The Dickwoods Travels

*************************** Pictures Added ****************************** Day 6: The Final 20 Miles - Drumnadrochit to Inverness OMG! 20 miles? Seriously!!! Lady Wheezy and I agreed we are very glad Ginger is with us as we would have hitched a ride to Inverness with how insanely tired we feel today. We have no access to Smiley Sunshine Sue's puppy to help motivate us so we are on our own to wake up and get going. We actually did really well according to our plan. We were down to breakfast, practically packed and ready at 8:15. We left there at 9:20, walked into town, bought our packed lunches and used the restroom and were on the road at 10:00. Not exactly what we planned, but not too bad. The delay could have been that it was pouring rain outside and ... read more

We had a plan, a really good plan. Breakfast at 7:30am and be packed and ready to go from there. We were making a quick stop in the town to hit the post office, then back to our B&B for our packs and hitting the road with our first steps around 8:30am. We walked out with our packs at 10:30am. Yep, these three girls we not moving so fast this morning. We started the music and off we go! Today we had a 9.5 mile walk ahead of us, but we're expecting the first of our hills. From 0 elevation, we should hit close to 500. Still it should be a relatively easy day. So we weren't worried much. We started walking along the Loch Ness, it is so cool, so outstandingly beautiful and we even ... read more

Day two. Hmm. What was supposed to be 13 miles finished off at 17! But let me start at the beginning. I need to apologize to particularly pleasant Peter, owner of the Distant Hill B&B, because I called him Paul in my blog yesterday. We woke up kind of late and headed down for an amazing breakfast of homemade porridge, sausage, fresh eggs, eggs with smoked salmon and homemade jams. So good! Then back to the rooms to finish packing and head out. Particularly pleasant Peter gave us a ride for the 3.7 miles into Gairlochy. With Wheezy's blisters covered in moleskin, we think we're ready. I am braving the weather in shorts and a double layer of thin shirts as it has been crazy good weather. Our first two days in Scotland were in the ... read more

(Sketchy wi-fi...pics to follow) It looked like a great day was ahead of us! The sun was out and when the alarm went off at 6:00am, we were excited to start the day with a nice hot breakfast! Alam had told us that breakfast started at 7:00 and we would have plenty of time to meet Christine by 8:00 at the train station. At 7:05 I head up stairs to find absolutely no one. And I mean no one! No front desk, no one in the kitchen, nothing! So back down the windy stairs to give Alida the bad news. We finish packing, head back and still no one is around. So we leave our key on the front desk and head out for a taxi. After we get dropped off, i see my first man-kilt! ... read more

Welcome to my first attempt at blogging! :) On Thursday, August 9th, 2012, my girlfirends Alida, Christine and I are embarking on a 10 day adventure, hiking through the Highlands of Scotland. 7 of these days will be hiking from Ft. William to Inverness, about 79 miles!. We will be hiking along many lochs, including the infamous Loch Ness! I will be adding blog enteries daily (if Wi-fi or internet is available) and many pictures! Christine has a knack for weird pictures, so that should be interesting and Alida is the queen of words, so I should not come up short in that area. Watch for my first blog on Friday. My flight leaves late on Thursday with a layover in London. I'm hoping for a glimpse at the Olymic bridge from the airplane! The Great ... read more