A once in 1000 year event !

Well they have been saying on the TV that it was a once in 1000 year event. It began to rain Wednesday afternoon just after I had finished my walk. The rain got heavier and heavier and didn't stop. I woke up on Thursday and it was still raining, it didn't stop all day. With all the water that was already about I knew we would be in for some trouble. I didn't realise how much.

Tuning in for the evening news was a revelation Kendal flooded, Ambleside cut off, Cockermouth flood, Keswick flooded. I had been to some of these places this week, it was surreal to say the least to see these places under several feet of water.

Friday we were leaving. Or at least we hoped so. Roads were closed, flooding still present in many places. We set off heading along the road that runs beside Thirlmire only to be confronted with landslides. Joy!



With my Dad's exhaust scraping over the rocks in the road, we managed to make it tothe A66 and from there we were home free! What an adventure!

Not so much and adventure for the people who have had their lives devastated by the floods my thoughts go out to them :(


These are the last 2 pics from Wednesday's walk descending from Steel Fell, I just stuck them here as there was no where else for them.

More pics from Part 3

Looking down toward Easdale Tarn on the way to Sergeant Man.


The view from Sergeant Man.


The view after leaving High Raise Heading for Calf Crag.


Getting closer to Calf Crag about to hit some boggy ground below. I went knee deep in some parts, I ended up being generously covered in mud. Good fun!


Almost at Calf Crag, Helm Crag in the distance on the right.

The middle of a week to remember part 3

OK Wednesday was going to be my best day, well that meant that it wasn't going to rain until the afternoon about 1ish or 2ish. So i opted for my biggest route of the week approx 5 hours and bagging 5 Wainwrights. This route I had to do solo as the parents wouldn't have been able to keep up. So they went and did their thing and I did mine.

I headed up to Easdale Tarn, past swolen rivers and crazy water falls.




From Easdale Tarn, up to Blea Rigg, where I found myself a cave between 2 boulders, I will have to remember that one for future reference !


The view from Blea Rigg toward Grasmere.




This was the view from Blea Rigg looking toward the Langdale Pikes.

The middle of a week to rememeber part 2

At this point I'mnot going to mention what the weather was like (wet :P ). I decided to bag Tarn Crag which was just above Easdale Tarn. It only took a couple of hours and I had great fun ! Ma and Pa sat this one out in the warmth of the cottage.

I am pretty wet at this point halfway down. Again no paths just waterfalls and streams. Thank Jeebus for GoreTex :D
Two huge boulders at the end of the walk, there would have been some nice bouldering on them but they were sitting in the middle of a bog :(

The middle of a week to remember part 1

With Walla Crag in the bag, Saturday was a washout. No walking at all,I was not happy. However Sunday looked more promising as we were staying in Grasmere I decided that as Silver Howe was on the doorstep that was the next logical hill to drag the "folks" up.

This was our cottage in Grasmere for the week and very nice it was too !


Well the promising day didn't actually materialise and it ended up with a mix of persistent rain and low cloud. We soldiered on however there were no views from the top.

This was the view looking back at Grasmere.


This gives you an idea of how wet it was on the way back, all the paths turned into waterfalls and streams, good fun if you ask me, perhaps you shouldn't as ma and pa.

This is my mam doing the best yoda impression I have seen for a while !

The start of a week to remember!

Well I always knew it was going to be hit and miss this week with the weather. I was hoping that as usual the weather boffins were going to get it wrong and I was going to get at least 1 or 2 good days.

Sadly every day was a bit wet some more than others. In all honesty I wasn't expecting a once in 1000 year rainstorm but then again you can't really plan for those ! Perhaps going to the lakes on Friday 13th really was an omen !

I arrived in the lakes with the parentals and decided that Walla Crag would be a nice warm up.




The Parents smiling at this point, if only we knew what was coming !

Im off to the lakes!

I'm off to the lakes tomorrow for a whole week of walking, scrambling and getting rained on. Expect a massive update when I get back!

Anyone for pea soup ?

