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Glen Nevis, Scotland 4/29/07
Ben Nevis Hike
I’m sitting outside the Glen Nevis visitor center which is close to the start of one of the trails to Ben Nevis. In Gaelic “ben” means mountain and Ben Nevis at 4,406 feet is the highest point in the UK. I’m planning on a slow hike up and down it today and I’m thinking this little book (my journal) will help me do just that. I tend to get a bit aggressive, for lack of a better word, on my hikes. I get to excited and push myself harder and harder until I’m just a puddle of sweat. While I still usually enjoy those types of hikes, today I want to take my time.
It is a beautiful day here and as soon as the visitor center opens in 15 minutes I will get an updated weather report and forecast of conditions on the mountain. I’m not too worried though. By the looks of it I have a great day for hiking ahead of me.
The Sun just popped over the ridge that shades this river valley in the morning and the dew all around me is glistening. The sky is a light blue with thin wisps of white clouds. None of them look like a cross but it’s still the kind of morning that over 1,000 years ago would have inspired King Angus and would eventually become the design of the Scottish flag.
Just a little Scottish history for you there, I can’t help it these days. I’m bubbling over with historical facts about this place. I’m traveling with the Fam these days and my Father’s passion for history, and notably Scottish History, has turned into what could be called a minor degree for the rest of us.
The start of the trail in Glen Nevis.
Mom, Dad, Heather, and Derek are back in Fort Williams, about 2 miles down the road from here. Right about now they are making their way downstairs in the guest house to find breakfast before heading out for a day of tours. It’s funny but I can already hear the stories that will be told at dinner about the day I missed. There will be a brief description of the tour. Dad might impart a new fact he learned or confirmed. The longest descriptions though will be of stupid/funny things a member of the family did. In this family we laugh at you not with you but if you are the one being laughed at or mocked you roll with it because soon it will move on to the next person….and you’ll probably be the one that starts it.
They will know my report before I give it also. “It was great! Beautiful view!” blah blah blah. My hiking reports are all the same and usually not of much interest to the non-hikers or even sometimes them too. Of course that doesn’t stop me from living them and telling them.
They will know my report before I give it also. “It was great! Beautiful view!” blah blah blah. My hiking reports are all the same and usually not of much interest to the non-hikers or even sometimes them too. Of course that doesn’t stop me from living them and telling them.
--Pause--
I have been hiking for about an hour now. The trail is pretty steep but easy to follow. So far it’s similar to the Inca trail in Peru only the rocks and boulders that act as the bumpy road and steps of the trail are different. Just as large but more natural in shape. The Scots didn’t cut right angles like the Incas. They just plopped the boulder down in whatever shape God made it.
I’m at the top of the first plateau now, just over the ridge that shadowed the Visitor’s Center, and the terrain looks to be changing. The path leads to the West in a steady grade. No steps as far as I can see, for a little while a least. Just some really long switch backs as the trail winds around the hill.
It’s a busy day on the trail as I figured it would be on a gorgeous early spring Sunday. In addition to the tourists I get the feeling there are a lot of locals too. If I lived anywhere around the area I’d be hiking here too. As a result I find myself going faster than I told myself at the beginning. I still love it and these are my kind of people so I don’t mind them but in these settings I just hate walking in a line. I try to get ahead of certain packs and then lag behind others I see in front of me. On the positive side, as Heather pointed out before I left, this way I’ll have someone there to take my photo at the top and I won’t have to figure out some sort of timer shot.
The Family met up in Edinburgh last Saturday. Since then we have visited the cities of Stirling, Inverness, and now Fort William. It’s different, and a bit drastic, to go from traveling alone to traveling with 4 other people; Not bad, just different, VERY different. I used to get tired of eating alone. Now by the time the discussion and search of where to eat is done and all the orders are taken I want to shoot myself! I know it’s more me than them though so I’m making a conscience effort to relax during those times.
I have really enjoyed meeting up with them for this past week. We have a few more days here and then it’s down to Glasgow for a day before I take off for Ireland and they head home. It’s like a trip within a trip for me. We are also doing some things that I definitely would not have done without them. Even the things I would have gone to alone like a castle or two would not have left me with the random historical facts that, largely because of my Father, I now know. I can now walk most people through the political and social evolution of Scotland from the beginning; The Picts, King Angus, William Wallace, Mary Queen of Scots, John Knox, the Treaty of Union, Bonnie Prince Charlie and the Jacobite Rebellion….They all float around in my head in a time line of events. I know at some point in my life this info will pop up and someone will wonder why I know it. I’ll just smile and think of my Dad.
I have really enjoyed meeting up with them for this past week. We have a few more days here and then it’s down to Glasgow for a day before I take off for Ireland and they head home. It’s like a trip within a trip for me. We are also doing some things that I definitely would not have done without them. Even the things I would have gone to alone like a castle or two would not have left me with the random historical facts that, largely because of my Father, I now know. I can now walk most people through the political and social evolution of Scotland from the beginning; The Picts, King Angus, William Wallace, Mary Queen of Scots, John Knox, the Treaty of Union, Bonnie Prince Charlie and the Jacobite Rebellion….They all float around in my head in a time line of events. I know at some point in my life this info will pop up and someone will wonder why I know it. I’ll just smile and think of my Dad.
