Floyd's Travels and Thoughts on Life

In September 2020 daughter Susan and I went to Glacier NP in Montana for a week of hiking. I drove to Madison, WI on Sept. 22, and on Sept. 23 we flew to Kalispell, MT. We picked up a rental car at the airport and headed directly to the Western Park Entrance, stopping at Columbia Falls to pick up some groceries. Once inside the park we drove on the Going-to-the-Sun Road along the shores of Lake McDonald and stopped at the Trail of the Cedars trailhead. We then hiked onto the trail to Avalanche Lake, spent some time at the lake, then hiked back to the car. We picked up some more groceries at a store in Hungry Horse and then headed to Martin City and self-checked ourselves into Glacier Getaway, our rented apartment (found on airbnb) for a week. Our apartment was only a 15-20 minute drive to the park entrance, and each morning we left early to visit different areas of the park and hike the trails. Because of COVID large sections of the park were closed off to visitors and the Eastern Entrance to the park was closed as well, so we could only drive the Going-to-the-Sun Road as far as Rising Sun. On two occasions we couldn't go further on the trail we were hiking, because signage warned us to turn back because of Grizzly bears in the area. Still, there was much to do and see, and the weather cooperated wonderfully, except for the brief periods of rain, sleet, or snow. During our 6 days of hiking in the park, we hiked about 56 miles in total. Here are some photos taken on our hikes.

Lake McDonald

Huckleberry Mt. trail

Howe Lake

Lake McDonald

View from Howe Lake

Snyder Lake

Trail to Trout Lake

McDonald Falls

Hidden Lake

Trail to Hidden Lake

Highline Trail with Going-to-the-Sun road below

On the Highline Trail

Highline Trail

Virginia Falls

View at Rising Sun

St. Mary's Falls

St. Mary's Lake

On the trail to Avalanche Lake

Avalanche Lake

On the trail to Avalanche Lake

Large Cedar on the Trail of Cedars

In September 2019 I returned to the United Kingdom, a favorite destination. My plans were to hike the West Highland Way (WHW), a premier and popular hiking trail in Scotland, then afterwards to do some exploring in different parts of England. I arrived London Heathrow airport on September 11, validated my Britrail Pass and took the Heathrow Express to London Paddington station, then took a taxi to London Euston station. Then I got on the train to Glasgow. I got off the train in Carlisle in the north of England and stayed the night there, as I wanted to visit Carlisle Cathedral to see the misericords in the choir stalls. The misericords were impressive, but not as much so as the lovely starlight ceiling in the cathedral. The following morning I got back on the train and went to Central Station in Glasgow, then took another train going north to Milgavie ("Mull-guy"), the start point of the WHW. As I have done in previous long-distance hikes I used a company called Macs Adventures. They always do a terrific job helping me plan my hikes. They book me into modest B & B's or small hotels so I know my destination for each day and where I will be spending the night. They also arrange for a luggage transfer service so that I can travel light with only a small backpack.
The hike was so wonderful, that I am now eager to return to Scotland. I have been to Scotland on other occasions, and knew it to be a scenically beautiful country, but I had never explored the area I was about to hike. The hike from Milgavie (the start point) to Fort William (the finish point) is 96 miles, but I took several diversions to visit some places off the main trail, so I figure my total hike was 100 miles. Some hikers do the whole trail in only 5 or 6 days, but I didn't want to feel hurried. I wanted to go at a more leisurely pace, so I could stop and rest on occasion, view sights along the trail, and take photos of the plants, animals, and gorgeous scenery. So my hike lasted 10 days.
After Day 1, hiking from Milgavie to Drymen, the next 3 days were spent hiking along the Eastern shore of Loch Lomond, the largest lake in the UK. Leaving Loch Lomond at the end of Day 4 I entered the Scottish Highlands. The scenery was simply wonderful. During my hike I crossed numerous streams and passed many waterfalls. On Day 8 hiking from Inveroran to Glencoe, I hiked across desolate and isolated (yet beautiful) Rannoch Moor, one of the wildest and least inhabited places in all of the UK. I encountered absolutely wonderful hiking weather, and never had to dig my rain poncho out of my backpack. There were a few showers, but none lasted for very long. and I had great weather for nearly all of the hike. Scotland can be very cloudy and overcast, but on many occasions I was hiking in sunshine. Here are some photo's of my hike, in the order in which I experienced them.