Of course, we all had to get some photos with this beautiful mountain in the background.
From there the West Highland Way continues in the direction of Glencoe. The Valley of Glencoe, with its tall rugged mountains is one of the most beautiful places in Scotland.
But Glencoe is also known for the infamous Massacre of Glencoe that took place in 1692. One night, in the middle of a harsh winter, a regiment under the command of Robert Campbell showed up at the home of the Chief of the MacDonald clan of Glencoe. Honoring the Highland tradition of hospitality to any travelers, the MacDonalds invited the regiment into their homes and offered them food for 12 days. But then an order arrived for Campbell from the English monarch to "put all to sword under 70." That night many of the MacDonalds, including the clan chief, were murdered in their own homes. The MacDonalds who escaped into the woods died of exposure after their homes were burned to the ground. To this day, the old
Chachaig Inn in Glencoe bears the sign in its door, "No Campbells!"
We knew that today's hike included a tough uphill portion called the Devil's Staircase. The climb got its name by soldiers who were part of a road building program in the 1750s. Carrying construction materials up the very steep stretch was very unpopular, thus the soldiers called it the Devil's Staircase.
We were also really glad when we reached the top of the Devil's Staircase. We took a break to eat some food and take in the views. The stone cairns at the top mark the highest point of the entire West Highland Way.
From the high point, the path starts to descend gently on a rugged path.
Eventually, we were able to see the waters of the Blackwater Reservoir, the longest dam in the Highlands. It was built in 1909 by 3,000 itinerant laborers who lived in a camp up on the moor. The project included the construction of the dam and the pipelines towards Kinlochleven.
Kinlochleven had an aluminum works in the early 1900's that employed 800 people. Although the aluminum works closed in 2000, the hydro-electric plant was converted into a general purpose power station.
Today, Kinlochleven relies on tourism and mountain sports such as trail running, mountain biking, and hiking on the West Highland Way.
We stayed at the Highland Getaway Inn and had a delicious dinner after another
long day of hiking.
We've been so lucky with warm, sunny weather. Tomorrow is our last day of hiking and the forecast is for rain - so we will finally get the more typical Scotland weather as part of our experience.
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