noplasticshowers

Turns out that NPS is from clan McRae (McGraw) and the home turf is a loch in Kintail Scotland. When you got to Kintail, you pretty much have to stay at Kintail Lodge.

The front door of the old house

Eilean Donan Castle

Eilean Donan Castle

More pictures of the family castle here.

And you have to hike a 2700 foot mountain (starting at sea level) for the 100 mile view (sgurr an airgid, or silver mountain).

Summit

More about the hike up Sgurr an Airgid here.

We started out trek at 3pm after a full day of touring with our delightful guide Les McInulty. NPS cannot recommend Les more highly—knowledgable, energentic, punctual, and hilarious. We were down by 8:00pm, but happily exhausted and only 90 minutes behind schedule. The harried staff at the bar/restaurant was happy to serve us even though the entire town showed up for dinner on a gorgeous Friday. Venison was a delicious choice as was the pudding. Only scotch washes down the trek for a good night’s sleep.

Kintail Lodge

We were in room 7 with a view of the loch.

View from room 7

We’re not a fan at all of the shower in room 7, but we were in the hinterlands.

Not an NPS approved shower

But the view from the “throne” does not suck

The staff is fantastic, especially the delightful Helen. But bring your own Internet (the ubiquity gear is state of the art but woefully misconfigured).

That time that NPS drank Scotch Whisky

As a base of operations for hiking, the Kintail Lodge fits the bill. The showers are wet and the beer is cold. Three showerheads for Kintail Lodge.