Author Topic: TR Day 1 Wild camp below Heron Pike Sat 30 Jun 18  (Read 1370 times)

April

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Day 1

I still had the routes numbered from the week before and Beefy choose number 5. That meant we were going back to Cow Bridge but this time ascending Dovedale. We wanted to try the Stand Crags route we had thought about doing last weekend. We were heading for Dove Crag and ending up below Heron Pike somewhere for the night.

Heading up into Dovedale


The lumpy Stand Crags area


We were going to be walking on top of those lumps. It was very hot, sunshine, blue skies and little wind. We topped up our water from Dovedale Beck on the way up. The waterfall didnt have a lot of water in it, the lack of rain is really starting to deplete the becks.

Bracken infested slopes up onto Stangs


We kept on the normal path to Dove Crag until we reached the footbridge. We didn't go over it we kept on the left side of the beck hoping the bracken would disappear so we could start going up Stangs. We stopped for our lunch first under a tree that gave us some shade from the sun. It wasn't very comfortable as the tree was on a bit of a slope but we needed to get out of the sun. We had a bit of a problem with our remote canister stove, the threads on the stove were slightly bent and if Beefy hadn't managed to screw it onto the canister it would have meant us having to retrace our steps and going to Glenridding to buy a new stove. Once Beefy had got the stove screwed on to the canister we left it like that for the rest of the weekend, we would look for a new stove when we got home. There was a break in the bracken near where we'd stopped for lunch and we started the pathless climb onto Stangs, very steeply up and it was hard work in the heat. We did see a faint path that followed an old fence but this didn't go up onto Stangs or Stand Crags, we wanted to go up onto the tops

Dove Crag from the climb up Stangs


Looking down at Dovedale Beck and the tree where we'd sheltered from the sun


Stand Crags from Stangs


Stand Crags


Dove Crag again


Looking back along the route we'd taken over the tops


The ground looked like it would normally be a bit wet here but it was dry. It was hard work in the heat with all the ups and downs. There were a few trods here and there and we followed one over the top of Stand Crags

A look back at Stand Crags


When we were on the trod on the grass over the top of it you wouldn't know there was such a sheer drop, unless you had looked at your map. We had kept well away from the edge!

We joined the path by the old fence that we'd seen earlier on that started in the valley


We had enjoyed the route over Stangs and Stand Crags, nice to do a new route for a change.

Looking back at Stand Crags


The fence stopped at Hogget Gill at a pretty big drop in the ravine. Our original plan had been to cross Hogget Gill to get onto High Bakestones but looking at the terrain we thought it would be quicker and easier to ascend beside the middle branch of Hogget Gill up toward the ridge path below Dove Crag instead.

Our route following Hogget Gill


Again we thought the ground here would normally be quite boggy, dry at the moment.

Looking back to Stand Crags and Brotherswater


We picked up some water from Hogget Gill, it would be the last until we found water below Heron Pike later

Beefy on the way up to Dove Crag


Crinkles, Scafells and Gables from Dove Crag


Beefy on Hart Crag


Cofa Pike and Helvellyn


Beefy on Fairfield


I never know which cairn is the highest on the top.

On the way to Great Rigg


Beefy on Great Rigg


Beefy on Heron Pike


We were feeling pretty tired by this time, it was after 5.45 and the heat and sun had been unrelenting all day. There had been a bit of a breeze once we'd got onto Dove Crag thankfully.

We dropped down off the summit wanting to find a flat shelf of grass near to the unnamed beck seen on the map that feeds Alcock Tarn. We found a pitch at about 550m, the grass was quite long but it was a decent flat spot that was dry. We were exhausted and we got the tent up, we would get the water afterward.

Grasmere from our pitch


We got to the water source marked on the map and it was totally dry. We were fed up, we were cream crackered but we had to get water, not just to drink but for our tea, the noodles, packet soup and cous cous all need water to rehydrate it. We thought Rowantree beck might be dry too, with it being on the same side. So instead we had to slog up over the ridge and down on the eastern side below Lord Cove to see if the water there was still running. We did find water in the beck but it was hard to get as there wasn't that much water in it. We need some rain! The walk to and from the water source added an extra 1.2 miles and 140m of ascent and descent to the days tally.

