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!