Walk completed August 28, 2011

Thursday, August 11, 2011

Day 72 – Bridge of Orchy to Rannoch Moor (Kingshouse) – 11 miles

Once again, it rained all night. The rain stopped mid-morning, and although the sky had a gloomy overcast and threatened rain, the rain never returned.

Thirty-six hours of continuous rainfall swelled the rivers to their capacity. Some campers near the Inveroran Hotel had a scare, and had to relocate their campsites at 1:00 am when the river rose four feet overnight – and that after it had already risen to near capacity during the day.



The dark sky muted the colors of the surrounding hills, creating an ominous feeling of gloom across the moor. White cascades streaked the steep hillsides, in bright contrast to their darkened surroundings. Heavily flowing rivers displayed a calm that belied their force. This was a day to be enjoyed by becoming a part of the surroundings, by listening to the wind and water, feeling the movement of the air, focusing on the subtle shadings of green and black.

I was spellbound, and did not converse with anybody, lest I break the spell. Rannoch Moor is a beautiful, eerie place.

Mark and Gretchen
Once I left the moor and reached the A82 highway, the spell was broken, so of course I immediately struck up a conversation with the first folks I met. Mark and Gretchen, from Virginia, are cycling around Scotland, having just circumnavigated Ireland, and are eventually headed to Rome. They are probably going through tires (oops… I mean tyres – I forgot where I am) faster than I’m going through boots.

Speaking of boots, I’ve kicked mine off, and am now enjoying a pint of ale. I’ll defer the scotch until after dinner.

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© 2011 Ken Klug

5 comments:

  1. Ken,

    Nice to meet you as our paths crossed. Seems like you're having a great time. Too bad, we weren't staying at King's House. It would have been nice to swap travel stories over some Scotch. I've been trying quite a few since arriving. Hard to pick a favorite. Best of luck on the rest of your hike.

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  2. Ken, be sure to be propping up a bar by late afternoon tommorrow, cause its going to piddle down with rain early evening. Take care walking in the crap weather.

    www.news.bbc.co.uk/weather/

    Hannah

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  3. sorry link doesnt work, check out bbc weather its not to bad at forecasting.

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  4. Need to stop the rain dances now, really this is getting old fast! Water everywhere, makes for some pretty tough walking!
    Such beautiful scenery too...the sun will come up tomorrow....Go get that Scotch!

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  5. Met any midges yet, Ken?

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