Scotland highland crossing

Scotland is that marvellous and terrible place. I dream of those highland routes, yet I shiver at the prospect of the permanently wet feet, the wet&cold and the neverending wait for a quiet, peaceful, calm day that'll never happen. No peace of mind in the highlands for those used to stable weather patterns. Some mental adjustment needed for hiking in Scotland are in order if you want to enjoy the experience!

April/May is supposed to be the finest hiking time in the scottish highlands but nothing is set in stone about weather up there. It was sunny and mild the week before. It's sunny and warm the week after as I write this... it was cold, wet and windy while I was there. Good or bad luck, you never know... the awful forecast sent me to the valleys for the last leg of my highland crossing so I had to change my plans but also gave me the chance to be at the right spot at the right time... so many hikers out on the Great Glen trails, so many tourists booking the Loch Ness boat tour in wide open eyes for a chance to spot the legendary "monster"... to no avail as the creature is obviously a nice, funny marketing plot...

... unless you have the chance to meet Nessie. I don't know how often this happens but I have the pics to prove it's no joke. No digital handling would render this outstanding results:

note: no wildlife was hurt or anyhow bodered by the making of these pics. The baby slug quitely made its way through the plastic cover over my maps on to the grassland beyond.

Taynuilt to Inverness, a one week highland-lowland crossing of the scottish mainland. Coming up in Viajarapie.