Wow 8 days sped by. We commented that it felt more like 4-5 days. And I think yesterday was super tough on me. After 7 days of fairly rough terrain we were looking forward to the walk on our last day. We even thought we would have it easy because we sent our packs ahead. The weather had other ideas.

Weather report: we started out climbing 2.5kms/1.5 miles up. When we reached the top we had climbed approximately 265 meters/875 feet. And it was raining. (I feel like i sound like my parents when they said they walked to school in 2 feet of snow uphill both ways 😂) I do believe the rain was worse today. We had 3 hours of relentless cold rain and heavy wind. We were going between two mountains so the wind was fierce.

We were thoroughly soaked to the bone. Noël commented that he didn’t want to hear anyone say they enjoyed today’s walk. I commented that different people enjoy different things. He wasn’t buying it. It was very cold and we were soaked through two layers of clothing. Every step we took was in water. And then I started to laugh. Not a crazy laugh but a joyful, “oh well here we are we can be miserable or make the most of it” laugh.

In my coaching practice I use a program called Positive Intelligence* created by Shirzad Chamine. One of the pieces of this program is learning to be kind to yourself. Not letting the judge beat you up. During the program you find a childhood picture of yourself. How would you talk to this child? And through practice you learn to talk to yourself the way you would that child with compassion and love. Another piece of the program is curiosity. Before passing judgement on anything get curious: ask questions, try to understand.

So back to my laughter. I got curious about how my 5 year old self would view our experience. What would 5 year old Debbie be thinking and feeling??!! And with that I started smiling and laughing. I was less concerned about the cold and wet. I splashed through the streams with a bit more enthusiasm. And hit every puddle.

I shared with Noël my new perspective and asked “what would 5 year old or 8 year old Noël think?” He responded “he would want to go home out of the wind and cold and get warm!” I laughed. And said, “no that’s what 58 year old Noël wants to do. I have heard about your childhood adventures and exploits, you would be loving this!”

And with that our attitudes changed and we chatted and laughed. He even responded to my comment about “oh no not another hill,” with “oh come on it will be fun!!”

The first half of the day with the rain and wind prevented us taking any photos. But we tried to make up for it the second half of the day. It was a long walk. It wasn’t easy. It was challenging. And it was good. Being a bit more playful and shifting our attitudes really did change things up.

We got to town, checked in, ate dinner and hoped to meet up with everyone we had walked with but different dinner schedules made that impossible. I was so pooped I was in bed by 8:30 and sound asleep by 9 just like my 5 year old self. 😂😂😂 but there was a beautiful moon.

*Positive Intelligence: if you are interested in hearing more about this send me a message and we can chat.

This whole adventure has been a challenge. I think I’ve already said I consider myself fairly fit. And this had already challenged me the first couple of days, that experience continues. The glamping experience was interesting. More on that…

Weather report: it was a much cooler day as we started out. The rain came off and on again but never was as heavy as the day before. So quite pleasant for us

Soooo…Last night we stayed in a glamping pod… a hobbit pod to be exact and there was something resembling a mattress. It was uncomfortable. It was extremely uncomfortable. The toilets were a walk away in the dark and rain. At our age that’s a challenge. 😂😂😂 And then the highland cows were talking all night long. I think they were saying, “it’s raining, it’s cold…take us in!” I told my son about it and he said, “Let me sing you the song of my people” 🐮🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

We got up early after a difficult night sleep and got ready to go. It was our earliest start on the West Highland Way. We often start on the camino at 5:30 or 6. But on the Way if you don’t eat breakfast where you are staying you don’t get it because there are no small villages between your beginning and your ending. So we left at 6:45 because we had a breakfast reservation at 7:30 at Kingshouse Inn just 2 kms away.

The walk today included the Devil’s Staircase. It was a road built by the British during their subjugation of the Scottish, especially the clans. Like yesterday it was full of stones and very rough on the feet. But today was a fun walk. We actually did not take a break for 18kms/10 miles approximately. Both of our watches quit calculating. So it may be more or less we are relying on the maps.

When we got to town we went to our hotel and checked in. It was a smallish room but okay except for the mold smell in the bathroom. We checked to see if there was anything else available in town and there wasn’t. I took a quick shower and so did Noël abd then we went to explore and get lunch for the next day.

