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BB2133
: Back On Track?
Tuesday
7th September 2021
Stan
reckoned that, thanks to Covid, it was over
two years since we last reduced our number
of outstanding Wainwrights. He was
right. BB1923.
July 2019.
Meanwhile
others, notably TV Mike and Brian in their
separate non-BOOTboys
ways, have been making huge strides towards
finishing the list and are both now well
ahead of us.
Today
we intended to get back on track.
The
target was Esk Pike which we both needed.
It was perhaps not the best day for
a big walk. It was hot when we set
off from the Old Dungeon Ghyll Hotel and
the day would only get hotter under the
cloudless sky.
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It’s
a long stroll along the valley followed
by a long climb up to Angle Tarn. I
have moaned in the past about the quality
of some of the man-made stone paths but
this one is amongst the best I have seen.
A real help when ascending.
Long-time
readers of BOOTboys
reports
may remember that Angle Tarn is where Graham
went skinny-dipping. BB0407.
Despite today’s warmth, we saw no
such antics and Stan and I were certainly
not intending to emulate him. Perhaps
Terry might, had he been with us, but it
is a long time since he got his kit off
for a wild swim.
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It
was around here that Stan started querying
why we weren’t doing Great End as well and
didn’t we need it? I was doubly sure
that I didn’t. Firstly, I had already
been there. Secondly I had decided
that, given its name, it was the appropriate
place to finish this round of Wainwrights.
As such, I should disregard the previous
qualifying visit and not return until The
Great End. Stan was less than convinced
and decreed that we should first go there
to make sure. It would only add 500
feet climbing to our total for the day.
So
we did. He further insisted that we
should go direttissimo from Esk Hause which
no doubt gave us a shorter route but as
it was up a boulder field I was far from
convinced it was the better.
At
the top are two summits and we weren’t sure
which was the higher.
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We
decided (correctly as it was later proved)
that the more southerly one was the real
top but the other had the better views.
To the south-west we could see the queue
of people waiting their turn to summit Scafell
Pike.
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To
the north-west was the bulk and the screes
of Great Gable.
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To
the north were glimpses of Derwent Water
with Skiddaw behind.
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It
was of course much cooler up here than in
the valley. A pleasant temperature
and a good place to have lunch.
I
insisted that the descent to the Hause should
be by the far easier regular path. The climb
from there to Esk Pike was quite steep and
through rocky terrain but not difficult.
Job
done, we were not tempted to carry on to
Bowfell but instead took the Ore Gap route
down to Angle Tarn. I had not previously
been that way and confess I had been a bit
anxious as to how steep and exposed it might
be. Actually it turned out very safe
and pleasant, enlivened by the red rocks
that lined the path. Hence its name.
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There
were plenty of people at Angle Tarn but
still no skinny-dippers as far as we could
tell. Our legs were now tiring but
we had to climb out of the basin in order
to return down the stone staircase and along
the valley path to the car. They seemed
much longer than in the morning on fresh
legs.
Back
home, I checked the BOOTboys
Log. Stan had been half right. He
had needed Great End. I hadn’t. That
moves him two ahead of me in the countdown.
He needs 24 more, I need 26. Will
we finish them this year? Unlikely
but at least we are back on track.
Don,
Tuesday 7th September 2021
Comitibus:
Don, Stan
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