Day 4: Beinglass to Tyndrum
Distance: 20km
The routine of my hike was starting to settle into place. Even though my routine did not have specific times to follow, it did have a nice flow to it. Because I had had such a long day, late night dinner and the fact that it just never got dark, I did not sleep very well. I tossed and turned in my tent and just felt like I couldn’t settle down. Surprisingly, my body wasn’t achy from the long day, which I was very much expecting given the distance I had done. I suppose, it was my bodies way of telling me I was strong and was not overdoing it. But man, I did want to sleep, it was just not happening.
When I did wake the next morning from my restless sleep, I decided to just take my time. I knew I had a shorter day, comparatively, but I also just wanted to soak in the half way point to my trip that was going to be coming later that day. Beinglass site is surrounded by mountains. It lies in low lands and so the sun was glistening behind the peaks around me. As I left the comfort of my tent to go for a morning shower (why not, they were available), I took a few moments to take in the view around me. And then, I took off as fast as I could go. Those damn midges were out in full force. An absolute guarantee given the low lands, giant dew filled field and the moisture in the air, given the warm, dry streak the area was on.
I packed up as much as I could inside my tent knowing that all I really wanted to do was only have to take my tent down and go. I did come to realize at some point during my visit that they had a large kitchen area with tables, microwave, kettle, plugs and laundry. I decided, instead of trying to fight the midges, I would pack it all up, grab the tent, and use the mess hall to pack up properly. If I had of known about the mess hall the night before, you can bet my late night dinner would have been much smoother.
By the time everything was said and done, packed and ready to hit the trail, it was approaching 9:30am. As usual, the start to the day felt like I was once again climbing. Why is it that every morning starts with climbing? It was not steep. Just a long gradual incline along a wide tract road. My legs were fatigued from the day before and I knew as I was leaving that it would not be long before I was already feeling tired and ready to curl back up into my tent.
Today’s hike was probably one of the most versatile in terms of what I was hiking on. It follows the River Falloch and so the ongoing beauty of waterfalls cascaded throughout the entirety of the day. The road walking ended, and I began to ascend into rolling hills, surrounded by vast, never-ending views. It was a section I was thoroughly enjoying. The fields open wide with oodles of sheep, exploring and working their own way through grazing the grass. Looking ahead, it appeared the trail was just going to continue on forever, disappearing into the sky on the horizon. My body was going through bouncing phases of feeling great and then feeling fatigued. I stopped frequently and tried to rest my feet but each time I went to start again, it felt harder than before. So, I determined, breaks may need to just be quick pit stops.
Crainlarich is the technical half way point, however, the “town” itself is a decent distance off the main path and in the wrong direction. There is a rest area at the split from the main trail and the side trail to Crainlarich, with a few picnic tables, but there was a large crew already having break when I approached, so I just chose to carry on. The climb got steeper and I came across yet another picnic table and of course, it was also taken. So, biting the bullet, I just decided I was not hungry enough to stop and to just push on. The climb continued and looking back, if I had of realized what I was about to get into, you can bet I would have stopped and rested for at least an hour before taking that section on.
Not only was it rugged climbing with some very steep sections, I got into an area that was a forest management zone. The entire area was devoid of trees and surrounded by cut down stumps, dirt piles, tracks from construction equipment. There was no beauty that I could find here. At the time, I also did not know it was grown for the purpose of cutting it down so I was getting angry while I walked. Borderline emotional about the destruction and downright disrespect for the beauty of the lands around me. How could they be so cruel to such a beautifully large section of trees. I dawned my headphones, kept my head down, pushed through the pain that was now building intensely in the bottom of my feet and pressed on. The halfway point day was not impressing me.
The descent appeared as quickly as the ascent did, almost taking me by surprise. At some point along the way, I just stopped and dropped. A horrible place to take a break but I was desperate. Chastising myself for not taking the break at the nicer spot when I had the chance. My feet were now screaming at me and I still had a long way to go, at least another 6-8km. I wasn’t really sure. All of the beautiful people I had passed earlier walked by and shared words of encouragement. Then an angel of sorts, as an older gentleman stopped to talk for a while. With my feet hanging out, he approached and we quickly got onto the topic of the havoc our feet have to endure on this trail. I had my first aid kit out, trying to sort out what I was going to do, when he promptly pulled out his own kit and handed me three strips of Luco tape. I had heard of this before but never really given it much thought. It was so nice after putting that on my feet and it did help immensely. But, the tape got sticky on the non-sticky side and even now, after several washes, my socks are still slightly sticky inside. So, note to self, if you wear Luco tape on your feet maybe throw some gauze or something else for it to stick to between the tape and your socks!
By the time that break was over, I was feeling much better. It did take me a while to get my hiking mo-jo back and the next few kilometres were another joy ride of pain, fun and fury. As I finished the descent, I came onto a small paved roadway along a field. A small weather station, memorial site and graveyard welcomed me to learn about some history of the area. Multiple plaques and even the ruins of St. Fillian’s Priory. Fascinating stuff!
By the time I managed to reach the monument of the lost sword, I was within 2km of Tyndrum and all I wanted was to get there. I had convinced myself that I was going to take a zero the following day and that I was not going to go any further until I had a good long rest day. Hobbling into the campsite, I came across some of my amazing new hiker friends, Rowan and Allen! I set up my tent, had a shower, got comfortable and then chose to go into town with Allen to grab some food. The vegan options at this restaurant were amazing! The burger was mouth wateringly delicious and the fries were the best fries I had ever had in my life. Ok, so it was good! I think you get the picture but I had hiker hunger going on and just wanted to feel stuffed and eat something that was not backpacker food.
Our table of 2 grew to a table of 4, when two girls from Austria joined us. They too were hiking the Way and I had met them the day before. One of the young ladies had a blister so bad that it crawled up the side of her foot, adding up to be side circumference of a baseball and I knew that her hike was going to come to an abrupt halt. They too knew, it was likely over for them. There was no way she was ever going to make it another 50+km to Fort William. It was a wonderful time of conversation and community. I am not a majorly social butterfly and so often am more than okay with being alone but there are some fleeting moments in time that make me feel like a socialite and not a lone wolf.
My sleep that night was dreamless, deep and solid! Before I managed to fully pass out that night, I was reflecting on the fact that here I was, on the first thru-hike of my life, at the half way point and feeling incredible. No zero for me tomorrow…..I was going to finish this beast and I was going to finish it damn strong!
DanCyn' Adventures 