The Forrest Clan at Stirling Castle
Robert The Bruce Monument at Bannockburn
Monument at the Culloden Battlefield
--Pause--
Rocks! I am in a sea of rocks. It looks like a section of the surface of the Moon only my tired legs remind me that gravity is very much still at work. There are small pebbles to boulders and everything in between. Like all the warnings at the Visitors Center stated, I can easily see how you could get lost or hurt up here in bad conditions. The terrain is nothing but rocks on a steep incline. No trees, no visible ridges, no cliffs, everything looks the same. Even on a bright clear day like today I took a false switchback and didn’t realize I was “off” the trail until I ran into the more visible trail. I’m now sitting near that trail on the only non-rocky spot I can see, a patch of moss about as big as my bum. It’s a perfect spot for a break.
It’s obvious now why they have so many castles in Scotland. If this mountain is any indication for how the rest of the Highland hills are there was no shortage of building supplies. We have visited a few castles on this trip. Edinburgh Castle was massive while Stirling Castle was pretty. The remains of Urquhart Castle on the Legendary Loch Ness are probably my favorite though which is odd because there isn’t much left of it. It was just so pretty with the bright green lawn overlooking the Loch.
We took a boat ride on Loch Ness to get there but there was no sign of the famed monster. Of course the Forrest family isn’t known for sneaking up on too many things. As individuals we are loud put us together and we set the standard for the loud American stereotype. I’m betting Nessy heard my sister yelling at me or Derek and headed for deep water.
It’s obvious now why they have so many castles in Scotland. If this mountain is any indication for how the rest of the Highland hills are there was no shortage of building supplies. We have visited a few castles on this trip. Edinburgh Castle was massive while Stirling Castle was pretty. The remains of Urquhart Castle on the Legendary Loch Ness are probably my favorite though which is odd because there isn’t much left of it. It was just so pretty with the bright green lawn overlooking the Loch.
We took a boat ride on Loch Ness to get there but there was no sign of the famed monster. Of course the Forrest family isn’t known for sneaking up on too many things. As individuals we are loud put us together and we set the standard for the loud American stereotype. I’m betting Nessy heard my sister yelling at me or Derek and headed for deep water.
--Pause--
The summit is close. Very close. I have crossed a few patches of snow and can feel my sweat starting to chill quickly as the winds pick up. I figured I needed to stop to put on more layers and get the gloves ready and I could also sneak in one more entry.
The view, as predicted, is amazing and King Angus’s light blue Scottish sky has become the only backdrop as I look over the tops of the Highlands. Experience has taught me that words or pictures will not do the scene justice so I’ll just sit and stare a bit and try to memorize the feeling.
--Pause--
Video of the summit:
The summit was great but a little too cold to write even when you got out of the wind. There is a stone emergency shelter at the top that hikers gather on like pigeons out of the wind. I had my lunch up there and then shot a quick video.
It’s a wide summit. I approached from a gentle slope that leads to the highest point where a stone block about 3 feet high now stands. The whole summit is covered in several feet of snow though and it’s drifted over the North West Side which hides the sheer cliff that awaits you. From one point it looks like a nice snowy hill. From the other side it looks like a clever trap. I’m very glad I didn’t run to the edge to look over like I normally would have and I took a mental note to remind me of the lesson.
The cold winds and snow are well above me now and I’m back at the level where the grass starts again; Time to lie down for awhile in the nice sunny grass, shed another layer of clothes, and maybe take a quick power nap before continuing down the mountain.
Now back to my summation of the Griswald, uhhh I mean Forrest, Scottish Vacation:
Thanks to Mel Gibson almost the entire world now knows about Scotland’s biggest hero, William Wallace. I enjoyed the movie like most people but now after visiting Stirling and the tall Wallace Monument, I’m even more impressed with the man, Wallace that is. The monument is an impressive sandstone tower set on top of a beautiful ridge surrounded by woods. From it you can see the sight of his famous victory at the Battle of Stirling Bridge that basically launched him into legend status.
The Wallace Monument as seen from Stirling Castle.
The path less traveled by down from the Wallace Monument
The whole Family climbed the 246 spiral steps to the top on a very chilly windy day. The pictures from the top should be classic family photos for generations.
On top of the Wallace Monument.
Scotland hasn’t been all castles, monuments, and history though. Heather and Mom have squeezed in plenty of shopping. Dad and Derek have debated the rules of Snooker while watching it on practically every TV in Scotland. We’ve spent some afternoons in various pubs with the guys drinking pints and the girls sipping Scotch. There was even a quiet night or two watching TV in the living rooms of the few apartments where we stayed. We are now fans of The Graham Norton Show and even bigger fans of Billy Connolly.
I have also had some great outdoor moments too, with today obviously topping the list. In Edinburgh I snuck away for half a day and hiked up Arthur's Seat; the rolling hill, plateau and rocky peak that overlook the town. I also had some great runs in Stirling and Inverness. I think tonight will be a night for pints though. It’s all about balance!
I have also had some great outdoor moments too, with today obviously topping the list. In Edinburgh I snuck away for half a day and hiked up Arthur's Seat; the rolling hill, plateau and rocky peak that overlook the town. I also had some great runs in Stirling and Inverness. I think tonight will be a night for pints though. It’s all about balance!
Arthur's Seat in Edinburgh
--Pause--
I’m back! Well kind of…I’m back to where I started this entry, at the bench outside the Visitors Center. I still have 2 miles to walk back to Fort Williams I guess but its flat and paved so in my mind my hike is done.
What a great day! I know I say that a lot but I mean it every time. I don’t know if anyone else would think they are technically all great days or if it’s just my passion for life that makes them feel great. In the end I suppose I’m the only judge that matters so I’ll leave it at that.
Its 5 p.m. that makes my total round trip time up Ben Nevis and back just shy of 8 hours. Just like a full day of work! On a Sunday no less! As Jimmy sings, “God I do love this job so!”
MJF
The Forrest Family in Scotland
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