Today was such an amazing day.

We had our breakfast at the Drover’s Inn where we stayed last night. Their boasts: the inn is haunted (we stayed across the street in the lodge), Rob Roy stayed here, the best pub in 1705 😂😂😂 I think the Scots are known for simple but good food. Their breakfasts are amazing. Noël has had a Scottish breakfast every morning (one was vegetarian because we shared it). And he was so excited about the black pudding this morning. 🤮

Weather report: much better day. It sprinkled on and off all day. There were a couple of heavy showers but very short. We commented that there was something in the sky that we didn’t recognize. It was large and bright. Yes the sun. It was very welcome and very warm. The weather was so much better today and yet changed constantly.

There are a father and daughter walking together. I think she has just finished college and is the youngest. Her father has taken her older sisters on trips so now it’s her turn. Her knee has been bothering her since the beginning. We saw them this morning and she was struggling. Her dad said they were hoping a certain group of hikers were coming by because they had sports tape and could help her. I immediately offered Noël to tape her knee. We have sports tape and he knows how to tape. Just like last year when he taped the Italian girls on the camino and they gave us the name of the Blue tape angels.

We passed by St Fillan’s priory. St Fillan’s was a priest who came to Scotland to spread Christianity to the Picts. He walked the land much like we are doing. There were also standing stones in the cemetery dating to the 7th and 8th century along with graves from the 18th-20th century.

We saw benches that marked the spot of the Battle of Dalrigh and the Lost swords. These had to do with Robert the Bruce king of Scotland. I will share more about this later.

After my fall and the relentless terrain of climbing over boulders and rocks under foot as well as the rain we decided a day without packs is a good idea. So we are sending our bags ahead tomorrow. It’s so important to listen to your body.

We also saw some amazing fun things.

The distances don’t match for us. One of the things that we have learned about doing long distance walks is that the mileage/kilometers don’t always match what you do. This has been true for us on this hike. So we start the day with the “what is the recommended” mileage/kilometers and then add 2 miles or 5 kms and usually that is closer. This allows us a little less frustration at the end of the walk. I think it’s all about expectations. And when your expectations are not met you get irritated and it can ruin an experience. So we add and often come in under.

What’s the shift you need to make to help you achieve your goals with joy and less irritation?

So let me get the weather report out of the way for obvious reasons and yet it has a funny story with it. So at some point I asked Noël what was the bright thing in the sky that was warming our backs? We took a few guesses☀️☀️☀️The rain drizzled and poured but for the most part there was that thing called ☀️ And it started getting really warm so Noël threatened to take off his rain gear. I said “don’t do it. There is a storm coming over that hill.” And yet he still took it off. Five minutes later he was scrambling to put it back on as I said it’s coming fast. I wish I’d gotten video. 😂😂😂 But we did have some sunshine.

That rain lasted awhile as we still had to cross a few waterfalls. I’ve never crossed waterfalls. But today i did. And it scared me as I watched the water rush down over the rocks, would i also be rushing over those rocks with one wrong step? One of my values is adventure but this beyond my comfort zone. But I crossed those waterfalls. The alternative was to return and try something else. Pushing forward seemed to be the way to go even if it was dangerous and scary. Dangerous and scary may be the best place to grow. Adventure it is. My adventure!!

The sounds today were amazing. Not just today. We heard the wind whistling through the trees, blowing on our faces and through our clothes. We heard the lake lapping against the shore. We have walked all along Loch Lomond. I have driven beside this loch many times and thought it was endless. I never dreamed I would walk the length of it. We heard the waterfalls. Wow so many waterfalls to hear (and to cross over 😬)

We walked about 8 miles when we came to Inversnaid. BIG WATERFALLS!! Thank God for bridges and bridge builders. And yet I had no desire to stand over this big waterfall!!! Get me off this bridge. After that we stopped at the Inversnaid hotel where we found out that a bridge had been washed out and passage was doable but really challenging even for experienced hikers. We decided, along with all the other hikers to take the ferry and bus to our next destination.

The big challenge of the bridge washing out brought together people who had seen each other but not connected. We took the ferry and we’re assured a bus ride to our destination. After an hour and a half we saw the bus only to be rejected because we hadn’t booked on line. So we bonded together to figure out a taxi ride. There was one taxi in the region and she could take 4-5 passengers at a time. So three trips for 13 of us. (There was another taxi service that the hotel recommended but they actually said no unless you can’t get there). Our group generously tipped the woman driving back and forth for our group. I think she is a Wonder Woman. The roads were tiny and winding.

