Well I haven't posted since Inverness, and its pretty regrettable. Looking back I'm trying to figure out how to wrap up everything that has happened in the last 9 days. Lets give it a shot.
I left Inverness on a Sunday and, after a very easy hitch to Fort William, found myself at the Grog and Gruel Pub on the High Street. I knew that my next move was going to be climbing Ben Nevis, but I wasn't quite sure what I was going to do for accommodation for the two nights I was in Fort William. After I posted the last blog post, which I was writing there at the pub, I walked up to the bar to pay for my drink. As I stood there, waiting for the lad behind the bar to get a free second, I looked over to my left. There sat Rob, pictured below, the Irish manager of the Backpackers Hostel in Fort William that I had stayed at at the beginning of my trip.
Keishal, Tom, Me, and Rob in Fort William right before my departure on the West Highland Way
When I saw him, I did a bit of a double take. He recognized me, impressive given that he sees at least 30 new guests each day, and offered to buy me a pint. We took our ales to my booth where I told him all about my misadventures on the Cape Wrath Trail. He asked my plans now, and I told him I would climb Ben Nevis on Monday and begin the West Highland Way on Tuesday. He asked where I was staying, and when I told him I was going to camp, trying to save money, he offered me two nights of accommodation in exchange for two hours work each day. Sounded great to me! The hostel there in Fort William is fantastic, by far my favorite, and I was glad to get to be around some great people before my next hike.
Sunday night found me reunited with a few folks from my last visit and in the company of many new ones. Martin, a philosopher from Brazil, Juan, a medical diver from Colombia, and Tom, an upcoming uni student from Germany, were a few with whom I spent really good time. We played the guitar, drank Strongbow cider, and sang around the fire into the wee hours of morning before I decided to head to bed. I was climbing Ben Nevis the next day, after all.
Before my two-hour shift on Monday, I ran to Morrison's for groceries and food for my hike. The shift was fun. Anyone who knows me knows that I like to clean anyway, so I put on the Avett Brothers and left that baño cleaner than ever. After a quick lunch and a trip to the store for waterproof socks, I was about to walk out of the hostel towards Ben Nevis when I bumped into Tom. I asked if he wanted to climb the mountain with me, and after assuring him that I would love the company, he joined the adventure to the highest peak in Britain.
From the hostel, we had about 30 minutes of walking through Glen Nevis before we reached the trailhead up the mountain. The path we took is 10 miles, five-up five-down, and typically takes around 6.5 hours to finish. Because we both had cleaning shifts until 12:30 and then ate lunch, we actually didn't get started until 3:00 - kinda late. The thing about the mountain, as with the rest of the wild in Scotland, is the fact that the weather can change without warning. If you're up at the top when it shifts for the worse, it can be bad. So, given our late start, and the fact that everyone seemed to be already coming down, we were hustling up the steep, uneven, jagged ascent.
After about 75 minutes of ascent, we reached the loch, and from there the "peak" seemed to be right before us. I though we had made great time! I even took a video, in it saying we were just 30 minutes from the top. What I didn't know was that, when we reached that "peak", we would suddenly see that the real summit was far out of our soles' reach, as it cleaved the clouds and continued to heights unknown to us at that time - there were nearly 2 more hours of ascent remaining.
I was game for it. I had been walking since I got here with my heavy rucksack on my back, but that day I had a little day-pouch with a bottle of water in it. It was as if I had lost all that weight again, but this time all at once, and I felt like I could fly. As I climbed quickly, I had to pay very close attention to where my feet landed, as the path is often uneven, jagged rock that seems ever eager to snare of sprain an ankle. It amazed me how quickly the processes happened. My eyes saw the best place for each step to land, and it sent that information to my brain which processed it in terms of distance, likelihood of stability, risk, and effort. Then, my brain must have told which muscles to contract, which to relax, and within milliseconds my foot landed in the very same spot I perceived as safest, merely with peripheral vision. My feet lifted just enough to clear each snagging rock, but not too high so as to miss the mark. Truly, truly, I am amazed at the complexity and harmony of the human body.
Ascending Ben Nevis
Glen Nevis, Ascending Ben Nevis
Tom, Ascending Ben Nevis
Clouds Breaking, Near the Summit
Glen Nevis, Near the Summit
Tom and I both began to slow as we got closer and closer to the top. Before we knew it, the rocky paths had turned to foot-deep snow and the air had lost its status of balmy breeze, changing out for bitter wind. It was amazing to begin the climb sweating at sea level and end freezing at 1340m. As we got into the snow, we also got into the clouds, and the only way to really tell where the "path" went was by following footprints and chasing the outlines of huge stone mounds, set up as markers. About 20 minutes after taking the first step into the snow, we made it to the emergency shelter on top and the stone that seems to mark the finish. We stopped there, sat down, ate our packed snacks, and wished we had a view. The clouds were too dense to see the magnificent view that a clear day allows.
In the clouds and snow, at the summit of Ben Nevis
Breaking clouds, descending Ben Nevis
Panorama from ascent
Getting really cold after a while, we began our descent. It took us right at 3 hours to get up to the top, and about 2.5 to get back to the bottom. While it was quicker walking, we had to be careful that we didn't move too quickly, lest the loos scree and gravel cause is to take a nasty fall. I was becoming ever more thankful for the waterproof sock investment. My Salomons are largely mess, which makes them quick to dry but also quick to get wet socks. The socks "worked a treat", as Ian would say.
At the bottom, we stopped at the pub in Glen Nevis and had a beer outside, proud of our accomplishment and mutually glad for the day's conversation. Returning to the hostel, I had a very welcomed shower and cooked a big plate of pasta. It was bonfire and chatting after that before I went to bed thinking about my trail the next day - The West Highland Way.
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