After being beaten back by the weather a couple of weeks ago in Patterdale I decided to return and finish off what I had started. The weather forecast said 60% if clear hill tops so I thought it would be an opportunity to bag some nice photos as well.

I headed up from the car park in Patterdale towards Beda head, well the weather looked as if it wasn't going to be good as promised. No gales or driving rain this time just low cloud mist and drizzle. Great photos weren't on the cards today.

As you can see visibility was low! Anyway a good test for the navigation skills I thought!



So getting to Beda Head was no problem, pretty clear paths there and back. My plan was to go up to Angle Tarn Pikes and poke around there for a bit of fun but in the mist I overshot by quite a bit .
Fortunately I had made a mental note that if I did overshoot I would end up at a wall near Satura crag. That's exactly what happened and once i had realised my mistake it was a case of reversing my route and heading back along the path until I eventually found the lake and the pikes.

When I did get to the bottom of the pikes I was rewarded with this brief moment of almost clear weather .

After this I stopped for some lunch and prowled around for a bit trying to get some more photos and then headed back for the car.

Water water everywhere !

So the weather was going to be bad, but how bad ? The BBC normally "overcook" how serious the weather is going to be. On that premise I grabbed Dad and headed for the lakes .

Boy did they get the weather right! Heavy persistent rain, gale force winds flooded rivers and car parks...... you see where i am going with this.

We decided to press on, shorten the route and bag 2 Wainwrights (Angle Tarn Pikes and Brock Crags). It was a true battle against the elements and we ended up being soaked to the skin despite all the waterproof gear.

Strangely we quite enjoyed the walk but if I had known it was going to be sooooo bad I would have stayed at home ! Ah well you live and learn :D

Halfway but so much more to learn......

So today's goal was simple, just bag 4 Wainwrights around Glenridding and get me to halfway. Glenridding Dodd and Sheffield Pike were first and this got me to 107 :D



This was me at the halfway point wooo! The weather was pretty wet and windy but I am getting used to it and quite like the bad weather days.



Then we (me and mountianmansenior) continued to bag Raise and Whiteside then back to the car.

And the 100th was a Great Cockup !

Well today I hit 105 Wainwrights so only 2 to go to get halfway. Mountainmansenior wanted to make the 100th memorable in a comedy kinda way so we headed for a route that included Great Cockup.

The weather was a mixed bag as per usual but slightly more opportunities for photies!

I found this strange little pit with stones around it, not sure if it was ancient or modern, what was more disturbing was what I found inside.


Mountainmansenior up to no good probably.........this time no sheep involved :P

Here is the rest of the days efforts :D

Approaching Half Way ......

Well this post is a bit late so lets pretend it's September 27th 09 ;)

Well the weather wasn't good but we decided to head to the lakes anyway. I needed practice at navigation and to pickup more Wainwrights if I am going to get to half way (107) before the end of the year.

Hartside, Sybarrow Dodd, Watson's Dodd Great Dodd, and Clough head took me to 99 Wainwrights.

A good training walk just no photies except 1 :(

Howgills round 2 !

Well after the battering I received in the Howgills I decided that it was only fair to have another go in better weather.

The Howgills aren't the most picturesque hills in the world but it was good stamina training. It has just made me more hungry toget back to lakes and edge closer to the halfway point on my Wainwrights.

The walk on the whole was fairly uneventful apart from the few river crossing we had to do, I must admit it was funny watching Jim dance across the slippy rocks only to receive soggy boots as a reward. I wish i had recorded it.....darn !
Jim trying to dry off........Imagine coming round a corner to find that blocking your path......scary!

I have dampness in my Howgills !

Well it started soggy and just got soggier ! This was my first walk with mountain man senior for almost 2 months. It was probably the worst day we have had :P But like true mountain men we continued and tried to ignore the constant rain.


This was one of the best views of the day. We spent a lot of time being hammered by wind and shrouded in low cloud. It was good to get some bad weather experience though. I quite enjoyed it really.


Its the wind blowing my poles !

It's blown Jim's wig clean off !




Clinging to the trig point on the calf for dear life :P