Great Glen Way

If you take a look at the map of Scotland, you see that the northwestern corner of the country is almost an island, almost cut off from the mainland by the Great Glen Fault, a geological fault that divides the Northwest Highlands from the Grampian Mountains to the southeast.

The glen is occupied primarily by a series of lochs (or lakes), the largest being Loch Lochy and Loch Ness.  At the southwest end of the fault is Fort William, and at the opposite end to the northeast is Inverness.

Why do I explain this?  Because I plan to hike from Fort William to Inverness, 73 miles, at the beginning of June.

I will join Jim B., a good friend from my pre-law days in graduate school, his wife, and his brother and sister, together with their own spouses.  Our band of seven will walk for six days, an average of 12 miles per day, although the final day will be a lengthy 18 miles.  We will take a one day rest break at Fort Augustus, at the point where we first encounter Loch Ness.  I suppose I should bring large nets and other paraphernalia to capture the Monster, should he appear -- but maybe a quick photo over my shoulder on my phone while running away will suffice.

The hike ends in Inverness, the de facto capital of the Highlands, with a population of about 45,000.  Inverness is at roughly the same latitude as Sitka, Alaska.  The climate is moderated by the Gulf Stream, but the hours of daylight should be of Alaskan length as we near the summer solstice.

The hike will be fairly easy, with not many ups and downs.  Most of the time, we will be hiking along the shores of the lochs -- although I've discovered that such "easy" shore walks often end up requiring some extensive climbs up and over hills adjoining the lakes.

Before the trek begins, we plan to spend several days in Fort William, with one or more day trips over to the nearby Inner Hebrides.  Diligent readers will recall that in 2011, I hiked the West Highland Way from Glasgow to Fort William.  I had hoped to climb Ben Nevis* -- the highest peak in Scotland (4,411 ft.) -- at the end of the hike.  The weather didn't permit it.  Jim and I hope to make the climb this year, warming ourselves up by a strenuous climb for the days of hiking that follow.

I bought my round trip tickets from Seattle to Glasgow last night.   I'm ready to go!
-----------------------------

*"Ben Nevis" is an Anglicization of the Gaelic words Beinn Nibheis, usually translated as "Venomous (or Malicious) Mountain."