Day 3 - Glencoe to Tyndrum

19 - yes, NINETEEN - miles today.  Weather was crisp, chilly, and mostly sunny.  Our journey today took us through the Rannoch Moor, which is the largest expanse of uninhabited land on the island.  There really is a whole lot of nothing there.

The terrain was mostly level and pretty rocky underfoot.  Some hills to climb and descend, but not steep - long gradual climbs was the norm.

As we came off the moor, some of us ran into a bit of confusion when we came to a fork in the trail.  Fortunately, I had my WHW guidebook with me, and we were able to figure out which way to go.  We even left an arrow on the ground to aid a couple of the group who were behind us.

We arrived at the Inveroren Hotel, where we sat on a nearby woodpile and had a bite to eat before communing with a stag.

Then we were off to the Bridge of Orchy, which, according to legend, is possibly the bridge that Rob Roy McGregor was hung from.  He escaped this hanging somehow (Rope broke?) and he went down river and got away.  Very small village, only a few houses and a hotel or 2.

After crossing the A82 and ducking under a railroad track, we started out on the 6 mile leg along the lower slopes of Beinn Dorain and Beinn Odhar.  After already having walked 13 miles, seeing where you needed to go way, WAAAAYYYYYYY off in the distance definitely led to "What-the-hell-did-I-get-myself-into" kinds of thoughts.  However, it helped that the scenery was breathtaking, and the fact that there was a small group still plodding along with you was encouraging.

I wasn't able to get a picture, but James and I saw Great Britain's smallest bird, the goldcrest.  Here's a link to info on this pretty little creature:

http://www.rspb.org.uk/wildlife/birdguide/name/g/goldcrest/index.aspx

We finally came to the end of the day's planned path in Tyndrum, and were picked up by William "of the Whiskies" Reid and brought to the hotel, where we were immediately brought into dinner, since it was almost 8:00pm.

Tomorrow's an easy day - only a paltry 12 miles planned.