WHW Day 2: Drymen to Rowardennan

One of 12 posts about my 2018 UK Trip (Glasgow + West Highland Way + Oxford)
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An early glimpse of Loch Lommond in the background

Our host let us off at a place that was different from our entry point into Drymen, but it was easy to get to the path.

The day was a little oppressive with clouds and more than a hint of rain in the offing.  The first challenge of the walk would be the ascent of Conic Hill.

I love these fungi; they always look like bits of bright orange plastic

Sarah was spared these path-blocking cattle

As I ascended Conic Hill, I kept stopping and looking about with a wide grin at the hills and open expanse all around me -- and not for the last time.

The ascent also kept bringing better and better views of Loch Lommond

Heavy weather

There's a spot where you can turn aside from the West Highland Way and go up to the summit.  On a fine day, I'd have thought nothing of it.  But I was a little unnerved by the treacherously muddy path up and around slick rocks.  To make things worse, this was also a bit of a bottleneck, and I had to wait to let several people pick their way fearfully down.  That only heightened my own nervousness.  Then, once I made the first bit of ascent, the wind picked up and I got as nervous as I always used to at the top of a ski slope when the wind got strong -- an irrational fear of getting blown away.  (I'm really not that much of a lightweight.)  There were also a lot of people up there, including a group of college kids (probably a coach tour) who had not really dressed for hiking, climbing, or the weather.  But they had the invincibility of the young, I suppose.

Shayna and I had agreed to take pictures of each other at the top, but we did not do this.  I was too nervous for the final climb; she made it up, but was immersed in a cloud bank and couldn't see anything.  I instead tried climbing toward a much lower hilltop when the wind calmed a little, but ended up crouching down when it picked up again.  So I was not covered in glory during this portion of the day, but I did make it back down to the official Way without slipping and falling, so there's that.

a second, lower hilltop with people standing like teeth on a comb 

Loch Lommond

The descent down the north side of Conic Hill was quite crowded.  When we got down to the base, it became clear why -- there's a huge parking lot and visitors center.  Many coaches were parked there.

It was not immediately obvious where the trail would pick up again, but we found it on the far side of the parking lot, with the encouragement of someone in the visitors center.





I was going to grab a lunch at the obvious lunch spot (your typical bar restaurant type place), but it was so crowded I ended up joining Shayna at the tea room where they served delicious scones and clotted cream.  So that was quite nice.

After a bit of road walking, the path returned to the shores of the Loch.

wind-created waves

I was a little disappointed that Cashel had no discernable connection to the Rock of Cashel in Ireland.  But I suppose that was really too much to hope for.

Talk about mixed messages - a Danger Keep Out sign
next to blackberries!

By the time I arrived at the Rowardennan Hotel, I was ready for a hot shower.  I was horrified to find only a single towel in the bathroom, just about the size of a hand towel.  I used it to dry off nonetheless, then went down to ask the receptionist nicely if I could have a second towel to dry my hands.  (I bit back complaints about the size of the towel, figuring I didn't want to sound like an entitled whatever.)  She said she'd bring it right up, and I went back to the room to wait... and immediately noticed large fuzzy white things rolled up on both beds.  Yes.  Multiple full-sized towels had been there the whole time.  I immediately went back to reception to explain my mistake and provide innocent merriment for the workers.

view from the restaurant's back patio

The room was not particularly new or fancy, but it had an armchair in front of a sort of recessed window that made for a very nice little reading nook.

view from my window

I had a very nice vegetarian curry for dinner (a break from the stereotypical bar food).

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