117 Miles on The West Highland Way: Day 10 - Solo Hiking & Camping 4K

The final day of the 10 day, 117 mile hike through the Scottish highlands. Day 10 early morning, I walked 16 miles from Kinlochleven to Fort William. With the first mile or two completely uphill, the rest of the stretch was relatively flat and easy to walk. Between the towns the 16 miles was entirely desolate of roads, shops or any sign of human presence but the ancient stone ruins dotted along the route. It felt magical. For the first few miles I walked through thick cloud and rain though it lifted around half way to Fort William, I was able to dry off and see the mountains before me and all around. The views were nothing short of spectacular and I honestly couldn’t believe I was walking through a landscape people would only dream of. I had moments of clarity, creative inspiration, fascination and reflection. Walking deeper into the highlands, at times I felt as though I wasn’t really there, followed by moments of grounding myself. This would seriously pass as a rollercoaster of emotions because I’m not sure how else to describe it. One minute I felt awestruck and head (literally) in the clouds, and the next I felt more alive and present than I’d ever been. Once Fort William came into view, I felt overwhelmed with a mixture of feelings, thoughts and emotions of excitement to have made it with the finish line on the horizon, not wanting the trail to end and gratitude to have been able to do something I’ve wanted to do for a long time and completed it. Fort William had a halo of light encompassing the whole town, almost if to coax me to the end. The closer I walked towards it, the more the clouds would dissipate, yet the highlands still towered behind me with Ben Nevis shrouded in cloud to my right. I stayed at the Glen Nevis campsite that night with a view of Ben Nevis, taking full advantage of the facilities with hot showers and washers & dryers. Something so basic felt luxurious. A managed to get a picture with the sore feet statue a kind elderly Scottish couple offered to take for me, a tradition for WHW walkers once they’d reach Fort William. I really didn’t want to leave, especially with the option of walking the Great Glen Way, another 90-100 mile trail further through the highlands from Fort William to Inverness but I had family to see and work to do, not to mention giving myself a break after finishing this. The Great Glen Way will be a future trail i'll hike, no doubt. 🤞🏻 With new people to meet and new places to see. The next day I caught my train, and in true Jennifer fashion, it was literally just in time with less than a minute to spare. (July 27th 2020) Thank you to everyone watching and following along on my journey, I appreciate each and every one of you! You can buy me a drink here! - https://www.buymeacoffee.com/tinypine Also, my brother and I hiked Hadrian’s Wall to raise money for Mind, we got 55 miles in before we were forced to cut it short due to food poisoning from an Inn we stayed in! We're better now, and will continue the walk this autumn/winter so if you’d like to donate and support us I’ll add the link below! It’d mean so much, and for a good cause! https://www.justgiving.com/fundraisin... Feel free to follow my socials: Etsy: Tiny Pine Designs Instagram: Jenartstravel (Personal) TinyPineDesignsUK (Business) Tiktok: Orenjen (Personal) TinyPineDesigns (Business) Facebook: Tiny Pine Designs