West Highland Way Day 1--Milngavie To Drymen

After delays due to Covid for over two years, the day has finally come when I leave for Scotland and my thru hikes of the West Highland Way and Great Glen Way. I will be carrying everything I need on my back and I will be experiencing these trails by way of a combination of wild camping, campgrounds, youth hostels and guest houses.

Come with me as I embark on the journey of a lifetime—from Florida to Scotland— and take one entire month out of my life to experience one of the most magnificent places on the planet. My first stop is hiking the West Highland Way beginning in Milngavie to Fort William, where I will begin the next leg of this great journey, the Great Glen Way. After that I will be heading to the Isle of Skye. At the time of leaving Florida, my last few days in Scotland were unplanned. As most of my life is heavily scheduled, this was purposeful.

As someone who has dealt with mental and physical struggles, this trip was desperately needed. It is the first time in decades that I am able to focus on nothing but one foot in front of the other, what I am going to eat, do I have enough water and where I’ll be sleeping that night. Years of high stress, insomnia and the aforementioned mental (and physical) struggles have led me to re-evaluate my life and what I need from it. Many people (including myself) are finding that society's idea of what we need for happiness isn't all that it's cracked up to be. And sometimes, we discover the our place in it isn't exactly what we thought it would be. Sometimes we need to get back to simpler ways.

Sometimes we need to take a walk.

I hope that by sharing my experiences that I can show other women that they, too, can do hard things. That adventure is out there. That they are more than their jobs, their families and the (perceived) limitations they've often put on themselves. That it is not only ok, but necessary to take time for yourself and your passions and to reclaim who you are as a person. Life is meant to be lived.

Thank you all so much for your unending support and I hope you enjoy my journey.

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Music: Concussion by Nihoni, Old Pen (Instrumental version) by Cody Francis used with license via Epidemic Sound

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