Magic in the Mountains

May 5, 2024 (11.9 miles)

Inverarnan- Tyndrum

We started the day off around 7am by eating breakfast at Beingals Campground. The sun rises early and sets late here, so waking up early for breakfast was no issue. We both got the Scottish breakfast which consisted of beans, bacon, toast, a tomato, hash browns, a potato scone, black pudding, and a fried egg. It was delicious and filling. Since we didn’t have far to travel today we laid back down after breakfast to let some of the crowd get ahead of us. The location of Beingals was beautiful and it was nice to watch the fog roll over the mountains from the tent. We packed up and were on the trail around 9:30am.

Pretty early on it started to rain, but it was light, brief and didn’t dampen our spirits. The trail went up and over some small hills and followed along side a river for the majority of the morning. The river banks were jagged and rocky and kind of looked like the deep rocky holes we see at home. We even saw some kayakers! The mist and the rain made everything look even more dramatic and moody, I was waiting to see a clan of Highlanders charing down the hillside. We walked by sheep and over foot bridges and it felt like the landscape opened up more and more.

We talked about how each day the terrain has varied so much- we started in the city on paved paths; the second day we went into the hill country and were introduced to the lochs; the third day we walked around the loch all day; today we finally are starting to get into the Highlands.

Midway through the day we made it to the blue blaze to Crianlarich which marked the official halfway point of the trail. We took the blue blaze down into town and several folks along the way told us not to get our hopes up… we got there at 12:30pm which by some miracle was the time the local pub opened, The Rod and Reel. Cade got a burger and fires and I had the steak pie- it was the best one I’ve had yet! The pastry was so crispy and delicious. We hung out there for a bit before walking to the small grocery store to get some midday coffee and drinks. We drank our coffee on the hike back up to trail which was thought would be brutal based on the descent but thankfully we took it in stride.

The trail took us up the ridge through spruce forest and afforded some long range views. Unfortunately most of those views came at the expense of the down trees; logging is actively happening in the area and most of the second half of the day was walking through logged areas. We filtered water for the first time (we’ve been getting water at the water stations in town) before leaving the forest to pass through this awesome stone bridge and back onto a gravel road. We sat by the bridge to drink our drinks before tackling the rest of the day.

The later part of the day was definitely a highlight because we walked through a sheep farm! There were so many lambs frolicking around- they were so cute but you couldn’t look too closely because you’d see they were all covered in shit. We slowed way down to enjoy the sheep and then take in the sights at the loch and read about the legend of the lost sword. We made it to town and got checked into our last bed of the hike at By the Way Hostel. We ate dinner at Real Food Cafe and got drinks with a Swiss guy named Hanz at Tyndrum Inn. What a good day!