Day 2: Drymen to Cashel Campsite
Distance: 19.94km
I slowly began to stir from my slumber….my damp, dew covered slumber. The top of my sleeping bag was very wet. Wet enough for the down to stick together. It got cool enough throughout the night that I was a little chilly. But, on the bright side, the sun was shining and it was going to be another beautiful day. I knew that I had a destination to get to that day and wanted to get on my way. But I also wanted to get my stuff dried out first. So….I waited long enough for the sun to come up far enough to dry out my tent and sleeping bag. Perfect….
Breakfast was peanut butter on a wrap with a mocha. Electronics were charged and ready to go. It was the first time I was packing my bag with my current gear not in my house! I still could not believe I was here. I did take it all in with each breath and truly appreciated my accomplishments of the previous day.
Today was a big day! Conic Hill! The iconic 350m “hill” that stands above Balmaha! Of course, there was an alternate to go round and avoid climbing it but today was not that day for me. Not only does the summit offer a 360 degree view to show where you came from to where you are going, it also gives an unprecedented illusion of being atop the tallest mountain! Brilliantly surrounded by an everlasting array of green, the first view of the entirety of Loch Lomond and wind to knock you off your feet. But I’m not there yet. I’m still sitting at camp.
Leaving Drymen camping, I continued along the main roadway. Surrounded by fields of cows and sheep with their loud sounds of calling out to each other. Lost in thought, I almost missed the turn off. A sneaky exit down into a farmer’s field. The trek from Drymen to Garadhban forest was challenging enough that I was super thankful I stopped at Drymen. Not to mention, it was a damp, dense forest where the midges were probably off the charts.
I knew today was going to have a lot of elevation in it, given that I was climbing Conic Hill, but I was not expected to feel like all I was doing was climbing for the majority of the day. The pathway until after Conic Hill was mostly wide tract. It was rough on the feet and it did not take long before I was feeling it. I curled up at the entrance to the Conic Hill field and took off my shoes and socks to let everything air before making my way along.
The climb was not that bad. I always find climbing generally easier than going down. It was a steady incline that was manageable. Lots of stairs along the way to help out. And, it was HOT! There was no reprieve from the sun beating down and the heat wave Scotland was experiencing was unprecedented. Don’t get me wrong, I was grateful for the sunshine and gorgeous weather, but some cloud cover would have been nice today. Reaching the top, I chose to truly summit, leaving the WHW for that extra few metres to touch the summit cairn and take a good look around. But, boy was it windy. I didn’t hang out up there too long. The wind cooled me down but the sun was still strong and I wanted to continue on my way. I still had several kilometres to go.
The descent was deceiving! Man-made built stairs out of rocks and boulders that gave it the impression it was a basic walk down via a major staircase. But what I failed to realize while making my way down was the toll it was taking on my legs. Half way down, I could not stop to take breaks because my legs were so shaky that I couldn’t just stand or sit to take a breather. I have never experienced that before. Being Saturday, the hill was swarming with tourists as well, so that was also a driving factor to continue on my way. At the bottom of the descent, there is a visitor centre. That was where I relaxed before making my way. I enjoyed a bunch of water, filled back up and dawned my backpack.
Balmaha was a tourist frenzy. The beaches were packed, the patios were exploding beyond capacity and there were people everywhere. The plan to curl up somewhere to relax for a while went out the window pretty quickly! I just chose to push on and get out of there. The trail goes directly along the main road and passes the Tom Weird statue. Weir was a climber, writer, photographer, broadcaster and avid environmentalist. After a quick photo-op, I took off.
The trail continued out of town and turned right to leave the area. To my surprise, we climbed again! And not just an easy does it climb. A straight up, heart racing, borderline get down on all 4’s climb. Definitely, not what I was expecting. By this point the heat was really getting to me and I just wanted to get to camp. But I still had 5km to go. The beauty was, I was with a group of other hiker’s and so the conversation started up and the kilometres ticked by. The father daughter team was a wonder to talk to and we enjoyed some time learning about each other. They chose to stop along the shoreline to take some pictures but I chose to just hammer on. My feet were screaming at me and I was super hungry. So, I knew if I stopped, there was no starting again!
I put my head down and did the grind. Walking into camp, I was so grateful. I just wanted to drop my pack and crash. I got registered with the office at the Cashel Campsite and they were a pleasant group of people. She was very accommodating and willing to charge our electronics behind the counter as there was no other place to do it. Setting up my tent was a challenge! The ground was super hard and my crappy cheap pegs were just not wanting to go into it. After some battle, I finally got my tent set up, sleeping bag out and my home for the night was waiting for me. But, I still had to do laundry (my clothes were disgusting) and I wanted a shower. So, I took off to the showers and did both. My dinner was so good too. But my headspace was not good.
There was something about today that was making me feel homesick and unsure about what I was doing. I had a good chat with some family back home and that helped out a lot. I knew a lot of my poor headspace had to do with the fact that I was exhausted and in pain. But I was surrounded by other hikers who I was starting to get to know. I was just not interested in conversing with them that night. So, after dinner, my head hit the pillow, I watched a movie and I was zonked out by 8:30pm.
Today would be the only day in which I battled any demons. Even now, weeks after the trip is over, I am not sure exactly why I was feeling that way. Exhaustion does take a toll on one’s mental game but still. It was a fantastic day and the smallest hiccup felt like a major blow. I was glad to curl up into bed and the next morning I felt like a whole new person….
DanCyn' Adventures 