18/08/07 Barrowdale to Grasmere
A 'short' day with a single range in the middle to cross, but still....
Up early-ish after a good sleep. John and Sharon already packing, Luke not up just yet. The patter of heavy drizzle and comments from the camp custodian (5L please) put us all in our waterproofs straight on. I was first out, the rest planning to press on to Patterdale, about twice as far away. Nice easy warm up into Stonethwaite then across the bridge onto gravel. And up.
Today's path was, for the most part, easily discernible if not at all desirable. The constant drizzle intermittent rain had filled the trail into a small shallow running creek, and made the 'boggy bits' a muck of dark black soil/sheep droppings. Or you can vault from rock to rock and hope you neither miss (and plant foot to ankle in goo) or fall off and twist an ankle. Proper footwear and gaiters would let one plod on regardless. My Merrel's are low cut and not waterproof, so early on my socks and feet were sodden wet and filthy. Still, I tried to avoid the water and bogs, adding time and distance and sapping energy. the low clouds held their ground as i climbed into them, visibilities dropping as low as 1/4 mile at times. I learned to use map and compass more and the book less until I'm in town.
Just so you know, this isn't a "gimme" walk!
A bed and a place to store my 'stuff'.
The drying-room - much in demand this day. 100degrees plus and near 100% humidity. Oh, and a fragrance that had even the sheep turning away......
Even the Youth Hostels were 'quaint'.
Up early-ish after a good sleep. John and Sharon already packing, Luke not up just yet. The patter of heavy drizzle and comments from the camp custodian (5L please) put us all in our waterproofs straight on. I was first out, the rest planning to press on to Patterdale, about twice as far away. Nice easy warm up into Stonethwaite then across the bridge onto gravel. And up.
Today's path was, for the most part, easily discernible if not at all desirable. The constant drizzle intermittent rain had filled the trail into a small shallow running creek, and made the 'boggy bits' a muck of dark black soil/sheep droppings. Or you can vault from rock to rock and hope you neither miss (and plant foot to ankle in goo) or fall off and twist an ankle. Proper footwear and gaiters would let one plod on regardless. My Merrel's are low cut and not waterproof, so early on my socks and feet were sodden wet and filthy. Still, I tried to avoid the water and bogs, adding time and distance and sapping energy. the low clouds held their ground as i climbed into them, visibilities dropping as low as 1/4 mile at times. I learned to use map and compass more and the book less until I'm in town.
Just so you know, this isn't a "gimme" walk!
A bed and a place to store my 'stuff'.
The drying-room - much in demand this day. 100degrees plus and near 100% humidity. Oh, and a fragrance that had even the sheep turning away......
Even the Youth Hostels were 'quaint'.
Starting at 0800 I crossed Clinging Crag at 0950 and the bridge at Far Easedale Gill at 1220. in the interim I did a fair to good job holding the path, but this pulling the map out stopping is taking a time tool. I also hit a rock wrong and went down heavily on my left knee; bruising it and popping my right (I heard it go! now brother Hal and I will have even more in common). Once along the Gill it was a fair walk into Grasmere, where I missed the first hostel, but got a bed in the second for 19L, lunch at the co-op for 5L, wash and dry for 2L, dinner for 8L and mapcase and stove fuel for 10L. Ouch. Internet contact was 2L for 1/2hr to update the blog a little, Email friends en masse and find out I got NONE of my choices allowing a 31st Aug return to USA. So, I'm going to work hard to be back on the 30th.
touch wood.
posted by Randy Masters at 9:12 AM
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