West Highland Way With a 3 Year Old - Day 11 Trail Notes - Kingshouse Hotel to Kinlochleven - Anna Hardie

day 11 trail notes | kingshouse hotel to kinlochleven

stats

weather:

drizzly & windy

accommodation:

campsite

steps:

26,135k

planned mileage:

9 miles

actual mileage:

9 miles

total day mileage:

11.60 miles

spirits were high for both little & i today, even with the drizzle coming down on us first thing, because my dad was joining us for the next few days on the west highland way. little was delighted grandad was joining with the van & bringing along our dog, cooper, so her motivation for hiking was at a all time high.

dad wasn't going to be joining us until around 1130am so we had time in the morning to lounge about & get a more relaxed start to our day. we were meeting him at the base of the devils staircase which was about 3 miles away from where we were camped. i had walked this little section a few years back with some friends & their littles so i knew roughly what to expect from the terrain & how long it might take us. since it was raining i decided we would make the most of another hotel breakfast & charge everything while we waited to leave rather than sitting in a wet tent counting the minutes. it was a good idea as it started us off right for the hike & we got to speak to a few hikers that we had met the night before.

despite the freshly sprained ankle we smashed the first 3 miles in incredible time. the rain had stopped, the path wasn't as bad on my ankle & little was watching every white van approaching on the road to see if it was grandad or not. we had wait a little for dad to arrive as not only were we earlier than expected but he was stuck in traffic around fort william, so we sat watching the other hikers who were behind us pass by.

what felt like the best moment of the whole hike happened when dad finally arrived - i got to swap out my 20kgish rucksack for a 3kg day bag! i felt like i was flying because it was so light & ease to manoeuvre round on my ankle & it gave me a new wave of motivation to smash the remaining miles out. i finally understood how other hikers with day bags seemed to be moving at high speeds, it was so refreshing. we had the infamous devils staircase to climb first so i was thankful for the new light bag on my back & cooper to pull me up the hill. he was eager to get going but due to the other hikers around us, we kept him on the lead until it was quieter. the devils staircase is known for being one of the most dreaded sections of the west highland way probably due to it's name however, it’s actually just a small uphill climb that lasts about a mile. the real killer is the descent into kinlochleven afterwards. it's miles upon miles of hard descent which reek havoc on your kneecaps especially without hiking poles to take the brunt of the weight.

dad carried little up the staircase so he could warm his legs up a bit faster & so we could avoid any bad weather hitting while we were on our way up by getting there quicker. she started telling us she had spicy legs which we had no idea what she meant until we got to the top & dad put her down to walk but discovered she couldn't stand up. apparently spicy legs was her own name for pins & needles so her legs were completely numb lol! a few foot stomps to get the blood moving & everything was grand. we never even put the two together but at least we had a good laugh when we realised what had happened. the views from the top of the staircase were absolutely breathtaking; mountain tops for days in all directions surrounded by moody clouds making them look even more dramatic. of course my camera battery died at this point so i got no photos to do it justice!

the plan for the day was originally to find a wild camp a few miles before kinlochleven for little & i & dad would find somewhere in the area for the van but since we were making a good time we decided we’d just push on to kinlochleven & find a campsite for all of us for the night instead. i was well overdue a shower & dad forgot a charger for the van for our electronics, so turned out to be the better option. dad walked 6 miles with us before he turned around & ran back to get the van. he then drove round to meet us in kinlochleven when we finished for the night. having the van meant we could drive somewhere for good dinner & to a nice campsite rather than a stove cooked meal.

as we were having dinner we were discussing the next days walking. originally i had planned to walk around 7 or 8 miles, wild camping then finishing the rest of the milage the day after. this was pre dad joining us & he suggested that we just try smash out the 15 miles in one day & coming home that night instead. it surprisingly appealed to me! we had done 9 miles no problem today, so what would be another 6, especially with dad helping & no rucksack. plan decided so it was time to head back to our campsite for the night.

we stayed at caolsancon campsite which turned out to be our most expensive night at £33 for somewhere so basic. it was ok, the shower blocks were clean & large but the actual site wasn't justifiable and in the price at all. it was super windy when we pitched up but at least it dried off the rainwater on my tent from the morning. it was somewhere to stay with a shower, a toilet & charging points so thats all that mattered. we arrived later after having to wait a while for dinner, so i had to put plans for a shower on hold until the morning as it was way past littles bed time & with the planned long day tomorrow she needed a good sleep.

as i was putting little down for the night in the tent i overheard someone close by in the campsite talking about us. a post had gone up on facebook earlier in the day from andrew, the hiker we passed on day 9 at rannoch moor, asking if anyone else had met us on route & what an adventure we were having. the guy in the campsite was telling someone on the phone about this, saying he couldn’t believe anyone would do that with a child so young & how i was even managing myself. i missed the first part of the conversation as i wasn't listening until i realised it was about us, but it basically felt like he was judging my choice to do this hike with little & questioning my ability to carry our gear. it was the wildest, unintentional eavesdrop i'd ever heard, especially because i don’t think the person knew we were there! i was already at a point where i was at my max with the bcondencensing comments on this hike & was glad he was gone in the morning otherwise he would’ve gotten a good ol stern look from me. i decided it wasn't worth my time - he could gossip away if he wanted but i was off to bed.