Day 80: Rest Day
Oh the delight of a lie in, waking up not knowing what time it is but not needing to, cosy in my sleeping bag in our little hobbit hut, listening to the rain pattering on the roof. Cup of tea in bed, a first breakfast of oat cakes with vanilla almond butter, a little bit of Facebook scrolling (a rare occurrence the last few months!) and a little bit of stretching.
We decided to wander the short distance into town for proper breakfast, in flip flops and waterproofs, feeling sorry for all the wet-looking hikers and making it to the cafe and ordering just before they switched to serving lunch. A wee bit of planning over breakfast and coffee, then tea and cake, then a wander up to the couple of shops to get my form stamped and to pick up some supplies for the next few days.
Back to the hobbit hut and the rest of the afternoon is spent trying to plan the last two legs of my journey, the Great Glen Way and the final leg from Inverness to John O’Groats. It’s a bit of a headache! Finding it hard to pin down timings as I have no idea really how long the last leg will take me, it mostly depends on what route I actually take – stick to the road (dull and potentially dangerous) or try the fledgling John O’Groats Trail (mostly unmarked and potentially horribly overgrown in places). I’ll probably end up trying a combination of the two. It also depends how my body is doing by then and how quickly I want to finish. Part of me doesn’t want this journey to end, part of me just wants to get it done. But it was a headache to try and plan, so I’ve decided to leave it flexible, at least until I get to Inverness. Unfortunately it looks like I won’t complete in 100 days which was my original aim. I could do it if I pushed it but I’m not sure that would be the wise thing to do so I’m just going to go with the flow a bit and see how it all turns out. I’ll figure it out!
For now I just need to focus on the next few days and the end of the West Highland Way. I have three days left and I’m planning to wild camp along the way, then, weather dependent, I’m hoping to climb Ben Nevis. Might squeeze in another rest day even it seems a bit soon, to try to see an osteopath about my shoulder and to replace a few items of gear that are on their last legs – excitingly there is a Cotswold Outdoor store in Fort William!
It’s going to be strange heading out on my own again after having company for the last three weeks, part of me is excited and part of me is nervous. It’s strange to think I’m so close to the end now, only about three weeks to go!