch Moor. The hills in the distance looked unfinished as the tops were lost in the cloud and I was alone to my thoughts. I walked alone with a few walkers ahead and behind. The trail was clear and obvious, so this was purely about perseverance and having faith that I was making progress.
I knew I was making good time, even though it was impossible to see any real features to use for a bearing. Finally, around 3:30, I rounded a headland and the approach to Glencoe opened in front of me. After walking without a frame of reference for so long, the ability to see the end point made me feel I was making no progress whatsoever, so slowly did the distant objects move closer.
By the time I had reached my room for the night, showered and eaten it was late and there was no Wi-Fi in the rooms. I allowed my tired body to grab an early night. I was glad of today. I couldn’t have learnt about keeping going and remaining contained within myself without actually walking that distance in the mist and rain.
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