We managed to get started on the Great Glen Way at 9am, our earliest start yet on the actual route. Of course, today we only had some 300 meters instead of miles of walking to reach the trail.

The beautiful blue skies from yesterday had held over into this morning. We headed past the Great Glen Water Park and then onto an old road bed to walk up the east side of Loch Oich, the smallest of the 3 lakes we would traverse. Our walk took us past a few sheep grazing, old stone walls, abandoned railroad beds and streams draining into Loch Oich.

Loch Oich was also the highest of the 3 lochs, and some sources have it draining both to the north and south. From this point to Inverness, all the lock gates would now be pointing the way we had come, using the upstream water pressure to hold them shut. On the previous two days, all the gates had been pointing us forward.

As we enjoyed the early morning and views across the loch to Invergarty Castle, our enjoyment of the peace was shattered by a low flying military jet rocketing overhead. This was our first introduction to the RAF training runs around Scotland. We would get at least one fly-by each day for the rest of our hike.

We took a quick break to enjoy the views down the loch at a gravel bar on the northern end. I found a discarded fishing lure and tossed it down with some broken "chips" of wood at Grant's feet. "It's fish and chips!" Loch Oich may have been our highest lake, but it was also the scene of our lowest attempt at humor.

Climbing over a fence stile, we reached the canal running toward Loch Ness and began our last canal-side walk until we reached Inverness. We stopped to admire the Bridge of Oich, with its double-cantilevered design, and then headed on toward Fort Augustus.

A pair of swans approached us near the Kytra lock, begging for food. Then a slight drizzle began to fall as we hurried on to Fort Augustus. The rain increased in intensity as we looked forward to getting back into the forests after lunch.

The sun poked out between the clouds as we reached Fort Augustus and we quickly installed ourselves into the Neuk Restaurant. We avoided several strong downpours while enjoying a non-trail food lunch. While in Augustus we also sent out postcards and bought a few more snack foods for our next two days.

Grant and I strolled down to the pier where the canal gives way to the deep waters of Loch Ness. Peering into the clouds and over the waters, I thought about reaching the far end of this lake in two and a half days from now.

Heading out of town we climbed up above the loch on a single-track trail, then reached a forest road we would follow for the remainder of the day. We had frequent views of the loch below, but we saw not one other walker or cyclist for the rest of the day.

Grant's blisters weren't bothering him, but his knee was. A double dose of ibuprofen helped, and I was glad tomorrow would be our shortest day, only 14 miles. We continued to take our time whenever there was a sight worth stopping for. We encountered my favorite waterfall of the walk during this afternoon's hike into Invermoriston. A large drop was visible tucked behind the rock faces above the trail. And by grabbing roots and watching our footing, we could climb down to a flat rock overlooking another large drop below the bridge. Loch Ness was just visible through a break in the trees above the falls.

From our high vantage point we could see Invermoriston down below us, but had to follow a long switchback in the forest road to avoid some private property and finally come into town. I felt bad for Grant who was hobbling somewhat at this late part of our day.

Walking into Invermoriston, we passed numerous guesthouses and B&B's. We continued into the town's center, and crossed over the River Moriston with views of the old bridge built around the time of the Caledonian Canal. From the old bridge, we also had an excellent view of the falls on the River Moriston.

Just behind the town hall, we spotted two highland cattle in a field. Remembering the one request from my mom before leaving, we walked up the grassy slope to the fence and took pictures of the shaggy cattle to bring back for Mother's Day.

We located the Georgetown B&B, and met Sandy and Isabel Greig. They welcomed us into their home and we showered and headed out for dinner.

Walking through Invermoriston, we decided to skip the Glenmoriston Arms Hotel for its expensive menu. Instead we entered the Pig's Nose restaurant. The owners were a couple who had fled the rat race in London. The husband used to work for IBM on AIX, the unix systems I had been maintaining until recently ("The nice thing about working in IT is that it doesn't leave any scars.")

Grant ordered the haggis after a little prompting from me, and we heard about the local history from the owners, especially about "Bonnie Prince Charles".

Back at the B&B, Sandy walked in while Grant and I read and wrote in the sitting room.

Sandy: "Did ya have the haggis?"
Grant: "I did."
S: "And did ya like it?"
G: "Yah."
S: "Ha! Did it have taters and neeps?"
G: "Uh, it had mashed potatoes on top."
S: "Those are the taters, what about neeps?! It's supposed to have neeps!"
G: "I don't remember anything else."
S: "Uggh! It's supposed to have neeps! Wait, I think the English call them turnips."
G: There weren't any turnips.
S: "Uggh! No neeps! Wait, I think you might call them sweep potatoes."
G: There was something like that in there as well.
S: "Good. It's not haggis without tatters and neeps."