As we were headed back to our hotel we decided to pop into another hotel and just see if there was anything else. This inn was cute and so we started trying to figure out how to get in and this little lady came out and asked if we had a reservation. Nope. We want to change hotels and just wondering if you have something available. Oh well let me see. She took us in the bar to check. Yes. One room. Only single beds I’m afraid. That’s fine. She got us checked in and brought us up to the room. Omg it’s luxurious and cozy and doesn’t smell. And then she took us in her car to get our belongings and brought us back. Such hospitality!!

We once again connected with people we have seen throughout the walk. We had dinner with some and then later others joined us. Lots of laughter and fun.

The glamping pod was difficult and uncomfortable and it is important to try difficult and uncomfortable things to remember or realize what you are capable of and how strong you are.

Changing hotels was uncomfortable as well. It’s never fun to say you don’t like something. And yet it is always important to take care of you.

I hope you take care of you today, speak up for yourself!! ❤️

Today was a bit monotonous in the terrain. Oh don’t get me wrong the views were stunning but the path was all stone all the way. It’s hard on every part of the body. Sometimes we’d find ourselves stumbling over them other times the stones would get right under our feet and roll. It was challenging and sometimes scary. No falls today. We had to pay very close attention to our steps. I guess that is a motto for life…pay attention to your steps.

My weather report today is brought to you by rocks and rainbows. It was colder today but the rain was not supposed to be as bad. There was no steady rain but when it came, it came hard and felt more like sleet. Then the sun came out. Then the rain came again. Then the sun came out. Repeating all day. One of the times it came out we found some shelter under some trees. I’ve already mentioned the rocks. When we stepped out from the trees there was a beautiful rainbow and we walked right underneath it. Amazing!!!

There was lots of climbing today. None of it was too much but on the rocks it was tough. We passed a sign that said we were on Parliamentary Road. It had been a military road but fell in disrepair after the 18th century. A man was commissioned to repair the roads so that people could travel to take their livestock to market. He made them better. It said in the picture that the road are still in good shape. We disagree slightly. 😂😂😂

Much like our camino experiences friendships are formed. People take care of each other offering help when needed. You are happy to greet people when they arrive at their destination. This is one of the joys of long distance walking.

We stopped for the night at the Glencoe Mountain Resort. Most everyone else walked another 1.2 kilometers to Kingshouse Inn but we were unable to get a reservation. So we are glamping tonight. It’s rustic and another experience.

I mentioned how we had to really pay attention to our steps today and how that could be a motto for life. I encourage you to think about your goals and dreams and to pay attention to the next steps you want to take and set yourself in a position to reach those goals.

As you make your way in life today pay attention to your steps and may you move forward in grace. ❤️

We made the decision to take it easy today. We already were walking a shorter distance and decided to send our bags ahead. I almost felt like I could run I felt so light. 😂😂😂 we arrived before noon. Our room is not ready, our luggage isn’t here yet so we are just hanging out.

Weather Report: we saw that the rain was starting after noon. So we wanted to miss it. And for the most part we did. It sprinkled a bit as we came in to the Bridge of Orchy. The wind was fierce though.

We walked most of the day through farmland. We got some funny looks from a few rams. They were a little close for comfort but we thought they wouldn’t let us walk through if it was dangerous, at least that’s what we told ourselves. We went around a bend and sat in some stones to have our breakfast. As we were finishing we turned and saw a couple of the rams coming our direction. We decided that was our sign to get up and get moving. They continued to follow us for a bit.

The walk was so much easier today than previous days. There was one steep down part that was a bit precarious with water trickling on it but even that was okay. Gentle rollers. And the scenery was spectacular!

The wind picked up more as we got closer to the the Bridge of Orchy. There were some hikers going in the opposite direction and we stopped and chatted for a bit. The Scots are very friendly people.

When we arrived at the hotel we walked past so that we could see the Bridge of Orchy itself. It is referenced in the 1995 movie Rob Roy. Alas the bridge used in the movie is farther north near Fort William. Still a very beautiful bridge. The Glen of Orky is about 17kms or 11 miles long. It was one of the major homes of the clan Gregor until James VI outlawed the clans in 1603. I love history and especially Scottish history.

As I said before, we chose to do a shorter walk today, but also to not carry our packs. We felt the weight on our feet and knees. We are also seeing a lot of people who are having knee and ankle and feet trouble. We want to make sure that doesn’t happen to us.

As you make your way on your day to day journey remember to listen to your body, your heart, your mind. If something is feeling a bit off listen to that instinct and take the necessary steps to adjust so you can enjoy and thrive!!

It has been raining hard since 14:30. I’m so happy we made the decision to stop here. I’m so happy we made the decision to start early.

Thanks for coming along on this journey with us. I hope you have a great day!! ❤️