I did it Rob Roy’s Waaaaaaaaaaaaay!

Day 7 RRW: Aberfeldy to Pitlochry, 10.44 miles

Total scores on the doors for the week: 83.85 miles 

I did it!!!!  I feel genuinely proud of myself and the sense of accomplishment is every bit as satisfying as my recent Annapurna Base Camp trek.  This was my first ever solo through hike and I managed to complete it without needing to call emergency services once!  In the end, I didn’t even need my compass, my Garmin InReach, my whistle for attracting attention or my rain gear.  Just my phone, the AllTrails app and my charged-up battery pack (although the app did have one slightly inaccurate direction today which I ignored in favor of the RRW trail marker).  The system of conveying my luggage to my overnight stays worked flawlessly as my bag was always there by the time I arrived (sometimes even in my room) so it was a real treat to only have to carry my daypack.  As I know my bag was more than the strict 15kg allowance (and had gotten progressively heavier as I stealthily moved stuff from my daypack into my suitcase over time) and the portage company hadn’t penalized me for it (which they would have been entitled to do), I left 20 quid tucked into the handle on the last day’s pick-up as a little gesture of thanks and to restore any karmic imbalance.

The hike today was one of the shorter ones – but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t without its challenges!  I could definitely feel the exertions of yesterday (and I guess the cumulative efforts of the last 6 days) in my legs as they felt heavier and a bit sluggish.  Fortunately the first 5 miles out of town was flat, tracking alongside the River Tay, through lovely woodlands filled again with bluebells, daisies and gorgeously fragrant lilac.  The only other traffic I saw on the trail on this section was a lone rider on horseback – no other hikers or bikers (which given how narrow the footpath got in sections was a good thing).  I passed through lots of sheep fields – each one accessed via a gate that opened differently every single time.   Each time you approached a gate, it was like a new puzzle to figure out – imagine the “Push” or “Pull” door opening conundrum (that we all struggle with at least 50% of the time) but with more options.  Invariably, it ended up being simple enough (unlatch this, push that) but on several occasions I was grateful there was no-one else around to watch me struggle to figure it out.

By now, I’ve spent a solid 70+ miles hiking by myself, enjoying mostly solitary trails where my only company are sheep, birds and the occasional small mammal.  You might, at this point, be wondering how I’ve kept myself amused or what I think about as I make my way across the Scottish highlands.  It’s a good question, so I paid a bit more attention to my monkey mind today and can report the following.  About half the time, I’m thinking pure logistics – where am I, how far have I come, how far do I have left to go, what’s the time, how fast am I going, what time will I arrive, do I need to recharge my phone yet, is it time to take another ibuprofen, what time should I stop for lunch, should I get my hiking poles out, how much further am I going uphill/downhill, do I need a pee, how badly do I need a pee, how likely is it that I’ll be disturbed by a car, a biker or another hiker if I stop here for a pee, am I there yet?

What deep thoughts, then, do I dedicate the remainder of my brain space to?  What existential questions does my mind tackle and search out well-thought out answers for?   Well… my apologies for disappointing you (sorry, Mum) but the answer is……. squirrels .   I’m not really getting Lost In Thought as I’m completely focused on scanning the woodlands for those floofy red balls of cuteness instead.  I may not see one -but at least I know that its not due to a lack of effort!!  And when I’m not looking out for red squirrels, I’m bird-spotting or keeping an eye out for deer instead.  And, after yesterday’s discovery, obsessively checking myself for ticks anytime I step anywhere near grass that’s taller than 3 inches.  I guess I probably also spend a bit of time thinking about what I might write about in this blog, maybe trying to come up with some amusing captions to photos I’m taking -but that’s about it.  I know that I am profoundly fortunate enough not to have any existential crises that require deep noodling, no personal areas of discontentment that I need to Work My Way Through.  The biggest area of concern for me in my life right now is whether I will requalify as a Premier 1K member with United Airlines this year – and yes, I know how totally bougie and overprivileged that sounds.  The thing is, though, you don’t know when life is going to turn on a dime so, instead of stressing out about how unstressful my life is right now, I am just deeply grateful for everything and everyone in it, just as it is.  The Good Times might not roll forever, so I’m going to enjoy the hell out of them while I can.

