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BB1608
: 3Ts and 2Ws
Monday
22nd
February 2016
It
seems harder these days to fix a day in the week to
fit in with the other demands on BOOTboys'
lives, particularly grandchild minding and grandmother
minding. Consequently, this week we have two reports
from two separate Comitibi. The first, reported
below, was a partial recce for a walk that Bryan intends
to lead for the Kendal Fellwalkers in the near future.
As Terry was unable to join the more conventionally
dayed event, he accompanied Bryan and picked up two
more Wainwrights (and three tarns) in the process.
Terry
reports:
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A
9:05am start from a layby on the A591 just
outside Grasmere and the weather looked
reasonably promising i.e. dry and a gentle
breeze.
Cutting
through the edge of the village, we were
soon climbing with fine views of Sourmilk
Gill on our right.
The
weekends’ torrential rain, along with snowmelt,
ensured the waterfalls were in full flow.
Not
long after we could see our first tarn of
the day: Easedale, looking calm and serene.
Now
the route upwards began to get tougher and
by the time we were passing between Eagle
Crag and Slapstone Edge, it called for some
minor scrambling over stone slabs.
Wet
and slippery, it was fortunate there was no
ice, which would have made it too risky.
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Sourmilk Gill
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Bryan
would have said ".... made it more interesting"!
Easedale Tarn
About
this time the weather began to change, the clag was
coming down and allowing only a brief glimpse of Sergeant
Man in the distance. The wind strengthened, the temperature
dropped and underfoot became frozen; not the conditions
we had hoped for. However we did catch sight of Coledale
Tarn, way over to our right; scene of a Hardaker mishap
many years ago, involving a 15ft fall off a cliff (fortunately
onto a snow drift!).
Codale Tarn
Passing
Pile of Stones we walked over to the left to catch a
great view of Stickle Tarn overlooked by the Langdales
disappearing into the mist.
Stickle Tarn
Back
on the trail we soon reached our first W, Sergeant Man
and what should have been a great all round view. Disappointingly
the clag was firmly down and so a touch of the cairn
was all that was necessary before returning to the trail.
The
relatively short walk to High Raise was a yomp across
unwelcoming terrain: misty, boggy and frozen. In fact
I’m sure if it hadn’t been frozen, we would have had
trouble navigating across the bogs.
Sheltering
behind a stone wall at the top of our second W,High
Raise, we met the first walkers we had seen since setting
off. Much to Bryan's amusement, the first one asked
if he was at Sergeants Man (!) and the second was earnestly
studying a map looking for a return path, that Bryan
was sure didn’t exist! Bryan made a succinct comment,
which doesn’t really need repeating!
It
was time for Bryan to take some bearings to the Borrowdale
fells and a short recce in preparation for his KF walk.
Being satisfied he had the right lines, we were off
and on our return.
Now
it was decision time: back along the ridge taking in
Gibson Knott and Helm Crag or back down the Easedale
valley. Wanting to get out of the wind and warmer temperatures,
we settled for retracing the way down as per last week's
BB1607
and followed the Far Easedale Gill back to the outskirts
of Grasmere.
Our
restorative refreshment was taken at the Hawkshead Brewery
and a "Cheers" to a fine and expertly navigated
outing. Thanks, Bryan.
Terry,
Monday 22nd February 2016
Lunch by the Gill
| STATISTICS
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BB1608
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| Date:
|
Monday
22nd February 2016
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| Distance
in miles:
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10.8
(Garmin)
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| Height
climbed in feet:
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2,969
(OS / Memory Map)
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| Features:
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Sergeant
Man, High Raise
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| Comitibus:
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Bryan,
Terry
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BOOTboys
routes are put online in gpx format which
should work with most mapping software. You can follow
our route in detail by downloading bb1608 .
To
discover which Wainwright top was visited on which BB outing
- although it may not be that up to date - or for the totals of the mileages and heights (ditto) see the Excel
file: BB Log.
You
can navigate to the required report via the Home
Page
Photos
have been gleaned from many sources
although mostly
from me and other BOOTboys. Likewise written comment.
I apologise if I have
failed to acknowledge properly the source or infringed
copyright. Please let me
know and I will do my best to put things right.
Unless stated
otherwise, please feel free to download the material
if you wish.
A reference back to this website
would be appreciated.
Wainwrights
To
see which Wainwright top was visited on which BB outing
see Which
Wainwright When?
This
may or may not be up to date!
For the latest totals
of the mileages, heights and Lakeland Fells Books Wainwrights see: Wainwrights.
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BOOTboys
2016
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