Writer's block, redux

So let's review the bidding.  Since July 28 -- nearly a month ago -- I have published one small essay on this blog:  On August 14, I reminded everyone that in two weeks I'd be in Glasgow.  Ready to begin my second walking of the West Highland Way. 

That was twelve days ago.  Tomorrow, I fly to Glasgow.

My blog has indeed been rich in content.  If by "rich" we mean one bare bones description of my planned vacation travel.  

And now?  It will be another 31 days from now before I return to Seattle.  To my computer.  To a place equipped to permit me to churn out my next feeble effort. 

Well, I do promise to give you, upon my return, a full accounting of my month's leave of absence.  

But there was a time -- say last summer -- when you were able to expect more from me -- in quality, and certainly in quantity.  Hopefully, my writing flows onward like a sine wave, and we have merely hit the bottom of that wave.  We're headed back up!  To amazing new peaks of quality, spun out several times a week. 

It could happen.

But then I remember the career of E. M. Forster.  Along with numerous short stories, Forster wrote five acclaimed novels between 1909 and 1924.  His 1924 novel, A Passage to India, was perhaps his best, the subject of a well-received movie in 1984.  Forster wrote that last novel when he was 45.  He lived to the age of 90, but never wrote another novel or other serious work, aside from some short stories published posthumously, during those final 45 years of his life.  

Now that's a serious writer's block.  I should post a photo of Mr. Forster above my computer as a stern warning.

Return to the Highlands

Paths are made by walking.

--Franz Kafka

Two weeks from today, I'll be looking forward to a comfortable bed in Glasgow, following a long flight from Seattle to London, and a 6½-hour layover at Heathrow.  I hope that I will have been reunited with my checked baggage, but, in light of recent airline difficulties,  I'll take the precaution of putting a few overnight necessities into my daypack.

Once in Glasgow, I'll meet up with friends Jim and Dorothy, and -- after my much-needed night's sleep -- we'll take a commuter train ride the following day to the suburb of Milngavie -- a pleasant small town, and also the start of the 96-mile West Highland Way northward to Fort William.  Those of you with extraordinary memories may recall that I hiked the same trail alone back in 2011.  It was one of my favorite British hikes, and I look forward to doing it again.

Immediately following completion of the hike, Jim and I will return to Glasgow by train, where we will say goodbye to Dorothy and catch a flight to Milan.  In Milan, we will meet with other members of Jim's family, and proceed to Lake Como, where we will stay in the same lakeshore house that my sister, cousin, and I stayed in a year ago.

At least that was my simple plan until British Airlines canceled my flight, forcing me to leave Scotland a day earlier than planned.  As a result, I will lop off the last 14 miles of the hike, and travel by taxi (or possibly, bus) from our overnight accommodation in Kinlochleven to the train station in Fort William.  Jim had better luck getting an alternate flight, and will be able to complete the hike, arriving in Milan one day later than will I.    

I'll be sorry to miss the last leg of the hike, but I did finish the entire hike in 2011 -- walking that last stretch in a constant downpour, as so often happens during summers in Scotland.  I'm glad Jim and Dorothy will be able to complete the hike, and wish them better weather than I had on my last day.

The West Highland Way is a beautiful hike, varied in terrain and in atmosphere -- from the gentle terrain of the Loch Lomond shoreline, to the bleak beauty of Rannoch Moor, down to the head of Glen Coe, up the switchbacks of the aptly named "Devil's Staircase," and across a forested expanse through Kinlochleven and on to Fort William.  

Just two more weeks!