The Hike Begins!

Today was the official start of the hike. 12 miles from Milngavie
(mull-guy) to Drymen (drimmen). The day started out wet and drippy,
but less than an hour into the hike the sun came out and we had blue
sky, sunshine and puffy clouds for the rest of the day. We walked 6
1/2 miles and then stopped at the Glengoyne Distillery where we took a
tour and were given samples. After two swigs, Eric lost all
discipline and spent $190.00 in American money on whiskey and a few
other momentos. I wasn't present during this shopping spree, so
therefore take no responsibility on overspending. Um, remember, we
are HIKING!! He then had to figure out how to stuff two shopping bags
worth of merchandise into an already almost full backpack. You buy it,
you carry it! Laughing out loud at successfully completing this task,
we set off once again to finish the hike. Of course, E is now
carrying about 35 lbs on his back and toward the end of the day was
complaining about "backpack pain". Ya think??? We stopped at the
Beach Tree pub for a late lunch. Hard cider for each of us, which may
have made the rest of the day a little more bearable. The last thee
miles were unfortunately on pavement. This made for hot spots on the
feet and by the time we reached the B&B, we were foot sore and pretty
exhausted. Showers and naps and we are on a slow recovery. Tomorrow
shouldn't be too bad. Drymen to Balmaha is 6 1/2 miles. That should
be fairly easy except for the fact that we have to climb Conic Hill.
Supposedly it isn't that high, but I am beginning to doubt anything
told to me by a man who buys a bottle of whiskey for $145.50. My
reaction to this purchase? Holy sh**!! His answer? It's 21 year old
whiskey, it's worth it!! O-KAY!!! Just found out the "hill" is 1184
feet. Well at least I'm not carrying 35 lbs on MY back! So we will
take our time tomorrow. Since it's a short day, we will look around
here a little in the morning before taking off, since we were too
tired to do that tonight. On we go!!! Cheers!