Sunday, May 5, 2019

WHW Day 2 - May 2, 2019 - Drymen to Rowardennan

WHW Day 2 - May 2, 2019 – Drymen to Rowardennan –Distance – 25.93; Total Time on the Trail – 8:35:02;  Avg Overall Speed – 3:.5 kph; Walking Time – 6:07:30; Avg Moving Speed – 4.2 kph; Elevation Gain -  587 m; Temperature: 11.1 C. Trail:  mixture of good woodland path, hillside track and rough lockside path with brief streches of tarmac. Overnight: Rowardennan Hotel


We left Drymen this morning around 9:00 a.m. and were on the trail by 9:15. Trail wise it was a very varied day and the weather was great, until the last half hour when we had a sprinkling of rain. It was a beautiful morning when we left the B & B: sun shining, blue sky, white puffy clouds, and warm..ish!! I started with my vest but soon packed that away, and ended up in t-shirt towards the end, before we experienced the light rain and donned our rain jackets about 30 minutes from the end of the day.

We walked through rich green fields filled with sheep and their lambs; we came into sight of Loch Lomond and had more beautiful views filled with yellow gorse bushes; we approached Conic Hill and started our climb up, always with the promise of the views of Loch Lomond. The path up was pretty rocky, and the summit was a little more difficult but the descent was a little harder; the views were amazing!









We walked through a pretty wooded area with a carpet of blue blue-bells; we had dramatic views of the Loch, and we passed many pretty wild flowers. wandering around Loch Lomond, on either the high cliffside road or the low lake shore road, or tackling steep climbs that reminded me of Mnt Kinabalu except that they were short – maybe 15 minutes max, and  steps that resembled the “inca steps” of our 2007 hike on the Machu Picchu Trail. But by the end I think we were all weary!! 








We climbed Conic Hill, about 1184 feet and had a panoramic view of Loch Lomond and landscape around us.Throughout most of the hike, except the Conic Hill climb, we were serenaded by bird songs, including in the background a rather persistent cuckoo!!











We arrived at our hotel for the night – Rowardennan Hotel – around 5:30 and settled in before heading down for dinner. There are masses of other hikers! As you can see from the trail, we were not on our own. The atmosphere is a definite hiking community and we have chatted with several other hikers along the way.

I can’t believe that the hotel does not have WiFi, so I will have to post these notes another day.

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