Saturday, July 27, 2013

A Tale of Two Boots - Rhenigidale 4

The next day I drove the road to Rhenigidale and parked at the trail-head west of the village. The path contoured down around a headland to give me this great view of the beach at Trollamarig and above it the switchbacks I'd descended (and ascended) the day before.

The trail then passed down and through the abandoned village of Gearraidh Lotaigear where a shop once offered provisions to those passing through to Rhenigidale.


It was a much shorter hike than the day before. I soon found myself once again at Trollamarig Beach; the sky a bit grayer than the day before.


I enjoyed a beer on the beach to celebrate having 'closed' the loop from the previous day's effort, and then started back up the path to return to Rhenigidale.


As I hiked back to the car the gray sky darkened further, the wind picked up, and a light drizzle started. Reaching the car I opened the rear door on the passenger side and sat down to change out of my hiking boots. I had just put my street shoes on when a blast of wind slammed the open car door on my legs. So I got up and walked around to the driver's side to finish changing out of my sweaty hiking shirt. I was so tired and hungry that once I had a fresh shirt on I drove off. 

A day later I was on the mainland, 150 miles from Rhenigidale. I wanted to go for a hike up Beinn Dubh, which rises high above the village of Luss on the western shore of Loch Lomond. My boots were nowhere to be found. It was then I realized I'd driven off and left them at the roadside above Rhenigidale.

So here I am today, bootless in Seattle. But good things happen to those who blog. My July 8 post on Ardveg was of interest to someone who lives in Rhenigidale. So thinking the odds were against it, I asked if any boots had turned up. A couple of days later the answer came back. Yes. And so on my visit to Harris and Lewis next week I will be going to Rhenigidale to fetch those wayward boots. I hope they were rescued before any sheep had a chance to gnaw on them.

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