Wednesday 6 July 2022. Day 4 on the West Highland Way (WHW) from Rowardennan to Ardlui via ferry at Ardleish 14 miles by Garmin. 1598 feet Elevation gain. 11 hours walking.
Ardlui our destination is in the Arrochar district of Scotland but not on the region selection list for TravelBlog. Nor is Rowardennan which is in the Stirling council. Both are shown on Google Maps in these locales. Rowardennan has the last road from the south and east into this side of the loch. All other places north and east of here on the loch are served only by boat. The main highway route A82 runs up the west side of the loch. This means it is a long way around the southern end of the loch to bring our bags up the west side to the northern end of Loch Lomond.
Our walk starts at an Honesty Stop where you can pick up some snacks and drinks and leave your money for them in a box. The sign indicates 68 miles to Fort William and 28 miles from Milngavie. Continuing on the wooded area is very green and lots of moss covered ground and ferns under the tall
Our scramble crosses large rocks up steep slopes and along a muddy pathway. The rain is a variation of mist and droplets. A breeze sends the water from leaves onto our heads. to a Bill Lobban memorial. This is a stone cairn with lots of vegetation on it. He died in 1975 while saving the life of a friend. (tomorrow we will understand even better how special this must have been to his friends).
As we approach where the Trossaches Path diverts from our WHW we pass some very impressive foot bridges. Short gentle steps up and down. Subsequent ones will be high steps, steep and narrow. As we walk along the shore of Loch Lomond and over the rocky outcroppings that extend their fingers into the Loch the path steep and rocky with lots of scrambling to go both up and down. It is very slow going.
About 1330 we arrive at the hotel and resort at Inversnaid. This is only accessible by boat and the Cruise Loch Lomond to this spot. We discuss
how to take the boat to Tarbet and the bus to Ardlui which is on the opposite shore and requires a ferry to get to from the end of this days walk at a spot called Ardleish which is only some abandoned ruined houses. But elect to have some of our lunch and drinks and press on.
At the Inversnaid Hotel there is a separate entrance for the hikers asking that they remove shoes and backpacks and there are some tables to sit out. Our group heads for the much nicer area of the bar. Well the clutter of bags and shoes and poles are such that as I put down my day pack and take off my shoes and hang up our hiking poles I look back to see the rain cover is missing from my backpack. I get our sandwiches out and cannot find it anywhere. It appears to have been removed without my knowing it.
About 1415 Karen and I leave well after the other four and continue on the most difficult trail. About an hour and 1.7 miles along of the 5 miles we have yet to go Karen slips on some steep rocks
and falls. She hits her head and glasses on a rock hidden by the ferns. One glass lens is damaged but the frame is intact and does quite a bit of the damage around the eye. Several cuts on the head bleed profusely. At precisely that moment a lovely young couple, Nicholas and Sarah from Germany happen to down the same rock and ask if we need help. I say yes. After determining that limbs are OK, we turn Karen over to pick her up and wash the blood and clean the wounds and put bandaids on them. They are very helpful with a spray disinfectant that also washes the wound. As we continue on now more slowly than before, they insist on staying with us. The trail is very treacherous. We learn from people later this is the most dangerous part of the entire West Highland Way and where almost all the accidents occur.
After we have walked for about 3.5 more hours we get a note from Jo our group leader that the last ferry is at 1910.