Anyway, back to the trail.  It was split into two main chunks – the first being the flat stroll along the river bank for about 5 miles, then a fairly challenging hill climb for a couple miles, before a similar length descent into the town of Pitlochry.  The weather was back to being gloriously sunny and was already into the lower 70s by the time I’d left Aberfeldy (I left a bit on the later side as check-in time at Pitlochry wasn’t until 4pm again).   As I mentioned before, I did feel fairly tired, even early on in the hike – but I think that’s also a big mental component coming into play.  Similar to how the very last mile on any hike feels the toughest, I guess the very last day on a multi-day hike is similarly challenging.  So I was delighted to discover, just at the very point where I was due to turn up the hill for my long climb, a world-class chocolate shop to provide a boost for both body and mind!

I gratefully stopped, sat out in their lovely garden and enjoyed a pot of dark roast Columbian coffee, paired with a dark chocolate truffle (apparently voted the Best in The World) by a bunch of chocolate experts as well as another couple of treats.  It did seem to be an awfully convenient location to scoop up passing hikers, so I wondered if any palms had been greased with silver in the planning of the RRW’s route.  Whatever, I was all for it – it was perfect timing and made for a very sweet rest-stop.

But I couldn’t put the climb off for ever, and so I set off on the last challenging section of the hike – hauling myself uphill, hiking through the woods outside of Pitlochry.  It wasn’t so much the incline (though it did get a bit steep in places) as much as it was the overgrown trail.  David the taxi driver warned me as much during our drive back to Ardtalnaig (we’d covered a lot of ground during our 2 trips) and he wasn’t kidding!  It had been a bit bushy on the first section, down by the river, but nothing compared to this!  As you can see from the pictures, I was hiking through moors that were filled with bright yellow Scottish broom – a very common (some might say invasive) shrub here in the Highlands. While it is very attractive to look at, its a complete bitch to hike through.  Its spiky and scratchy and very prolific.  Apparently its also a bit toxic (according to Wikipedia) who recommends limiting contact with  – no chance of that!  I fought my way through it for a solid 20 minutes, until I finally reached the top of the hill and onto a more open area where it was less dense.

From there on it, it was an easy breezy downhill, back through the same pine forests that had marked the beginning of my journey and into the very picturesque town of Pitlochry.  It’s a shame I didn’t have longer to explore here as it looks lovely but I did find a lovely pub garden (The Old Mill) to sit out in and bathe in the sunny satisfaction of a Job Well Done.  I asked a table of three trustworthy-looking gents if they wouldn’t mind keeping an eye on my stuff while I went to the bar to get a drink – on my return, they invited me to join them.  Given I’d spent part of that morning practicing imitating bird calls (today it was a chiff-chaff; yesterday, a pheasant) I figured that I should probably take the opportunity to start to reintegrating myself into polite society.  They were all charming and fun to chat to – and one of them seemed particularly smitten with me (hello, James, in case you ever come across this blog).  It was all very lovely and a very nice way to finish out the day.

My B&B turned out to be the best one of the whole trip and Greg, the proprietor, was very friendly and accommodating.  The bathroom was well designed *chef’s kiss* with all shelves where they should be – NOT ABOVE THE SINK.  I headed out to a restaurant a mere 5 mins walk away and had a surprisingly delicious supper (tasty chicken stuffed with cheese and wrapped in prosciutto) before heading back for an early night.

Tomorrow, I bid a fond farewell to Scotland (for now) and head south to visit family and friends via the 8.19am train to Manchester Piccadilly train station.  I hope you have enjoyed sharing this trip with me – it totally surpassed my expectations!  Obviously having such spectacular weather was a HUGE plus as I think some of the sections would have completely sucked if it had been cold and rainy, especially on the more exposed hillsides.  But even weather aside, I was surprised by the diversity of walking experience the trail offered – every day did feel a bit different and had its own unique flavor.  Of course, I think one of the absolute highlights for me was seeing the red squirrel – not once, but twice – something I never thought I’d get to experience.

So that is a wrap, folks.  But don’t worry – you won’t have to wait long for my next adventure and this time, ManpanionTM is joining me!  Where are we going?  Well, you’ve heard of Dracula, right?…..  Stay tuned!!

ps. I’ve just had a thought.  I’ve spent all week describing my epic journey on the Rob Roy Way – and have completely neglected to tell you anything about the great man himself!  If you’ve made it all through the week and have not googled him to learn more (no judgement), here’s a Wikipedia link so you can learn all about the infamous Rob Roy McGregor: HERE