Our journey in Scotland was one joyful experience after another, ranging from the exploration of caisteals (castles), views of the sròn (promontory of a hill or mountain), and the creagans (or knolls) that mark the landscape, counting the miles on the West Highland Way https://hikescape.org/whw-tyndrum-kingshouse-kinlochleven-fort-william/ and learning from Scots along Read more…
After our West Highland Walk, we boarded a bus in Fort William to explore Inverness and the castles and scotch found in the Speyside area of the eastern Highlands. https://hikescape.org/scotland-culloden-and-cawdor-castle/ We stayed in the lovely village of Grantown-on-Spey, at the Dunallan House http://dunallan house.com. This welcoming inn was our home Read more…
We left Inverness with the destination of Speyside, home of castles and single malt scotch. After walking 96.5 miles on the West Highland Way, we were happy to engage in less demanding holiday activities by visiting Culloden Moor and Cawdor Castle. https://hikescape.org/whw-tyndrum-kingshouse-kinlochleven-fort-william/ Culloden Moor is a historical memorial site of Read more…
These last few days cover more of the idyllic beauty of the West Highlands Way, exploring 41 miles between Tyndrum and Kingshouse, on to Kinlochleven and winding up in Fort William. Day 5: Tyndrum to Kingshouse This was our longest day- 18.5 miles across glens and Rannoch Moor. The terrain Read more…
We left the Rowardennan Hotel after breakfast, hoping to efficiently mark off fifteen miles for Day 3 to Inverarnan and then Tyndrum, leaving Loch Lomond behind. Our West Highlands Way trek began in a light mist, with heavy clouds obscuring the mountains. The air smelled fresh and clean, while the Read more…
Our journey on the West Highland Way in Scotland began with uncertainty. One week prior to our scheduled departure, I was two-thirds into my usual workout, and bent over to lift a weight. I was left breathless from sudden shooting pains in my back. Completing the first day from Milngavie Read more…
In early August, we revisited the trail to Buzzard Rock in Rocky Fork State Park, just outside of Flag Pond, TN. A few years ago, we celebrated New Year’s Eve here, logging 14 miles and fording streams laced with icicles on our journey. We followed up this hike with two Read more…
Hey y’all, these two hikes in North Carolina and Tennessee national forests increased our orchid count in a year that has already surpassed expectations for orchid sightings. Over a two-week period with rain and extreme heat, we accumulated fewer miles, but there was always something unexpected on the trail. Our Read more…
To celebrate a steamy Independence Day, we went high in elevation to hike in the Roan Highlands. Our starting point was Hughes Gap, where the Appalachian Trail winds upwards through spruce-fir forest and crosses over Roan Mountain. Our total mileage was 10.2 miles. Our hike began in beauty, with Turk’s Read more…
In late June, I went to Tacoma, Washington to visit my daughter. I love this area. The stark, rugged profile of the Cascades is awe-inspiring. Mt. Rainier is a behemoth among mountains, dwarfing all the other peaks and showing off her ever-present dome of snow. In contrast, the Olympics remind Read more…
