When the hurly-burly’s done

I made it.

Yesterday’s walk from Kinlochlevin to Fort William was the very definition of a slog–started with a really nasty long uphill stretch through midge-infested woods, then emerged into a nice long walk along the rim of a beautiful valley, then more rain and nowhere to stop until the end. I actually started feeling a little sick about eight miles into it, as I hadn’t had a break at all–until yesterday, every time I’d walked, I’d stopped somewhere for about 10-15 minutes to take off my pack, eat something, drink some water, &c. But since it was pouring rain and there was nowhere to stop, I tried to muscle through. It didn’t work, and I had a little moment under a tree, and then I remembered that I had a jar of Nutella and a couple of emergency rolls somewhere in my pack, and life was much better. Finished the walk with Jim and Lauren, and we made our goodbyes at the Fort William train station after having an adult beverage and some lunch (I tried–and loved–cullen skink, which is a Scottish smoked fish and potato soup, though I’m glad I didn’t have to walk more than a couple of miles after eating it).

The train ride back to Edinburgh was long and slow. I wound up in a reserved seat next to a guy from China and a guy from Japan, both of whom work for a lab in Edinburgh. I had a lot of fun talking to them, and we kept each other awake for most of the ride. We were due in at fifteen minutes past midnight, but from 12:30-1:30 we sat on the track about a quarter mile from Waverley Station waiting for them to clear a broken engine out of where we were supposed to pull in. Thankfully I found a taxi and Security let me into my room. I didn’t sleep much, or well, but I slept, and now I’m enjoying wearing cotton after a week of nothing but synthetic hiking clothes.

I’m planning to take it easy today. I’ve got laundry in right now, and then I’ll grab some lunch somewhere and figure out how I’m supposed to check in for the SUISS program(me). If I have time, I’d like to take a walk up to the City Centre and check out the Scottish National Museum, which I’ve heard is great, not to mention free. That seems about my speed today.