The MSR below Heron Pike


It was 7.30 when we got back to the tent, we got the water on to filter then had some tea. We sat outside and it was breezy enough to keep the midges away. We were just about to pour some wine at 8.30 when Beefy said he couldn't find his iPhone, it wasn't in his shirt pocket. He thought it might have dropped out when we went for the water. We really didn't want to have to go back to look for it. I tried ringing it but Beefy said he had it on silent  ;D We were so pleased that it was found just outside the tent hidden in the long grass. We drank the first glass of wine very quickly to calm our shattered nerves! We enjoyed more wine, relaxing and enjoying the camp and waiting for the sun to set. There were 3 tents down at Alcock Tarn, we never heard them or the traffic on the A591, we thought we might have. 

The sun going down behind Grisedale Pike


Another shot of the sun going down


Lenticular cloud


What a very good but exhausting day. We finished our wine and fell asleep straight away. Day 1 was Cow Bridge - Dove Falls - Stangs - Stand Crags - Hogget Gill - Dove Crag - Hart Crag - Fairfield - Great Rigg - Heron Pike - pitch below Heron Pike (western slopes) - water source below Lord Cove - pitch below Heron Pike. 16.9km with 1190m ascent and 788m descent.
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beefy

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Re: TR Day 1 Wild camp below Heron Pike Sat 30 Jun 18
« Reply #1 on: 22:34:09, 03/07/18 »
Tremendous pics Ape O0
What a great day a bit hot like, but lovely views and a great wild camp,

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sunnydale

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Re: TR Day 1 Wild camp below Heron Pike Sat 30 Jun 18
« Reply #2 on: 07:54:33, 04/07/18 »
Enjoyed both sets of photos April 8) 
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Ridge

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Re: TR Day 1 Wild camp below Heron Pike Sat 30 Jun 18
« Reply #3 on: 09:07:04, 04/07/18 »
Lovely photos as always. You don't appear to have seen many other people or perhaps they are out of shot.

adalard

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Re: TR Day 1 Wild camp below Heron Pike Sat 30 Jun 18
« Reply #4 on: 09:49:18, 04/07/18 »
Fantastic stuff as always, April.  :)


I love those lenticular clouds, edged with gold - beautiful!  O0


We're definitely overdue some rain but I worry that if it's too heavy or prolonged the dry and rock-hard ground will result in flash floods.  :-\ 


Glad Beefy found his phone too. Mine is usually in airplane mode when I'm walking and usually always on silent anyway. We could do with some kind of emergency "pinger" that isn't affected by the volume setting and will ping if the phone's mislaid. How that would work technically, however, I've no clue but I just thought I'd put it out there...  ;D

richardh1905

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Re: TR Day 1 Wild camp below Heron Pike Sat 30 Jun 18
« Reply #5 on: 10:38:02, 04/07/18 »

Lovely photos April; what a day out! Somewhat hotter than when I was on Fairfield in February (my avatar pic).


Dovedale is one of my favourite valleys in the Lake District; I love the path up through the woods on the N side.
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henryb

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Re: TR Day 1 Wild camp below Heron Pike Sat 30 Jun 18
« Reply #6 on: 19:31:03, 04/07/18 »
Great report and photos April, I love that view of the Coniston fells over Stone Arthur from Great Rigg :)

April

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Re: TR Day 1 Wild camp below Heron Pike Sat 30 Jun 18
« Reply #7 on: 19:59:53, 04/07/18 »
Thanks Sunnydale  :)

You don't appear to have seen many other people or perhaps they are out of shot.

We only saw one person in Dovedale after we left Brotherswater. The next person we saw was near Dove Crag summit. We didn't get on the summit until after 3pm so we had missed the rush hour traffic of Fairfield Horseshoers on Hart Crag, Fairfield etc, there weren't that many people about, we did think there would be more.

We're definitely overdue some rain but I worry that if it's too heavy or prolonged the dry and rock-hard ground will result in flash floods.  :-\ 

Thanks adalard  :) It is a worry if we do get torrential rain, there is nowhere for it to soak into everywhere is like concrete. Yes a pinger would be good to find a phone. We were so pleased we hadn't gone down to the water source to look for it!

Dovedale is one of my favourite valleys in the Lake District

It is a very nice valley and not as populated as other honeypot areas  :)

Thanks Henry, the views were very good last weekend  :)
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pleb

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Re: TR Day 1 Wild camp below Heron Pike Sat 30 Jun 18
« Reply #8 on: 10:56:30, 06/07/18 »
Great pics  O0
But I am disappointed with the lack of grumbling though  ;D
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April

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Re: TR Day 1 Wild camp below Heron Pike Sat 30 Jun 18
« Reply #9 on: 13:51:24, 06/07/18 »
But I am disappointed with the lack of grumbling though  ;D

 ;D It might be because we didn't encounter many people?  ;)
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