29km, 500m ascent, took 7.25 hours
A great sunny morning welcomed the longest and final day of the Great Glen Way. Had a few warm sweet dreams of secondary school days last night. These were probably triggered by the peaceful Great Glens, allowing me to step out of the stressful university life temporary. We started early as I was expecting a change in the weather during the later part of the day - which really happened. Maybe we should have started slightly earlier to make full use of the sun.
With regards to today's walk, mmm...I was having mixed feelings about it - somewhat looking forward to move on, yet there was no real excitement which I used to have in previous hikes. Couldn't find a good explanation for that, but might be due to the length of this Way (6 days seemed too short, after having gone through a 20-day hike), intensity of this Way (mmm...too straightforward and easy, was hoping for something more challenging) and the fact that I was doing it with company (more excitement and thrills when doing it alone). Hiaz...I really missed the Pennine Way hike - when I kept moving on and on, day after day, through good/horrible weathers, over easy/tough terrains, ... those were the days which I really enjoyed and also hated, but great memories still linger clearly in my head. That just brought me to 1 conclusion: I will be doing more hikes before I return back to Sg. Have plans to skip May classes for hikes.
After a quick breakfast, we left Drumnadrochit by the road, passing a small Bay Harbour, before turning left up towards the woods. Urquhart Castle appeared in the distant behind across Urquhart Bay on Loch Ness. Its ruins were beautiful and its tower house provided the best vantage point for visitors to keep a lookout for the Loch Ness Monster.
The gentle slopes grew steeper and steeper, and we pushed on despite injuries and lack of breaths. I did not like the idea of stopping midway to rest as I would lose the momentum of the climb. Steady and continuous would be the best way to train up my stamina. Even though it was tough, it felt great having worked out and perspired. The ascent took us to a height of approximately 210m (as indicated on my altimeter). A forest track followed, with views over Loch Ness.
The Way then took us across hummocky moorland with some isolated buildings. More forest tracks before the path meandered and reached the highest point on the entire Great Glen Way route - around 380m (360m as indicated on my altimeter - surprised at the accuracy of my meter..it's great!)
We finally came upon an old drove road with moorland on both sides. A campsite and a cafe (in a tent!!! Can you believe it?!!!) appeared in the middle of the wilderness, bringing comfort to tired walkers. We did not stop though because we had sufficient rations and hoped to reach Inverness as early as possible. And then... something bad happened: Shyam realised in horror that he had lost his jacket! Might have left it in the woods during the initial steep climbs. Oh dear!!!! It was too far back to return to retrieve it, so we just had to move on. Hiaz... I didn't know how I could console him and the situation worsened when raindrops started falling, growing in size. Argh! We carried on along the road without waterproofs and our clothes were soaked. They sticked onto our skins, causing us to freeze/shiver in the cold windy gloomy day...drenched in misery. :( I didn't wear my raincover as that wouldn't be of any encouragement to Shyam. We would go through the challenges and overcome them together! The horrible chilly wind was so strong due to the openness of the moor. It was a depressing section of the walk but we persevered on keeping a positive mindset. Brrr.....
The Way then entered the forest with its soft carpeted tracks meandering and undulating slightly. It was a relief that rain had lessened slightly, but it brought the fog in. The tracks were never-ending and we couldn't wait for them to come to an end. Longed for a warm bath tub then. We passed under some power lines before finally reaching a pond, overlooking a view of INVERNESS (YAY!) in the distance. That was indeed a motivating sight! We now could see our final destination before our eyes!
We limped our way, descending steeply, all the way down the hill. Passed a stone-built hospital, golf course, sports pitches and came alongside the Caledonian Canal. The final stretch was a path running alongside the River Ness with several splendid suspension foot-bridges. Inverness Castle (near the end point of the Great Glen Way) finally came to view and after several minutes which felt like hours, we arrived at the stone monument which marked THE END of the entire Way. Phew! O-V-E-R! OVER! Took some photographs, then followed by the presentation of certificates :) (A surprise I prepared for Shyam).
Nice walk, with a memorable and challenging ending. It was just too ssSSSMASHing! Dined at Cinnamon Indian Restaurant and spent the night in SYHA, before returning the following day in a morning train to Newcastle. One last breath of fresh air. Inhale...! Can't wait for more....
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