Magic in the Mountains

May 7, 2024 (8.3 miles)

Inveroran- Kingshouse

Our shortest day on trail and probably the most scenic! Since we didn’t’ have very far to go today so we slept in and tried to let people get ahead of us. We got up around 8:30am and went to check out the Inveroran Hotel’s hiker store. They didn’t have a whole lot, nothing hot or made to order other than coffee, but there were plenty of drinks and little bites. We had the most delicious chocolate and macadamia nut muffins with our coffee and got some sandwiches to eat on the trail for lunch. We have been so spoiled with food on this trip, under any other trail circumstances I would have been thrilled with coffee and a muffin! We ate our meager breakfast on the patio and then packed up and were on the trail by 10am.

We walked around the road through a valley and would eventually climb into the hills. We passed an honor box cooler where Cade finally got to try an Irn Bru (kind of like cream soda/Fanta drink) for a pence. The best part of that stop was the fact that the house had chickens and peacocks! We got to hear the peacocks call back and forth and saw one fly from one barn to the next.

The trail left the pavement and turned into an old cobble stone road. We passed a sign explaining th road, but all I read was that it was a “parliament road” (whatever that means). I really started to feel bad after the first hour of hiking, my cold felt like it was getting worse. My nose was super snotty and I had a terrible sinus headache with lots of pressure in my head. We stopped for a break so I could take some medicine and drink a cold brew coffee. That did the trick and I felt much better when we got rolling again.

The cobble stones thankfully weren’t jagged, they were just kind of annoying. We kept gradually climbing up out of the valley and passed small patches of spruce trees. This area seemed too rugged to have been logged, the hills were much more rocky compared to the gentle rolling hills we had been seeing. Eventually we crested a hill and rounded a corner and BOOM! It felt like we were in Lord of the Rings! The mountains were barren and covered in fog with some patches of snow still visible. There was a small rocky loch off in the distance. It was some of the most breath taking scenery! We found a great stop to sit and eat our sandwiches. We even rediscovered the block of cheese we got on the first day and finished that off. It was a great spot to relax and take it all in.

When we got moving again we only had about four miles to go so we just walked as comfortably as we wanted. The views just kept on coming and we took our time soaking it in. We even saw a deer and some old castle ruins. There were tons of people out and about (lots of fast walkers, not many fast hikers) so it didn’t make such sense to try and pass people. We made it to Glencoe Mountain Resort around 2pm and set up camp in this meadow with a crazy view. We got drinks and investigated the chair lift (we’re planning on disc golf tomorrow!) and just hung out in the lounge killing time before dinner.

We played several rounds of Catan and eventually got food. Cade ordered a burger and I got a chicken sandwich, both of which were fine but again we’ve just been eating so good it felt a little disappointing. We have spent the evening laying in the tent and watching the sun move through the sky behind the mountain range.