The west Highland way it has been a different experience. It
is a mix between Pacific crest trail and camino de Santiago. You don’t have
those 100 miles stretch; you pass ones a day by a small local pub. You have in
the other hand those moments of solitude and wilderness of the PCT. You can
stay in hostels or do like me and carry your shelter. I believe that in
Scotland you can camp anywhere, you can cross private property...it is quite
relax country with all this. Be aware of midges, small mosquitos, in summer
time. I suffered quite a lot with this. You have water kind of everywhere, it looks pristine but I
always filter it, I just think in the all the sheep’s and pesticides, The last
day you can climb the highest pick in the United Kingdom, Ben Nevis, over
1000m, a decided to skip it as it was a very foggy day and my knee need some
rest to rest the GR20 in 3 days in Corsica!
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| Ben Nevis from google.. |
If you are thinking in do it the west highland way keep in
mind the weather, rains a lot , I imagine like in the AT, here there is not
much cover, there is not much trees and the floor seems like always wet, some
days I found quite difficult to find a place to camp that is not soaked. All this
rain and mist create a surreal atmosphere, full of mystery, legends. You can
imagine why so many stories of monsters and witches show up here. Walk in the mist in the forest
around ruins of old houses and castles is something quite creepy. Regarding gear I recommend fully waterproof, I had trousers and jackets, pack cover and pack liner. I did it with a tarpent contrail and down sleeping bag 20 F Zpacks, I had stove, I like to wake up and have my coffee and do a hot dinner at night, during the day better do lunch in a pub.
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| Mist in Scotland ( google pic ) |
I found this trail crossing to much road or walking with the
close noise of cars, you have some moments where you follow a trail in the
middle of nowhere but you would come back to the road, it is a mix. The good
thing is you always can have a good pint of local beer and taste the traditional
dishes of Scotland. Scotland is very outdoors orientated; I think is a kind of
Washington or Colorado where people likes the outdoors.
I would recommend hiking with a guide book, just to cover
the basics, and an historic book. Here in Scotland there are so many stories
about clan wars. It put you in the situation of the scenery in how the people
used to leave in this difficult remote area.
I took back from fort Williams the scenic train (it is
actually the normal train) to Glasgow.
If you have some more time in Scotland I will recommend going a little bit norths
into the Isle of Skye, This is a beautiful place to hike, hiking heaven and you
can reach it also by a scenic train. In Scotland there is a few more long
trails. Reading about I saw the entry from the guy from Zpacks doing a coast to
coast without trail, you suppose to find your way, using trails or cross-country,
I found it very interesting, could be a good alternative. Before leaving
Scotland pay a visit into the classic lake Ness Monster ( loch Ness ) and spend time in Edinburgh, historic
and vibrant city.
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| Isle of Skye , Scotland |
