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Writer's pictureRob Fox

Day 6 A day in the mountains without rain!

Updated: Jul 23


If there is a day of hiking on the West Highland way to have some clear weather, it is for the hike from Rannoch moor over to Kinlochleven. A true mountainous leg of the trail with a real mountain pass and peaks around it. We were fortunate to wake up in our "hobbit" hut to somewhat clear skies and the hope that the low pressure system had moved far enough east to quit dumping buckets of rain on Scotland.


Glencoe Mt. has a tent pitch area along with the hobbit huts and pretty much the same facilities for hikers as every place we had stayed at along the trail. So far, The Way hostel had the most deluxe drying room with a heater/dehumidifier in a big room that quickly dried our rain soaked clothing.

Hubbit huts at Glengoe Mt

A large family from the USA was occupying the two Hobbit huts next to us. 2 teen boys and 2 younger boys with lots of energy. We chatted with their parents as we got ready to hike. Dad happened to be a teacher like us. Only he also did drivers educations and some other accessory programs. They had been saving for this family trip to the UK for 5 years. We let him know we would be returning to teach in our summer school programs as soon as our hike was over.


Getting out of our hut was easy without head nets and raingear. A benefit of being at slight elevation was the continuous breeze keeping the midges away. The only issue was the slight brown tinge of the tap water. Most likely a result of having a water source farther up on the hillside for the ski resort. We decided to top off our water bottles with water at the King's house hotel in the valley.


The hike down the Glencoe Mt road was fine and was different than the trail we came in on. So, it was new trail for us. Our hut and the "sky line" is dominated by the imposing Buachaille Etive Mòr. This 3000'+ rocky peak is visible for miles and is the landmark when entering Glen Coe from the south. There are continuous view points of the mountain and the Glen along the West Highland Way as it circles the peak to the south and east. This makes for good photo stops along the trail.


Buachaille Etive Mòr over Rannoch moor from Glencoe Mt. road.

As we left our hut the care taker pointed out where the devil's staircase began over in the Glen. So, we where able to keep a perspective as we hiked down to the King's house. First stop was the water tap at the hotel. The bathroom and shower block was open to the public at the Kingshouse. There are wild camping areas behind the hotel. So, it looks like it would be possible to pitch there and use the facilities at the King's house.


Walking up through the Glen with the mountains on either side of the trail is beautiful. A82 is still off to the west of the trail and has quite a bit of traffic. Its not noisy, but it is ever present. The views are still spectacular and the camera can simply be zoomed a bit to eliminate the road. The peace of mind regarding the road is that fact that the trail leaves the roadway and heads into the mountains to the east at the devil's staircase.


Close to the start of the Devil's staircase

Once on the devil's stair case the trail changes to a trail more typical of the mountains. The views of the Glen and Buachaille Etive Mòr just continue to open up as the climb progresses. The cloud cover had increased a bit, but we were still hopeful of making it to the top before the rain. After a bunch of photo stops we made to the top of the pass. There is a cairn here to mark the top. The surprise at the top of the pass was the trail heading up to the summit of Stob Mhic Mhartuin. A summit about .75 miles off the trail from the pass. I missed this trail and summit when studying the map. Now, here it was on a fairly clear day. Despite Becky's hesitance I started up the trail. We were not going to be able to summit Ben Nevis at the end of our hike due to our travel arrangements and the need to be back at work. So, the chance to grab an actual summit here would make up for no Ben Nevis.


The trail to the summit is not bad. A bit boggy in spots and a few washouts here and there. We got up it fairly quick and were rewarded with a fairly clear view of the surrounding peaks and valley's. A nice reward after many days of low clouds and rain. The wind was pretty steady at the top. My DJI drone seems to be able handle wind very well. A quick flight gathered some nice views over into the Glen that we could not see from our vantage point. We took a bunch of pictures and then headed back down to the West Highland Way at the top of the pass.


The trail down from the pass is nicely graded. It passes over a few streams and along the hill sides. Great views of the mountains are visible to the north. We were surprised how quickly Kinlochleven came into view. This would turn out to be the shortest day of our 7 day itinerary. We soon found ourselves on a two track road used for the hydropower dam and facilities. There is a sign explaining the undertaking of the project in the past couple of years and how much more energy it will supply without disrupting the tranquility of the scenery.


Here we met a brother and sister from Poland heading toward the same Hostel we were. They were carrying heavy packs and were happy they had upgraded to a hut at the hostel. The steep grade of the road heading into Kinlochleven was challenging with their heavy packs. The two track road gives way to a brief walk on a paved road past the hydro plant and into the Blackwater Hostel.


We soon had our food and tent duffels and had the tent pitched. The tent area has lots of level spots. Soon, the couple that we met at the Way hostel were pitching next to us. They were heading into town to get some groceries from the Co-op. We headed to the food prep area with our dehydrated food, but kept the idea of the Co-op in mind for post dinner treats. The prep area was well stocked like most everywhere. There were many sinks and a good hot pot for boiling water.


After dinner we walked into Kinlochleven and found the Co-op. It is really well stocked for being a small grocery store. It would be easy to put together a good meal with the selection they have. We found some salty snacks and IPA for winding down in the tent.


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