Day 2 in Scotland: walking the West Highland Way

Day 2: From Drymen to Rowardennen

Our first day of walking was a pretty easy one, with a convenient stop for lunch halfway through. We got onto the West Highland Way and were quickly walking over the little town, enjoying the view.

Starting at our BnB

Lunch!

We had dinner at one of Scotland's oldest pubs

None of the terrain was very challenging on day one, which was good since we were trying out all of our gear. So, our gear:

We both walked in Merrell hiking shoes the whole trip. Mine were old; Melissa's were new and "waterproof". Sort of. The shoes were fine, but you have to accept that your feet will be wet 98% of the time. I also bought wool trekking socks, which helped a little since wool dries fast. I just got some cheap pairs for $5 each.

We also both had small backpacks. I got this one:

I actually bought it new off Ebay for $11. It's also "waterproof". Ha, ha. Not even a little. But it was adequate.
I also bought my first ever raincoat, a godsend, and otherwise mostly just layered long-sleeved running shirts and tights. At the last minute, I bought a base layer wool blend shirt and tights, which were a good idea: I washed and dried them at night and re-wore them most of the trip.

These were really cheap, like $12 for the top and $15 for the bottom.
In retrospect, I should have brought gloves and a waterproof backpack cover, but otherwise I think we packed well. No trekking poles, no balaclava, no fancy hats, no gators - it's not that intense. But if you do the walk, by all means get some waterproof stuff!