So we made it from Rowardennan to Inveranan and the Drover’s Inn. And though we were disappointed about missing a section we think we made the right decision.

I hope that whatever obstacles come your way you find a way to navigate them with courage and ease. ❤️

There is a reason this blog is called “tripping into grace”. I’m clumsy. I have been told that I’m the most graceful clumsy person that people have known. I own this. Today on the West Highland Way I fell. I fell hard. More about that later.

Let’s get the weather report out of the way. I’ve been told that people don’t care about the weather, don’t write about that in your blog. But what I’ve discovered is this: these are people who don’t do long distance walking. Because the weather matters.. You will go anyway (unless it’s dangerous) but the weather conditions matter

Last night there was torrential rain through the night which affected the trails we were walking. When we first started walking the rain held off then it came and went hard throughout the morning. We walked in heavy rain for the last 8 kms. We were drowned rats who were still breathing. Okay enough about the weather.

Noël had Haggis for the first time this morning. He said it was okay. Not sure he will order it again but then who knows? Breakfast was delicious and way too much.

Prepping for the ups and downs: this is always challenging. Depending on where you live you have or don’t have the opportunity. We live in the Netherlands and it’s flat. We have to find whatever opportunity, climbing stairs, going over the dijk, whatever. I remember when I was a little girl I went with my father to visit parishioners who were in the hospital. I got so excited to ride the elevator and my daddy said to me, “ oh no darling we are taking the stairs, this may be the only exercise you get some days!” So take the stairs, park as far away as you can and take that opportunity to get some training in.

I’m a part of an amazing group developed by Carol Alexander-price called Camino Confidence. In this group I have connected with many women wanting to walk the camino with confidence. We share stories, give support and encourage one another. I met Irene because of this group, we live in the same town in the Netherlands and have become fast friends. Today I got to meet face to face another camino confidence friend, Jackie. She and her friend, Krysteena are walking the West Highland Way at the same time we are. In fact today is Krysteena’s birthday. So a big shout out to her.

I am a big believer that’s it’s okay to struggle. It’s even okay to fail. But the key is to keep going and to learn from your mistakes and failures. Today was a struggle. As we were going up Conic Hill with the streams coming down and as we struggled to get down Conic Hill with the streams going down, I thought , I was in pretty good shape. And I was once again humbled and yet I felt God say, “here is your challenge. You’ve got this. And afterwards you will be stronger.” Today was a big challenge. I did it. And I am indeed stronger.

So I shared why my blog is called tripping into grace. I often trip and sometimes fall. But I always see a new perspective afterwards. I learn something. Today I watched Noël slip and he told me so I took a step right of where he was and I went down HARD. Backpacks are a wonderful buffer. But I still hit my right elbow and jammed my pinky finger. I’ve been icing both. But tomorrow will be another challenge with a few more aches and pains. And despite the pain I can still smile and I am still learning and still finding grace.

So whether you are tripping into grace or slipping into grace be sure and recognize the grace. ❤️

We thought we might sleep in today but woke up before 7 am. We got organized before going to get water, information and breakfast.

We were trying to delay when we left because we had an appointment for a tour at the distillery at Glengoyne. But we were ready by 9:20 and just headed out.

The rain was mostly a drizzle through the first part of our walk. Then it started to be a steady rain. So we stopped to put our rain pants on in the middle of somewhere, on the path. And the rain stopped. But we were glad to have them on because the rain came and went all day at times very hard. Especially at the end of the day as we came into Drymen the heavens opened up.

We had a really nice time at Glengoyne Distillery and learned a lot. While we were there we heard a fun saying, “today’s Scottish rain, will be tomorrow’s Scottish Whiskey’.

We met a man while taking a rest at a monument who told us the story of the monument which in short is the reason Scotland has open paths. I will do some more investigation on this. I was listening but the whole time he was talking his beautiful Brittany spaniel wanted to play fetch with us. She would bring a stick, drop it at our feet, she would bark until we picked it up and threw it. It was a bit difficult to concentrate on the story. And we were so distracted we forgot to take a photo of the monument. But Etta, the dog, was beautiful and lively!

The scenery is stunning even in the rain. We end the day fulfilled and exhausted!! So what did we do after dinner? We decided a walk to let dinner settle, get water for tonight and tomorrow and pop into the oldest pub in Scotland for a wee dram. And when we came out it was raining again so we ran back to our hotel. Not far but we hit every puddle as you’d expect.

Make your day meaningful and enjoy your life!! ❤️