WHW Day 2 Garadhban Forest to Inversnaid Part 1

After waking at about half 6, I had breakfast and quickly packed away to head out through the scrubby, cut plantation areas and onwards to Conic Hill. It was a bit overcast but great to walk in, still no midges (huh?!) and I made good progress. I passed a sign saying 'Beware: Sheep' which I saw a frequent intervals, as if there were Killer Sheep roaming the land around Conic Hill. It made me think of Monty Python and the white rabbit and I ended up laughing out loud at it when I kept coming across them.
And for some reason I started to call Conic Hill 'Konichiwa Hill'. It amused the hell out of me; it's funny what your brain does when other stimulus is removed! Even though I'd only been walking for half a day I had largely switched off from the outside world and now felt as if I inhabited a different time and place.

At the Burn of Mar I came across a tent that looked as if its occupants were still sleeping but an Evernew pot and a cup were set out on a rock next to the burn as if someone was about to make their morning cuppa. I got some water from the burn and then up towards the hill.

From Conic hill the views down Loch Lomond were superb. However, I could see clouds beetling their way over towards me and was soon engulfed in a shortish but heavy rain shower. I skidded through the mud and rocks to make my way around the hill and took shelter under a large hawthorn tree. A double take revealed there was already someone there! He was kitted out in all-black and it just looked like the hawthorn tree had a double trunk. We had a chat during which he asked me if I was doing the WHW, are you on your own, is it safe, and then blurted out, "I don't normally do this"!
On further questioning he said he was relatively new to walking on the hills and only camped at 'proper' camp sites. He was concerned about being on his own and wasn't sure he'd be able to do it by himself. Of course I extolled the virtues of walking and wild camping, how you can be safe and content. And also how you don't need to carry the massive packs you see so often, carried by miserable looking people in pain. It can be really enjoyable! I think my enthusiasm was contagious and I gave him a couple of websites to look at (Phil Turner and Steven Horner at least). I think I made a convert...
The rain drew to an end and I carried on, descending and joining the woods and through towards Balmaha. Here I made use of the lovely new Tourist Information Centre to have a wash and then over to the Oak Inn where I had a bacon sarnie and cup of tea. I took a pic of these in homage to a friend currently walking the PCT, Fuzzy Monkey, who is renown for his food pics.

Everything tastes great when you're outdoors and this was quite possibly the most exquisite bacon I've ever tasted!
Moving onto the next section of my Harveys WHW map marked another small milestone, coinciding with passing the 20 mile mark. The next immediate section of the walk was lovely, passing a small boatyard which reminded me of my childhood in Norfolk, before climbing up a small knoll to a hill fort site (Craigie Fort) where a ranger was scything grass and bracken.

I felt as if I was actually abroad at this point; the weather was warm, the skies clear (well in one direction!) and I began the meander that would last the best part of a day and a half, up the side of the Loch.

These two pics were taken from the same spot, at the same time, the above looking South, the one below looking West...

The next section of the walk passed along beautiful beaches, woodland, twists and turns up and down hill and also short road sections. There were relatively new tourist facilities at Milarrochy with a number of people milling around and I passed a large guy with a massively laden pack labouring onwards. Another WHWer, he was called Mo and was aiming for Rowardennan for the day. I had seen him at Balmaha, asking for directions from the lady working in the Village Store next to the Oak.
The section from Sallochry up towards Rowardennan was pretty interesting walking, again a mix of Lakeside and woodland walking. I passed a young Polish lad wearing a beanie, who was really sweet, and an oncoming French couple who wore matching tartan hats, the man wearing a kilt! He looked quite stern and serious; she looked like she was taking the mick out of him, but was behind him so had full licence to!
The section drawing up to Rowardennan seemed to stretch out and by the time I got there I was fantasising about a pint of lager shandy. I stopped at the Clansman Bar. It didn't actually look as if it had changed much in the last 15 years; I remembered the same dark, wooden interior, the bar, the menu, it all looked the same. Steve Horner told me that when he'd passed it on his WHW it had been undergoing refurbishment, but to me it didn't look any different at all!
I decided to accompany my THREE POUND lager shandy with a lasagne for lunch, and then I wouldn't need to bother so much about having something substantial for dinner (or tea, or whatever people in different parts of the UK call it).

I made the most of the stop and didn't feel in too much of a rush to get on to my destination for the night. Fortunately I wasn't sat near anyone so put my feet up, discarded my socks and shoes and batted the wasps away from my beloved shandy. It was pretty blissful, watching the chickens hunting for grubs in the grass, looking up the Loch and watching the little passenger ferry start its journey across to Inverbeg. Eventually I decided I ought to make a move though, so I waddled off (I think is the best description after how much I ate).