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| stats. 25.2 miles- ascent 10152ft descent 10155ft. |
The week leading up to this backpack the weather was difficult to read , the MWIS & met office were at odds with each other in regards to wind speed, temperature and precipitation.
In the end I decided to go with the best forecast which wasn't that great , and hope for the best.
I arrived in Nether Wasdale at around 8.30.am it was overcast with light rain. Pulling on my wet gear I set of along the lane to pick up the bridle way that runs from Ashness How to Greendale , the first summit of the day - middle fell clearly visible from here.
I arrived at the summit of Middle Fell to zero views- the clag was down , a brief check of the map and I continued north. Whilst descending Greendale tarn appeared through the mist , and my next target - Seatallan came into view.
Crossing the boggy col. the sun came out intermittently lighting up the surrounding fell's & giving a good view over to Yewbarrow , where I planned to camp at the end of the day.
A steep pull and I gained the summit of Seatallan. I took a short bait stop whilst taking in the views ,then descended north to Pots of Ashness heading towards Haycock. Rather than take the direct route I decided to approach from the east , giving me chance to expore the rocky knolls on the way up - I often do this , both to escape crowds & get a different perspective.On the ascent there were good views back towards Seatallan & Middle Fell.
On the way up Scoat tarn came into view with red pike beyond and a short while later I gained the summit of Haycock from where I could see great scoat fell & steeple , 2 summits I visited 2 weeks ago on my ennerdale backpack.
The walk from Haycock to Great Scoat Fell was an enjoyable if a rather cold one , by now the winds had picked up , and it started to rain which at this level turned to sleet. The forecast had been for light rain - turning heavy for a time , before clearing late afternoon/evening so I continued to Red Pike , hoping it cleared in time for camp.The rain got heavier as I reached Red Pike , so I didn't hang around for long and descended to Dore Head where I planned to collect water from Over Beck for a camp on yewbarrow.With 4 ltrs added to my pack I ascended via Stirrup Crag helping max up as I went.
Around half way up Max went out of sight , I thought the going must be easier and he had continued to the summit ( he often races in front to get there before me ) I continued up and it didn't seem to be getting any easier so I wondered where max had gone , I stopped to call him but still couldn't see him - he always comes back to urge me on , I called him again - he still didn't come , I then glanced down - He was back where we started at the foot of the crags ! I couldn't believe it , he must have somehow doubled back ! I called him hoping he would come back up the way he went down , but he was having none of it. After muttering a loud series of expletives I took of my pack & climbed back down to start the climb back again.
This time I made sure he sat and waited at every pitch and we gained the summit without any further hickup's shortly after.
It was still raining quite hard with a gusty wind , so I started to look for a sheltered spot which I found quite quickly.
The Trailstar was soon pitched and we were under cover - glad to be out of the elements and very comfortable with a brew.
I was trying some new food from outdoorfood.com , on the menu for tonight was the Orzo pasta Bolgnese now I know everyones tastes are different, but I found this to be very bland tasting , so the jury is out on these , I have a few more to try but will probably stick with my usaual one pot meals , usually made with a pasta n sauce as the base.
After Dinner and coffee , I poured my self a nice single malt , the rain was easing now with the clag swirling and parting to give very atmospheric views , it was very surreal. later there was some lovely light and I got out to take a few pics
Back in the trailstar I went over the next day's route on the map whilst enjoying another single malt , I had mixed emotions about this next section , in particular Scafell pike.I was last on Englands highest around 5 years ago- one of max's early walks. I took a number of phone pics on that walk , which I lost when my phone started playing up and I reset without backing up photos! I was keen to get back up there but knew with it being easter it would be very busy , something I wasn't looking forward to as I tend to go backpacking to escape the crowds.
When I awoke the next morning it was still raining but it stopped whilst having my morning coffee and breakfast and I struck camp to descend back to Wastwater shortly after.
Walking alongside wastwater I headed towards Wasdale Head, Scaffell pike & scaffell were still covered in cloud the rest were intermittently clear. Lingmell stood proud at the end of the valley and I could just make out my intended route along Brown tongue , And higher up Hollow Stones where the angle of ascent levels slightly before climbing steeply again to the summit.
A constant procession of cars passed me and with the car park looking pretty full I knew it was going to be busy, but hopefully I could escape most of the crowds once I left the summit.
Joining the constant procession of walkers I made my way up. There were good views back towards Wastwater with Illgill head & the wastwater screes towering above on the left. Soon I reached Hollow Stones and found a large boulder to act as a wind break , shielding me from the strong cold breeze whilst I ate lunch. From here there are 3 routes - the main route which goes towards lingmell before turning right to climb to scaffell pike , another path heads north to Mickledore - a route I took some 5 yrs ago on my last visit , or branches right to ascend to scafell via lords rake.
I spent around 20 mins here having lunch and watching the ever changing light patterns on the surrounding peaks.
Continuing on I was soon at the summit I wanted to get a few pics of max at the summit , but with people queueing to get to the summit I didn't bother ,especially as the wind speed was around 28 mph, gusting to around 50 mph , with a windchill of around -6.2 deg c.
Descending towards Broad Stand there were still a quite a few folk coming up , with a few taking a break by the Stretcher Box. From there I descended the loose path to pick up the path which climbs a gully next to the outflow stream from foxes Tarn where the path climbs steeply to Symonds Knott.
After collecting water I continued to the summit , then continued to Scafell, the wind was really strong along this ridge and I decided to continue towards Slight Side and see if there were any sheltered spot's along the way.
Not long after I reached Slight Side, there was nowhere sheltered enough for a comfortable camp so I looked around for an alternative , I considered continuing to Illgill Head , but was doubtful as to whether or not I could find shelter there.
I next thought of descending towards Burnmoor Tarn but experience has taught me these areas are often boggy. I then spotted a rocky outcrop to the south west that looked like it could provide some shelter , a quick check of the map showed this was in fact a wainright - Great How so I decided to head there- passing a monument to 2 polish Airmen killed when their hurricane crashed into the hillside
Once there I found a promising spot that seemed to offer a bit of shelter, but had a look round to see if there was anywhere better - there wasn't, so I returned back to the first spot which was less sheltered than I thought it was quite windy and cold by now , and after a long day I was very tired.
Soon my trusty Mountain Laurel Designs Trailstar was pitched and I was in side out of the weather. At this point I felt very cold and was shivering - probably due to being tired, so I quicky got sorted and into my sleeping bag with a hot brew.
10 mins later and I felt fine, so I relaxed for a few hours - eating dinner , more hot drinks and then whisky.
I had a very good nights sleep the pitch was a comfortable one and awoke just before dawn , unfortunately it was raining quite hard. A quick breakfast and coffee were had and then I struck camp. Return route was via Illgill head & whin rigg , descending via an extremely boggy Irton Fell. Due to the weather I was anable to take any pics , and was soon back at my car for the long return journey home. I have the bug again for a bit of wainwright bagging , so I'm already planning my next visit.
till next time
Happy wildcamping
Daron
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