West Highland Day–Day 5

Day 5–14.0 miles (Crianlarich to Inveroran)

We started the day under blue, sunny skies and the trail ascended into forests of fragrant evergreen trees.  Every day we hiked brought us a little further into the highlands and more scenic beauty from all angles. Scottish heather would be in full bloom just a few weeks after our departure, but we saw enough to captivate us, even in early July.

The rain had its way with us eventually and we ended up hiking the rest of the day in it.  Luckily we came across a roadside diner/gas station of sorts where we ate our lunch, minus the rain.

After lunch, the rain picked up a bit more and the group spread out, some more motivated than others to finish up the day of hiking, knowing a nice, warm inn was our reward at the end.

Larry started to complain of a hot spot on his feet, so we stopped to tend to it.  Unfortunately, it was too late and his blister popped after we started walking again. I dressed it for him, and while it was still painful to walk on it, he was a champ and plowed through.

The trail eventually brought us into a speck of a town called “Bridge of Orchy” and we stayed in a quaint and secluded inn called Hotel Inveroran. The Laursen family was down the road a bit at the Bridge of Orchy Hotel which was equally as nice. We had our best dinner yet (more veggies than a typical meal in Scotland which was a refreshing change) and woke up to an exceptionally tasty breakfast.