We got the bus to Rydal and we were off on a wild camp. We was me, Beefy and Squeaky
It was 11.10 by the time we got there so we weren't going to do a huge walk. Along the Coffin Route to start and we wanted to pitch somewhere near Nab Scar or Heron Pike.
Beefy and Squeaky on the Coffin Route
The weather was quite nice, blue sky sunshine and not very windy. In Keswick it had been really cold and windy so it was a nice surprise that it was better further south.
We stopped for lunch beside Dunney Beck where I thought of the daft idea of following the path up beside it to Alcock Tarn instead of going up the main path up to it. We had a lovely lunch sitting in the sunshine, it was more like summer than autumn.
On the way up beside Dunney Beck
The bracken hindered progress a little, the path was vague in places and it was very steep at times. I do have some daft ideas and I asked Beefy to say no to me when I asked him if he fancied doing any alternate routes I'd never done before.
Rydal Water from the ascent
Langdale Pikes from the ascent
The long distance views were very hazy so it wasn't great for photographs
Alcock Tarn
We were feeling a little tired with the route we'd came up and carrying the camping gear felt heavier than normal with carrying light packs the last few weeks. We did have extra gear though because it was going to get cold overnight. We started ascending beside a feeder to Alcock Tarn and would get the water for our camp at the last minute so we didn't have to carry it very far. We found a nice spot below Heron Pike and the water was close by. It seemed early to pitch at 2.30pm but the sun would set at 4.09 so we would only have 2 hours of light left.
The MSR pitched below Heron Pike
We had the water on to filter as we got our gear unpacked.
Hazy views toward the west
What a shame, everything else was great except the views to the west. We had a brew and waited for the sunset.
The sun setting behind Harter Fell
The sun going down
Not the best sunset we've ever had but at least we got one. We closed the tent up when it got dark and had some tea, had some wine and enjoyed the tent time. We aren't keen on the long dark nights so I'm not sure how many more camps we will do until it gets lighter for longer. We hadn't expected to hear fireworks but there was about 15 minutes worth of them that Squeaky didn't enjoy very much. Squeaky seems to love going walking but I don't think she is that keen on camping! Day 1 was Rydal - Coffin Route - Dunney Beck - Alcock Tarn - pitch below Heron Pike. 6.4km with 501m ascent.
It got cold overnight but there was no frost on the tent. We awoke to a glorious day.
The MSR with great views to the southern and western fells
Grasmere seen from our pitch
Crinkles, Bowfell and Langdales
Close up of Bowfell, Langdales and Scafell Pike
Close up of Crinkle Crags
We had our breakfast and packed our gear. First stop was Nab Scar. Or it was meant to be
We traversed across the fellside with the sun in our eyes. We wanted to meet up with the path that ascends from Alcock Tarn to in between Lord Crag and Nab Scar.
Alcock Tarn
The path was steep in places and hard work even more so with the sun right in my eyes, I couldn't see where we were going. We came to a path and we followed it and I said I didn't think this looked like the path up from Alcock Tarn. I was right, it led us to Heron Pike
We headed down to Nab Scar and I realised we hadn't taken any photos from Heron Pike. We had planned to do Nab Scar, Heron Pike and Stone Arthur. We didn't feel like re-ascending to Heron Pike and we changed the route.
Beefy and Squeaky on Nab Scar
Toward Grasmere from Nab Scar
We thought we would descend to Alcock Tarn. I suggested another daft route traversing above Dockey Tarn to meet the Alcock Tarn path that we'd missed earlier.
Dockey Tarn
We were pleased when we got on the path proper as it had been another steep sloped and rough in places route. I said to Beefy to remind me if I suggested any more routes like this to tell me to keep to the proper paths.
Alcock Tarn
Crinkle Crags, Bowfell and Langdale Pikes from Alcock Tarn
We stopped for a brew and some food near the tarn. We'd been on the go for over two hours. The distance in miles wasn't a lot but we felt like we'd walked for ten miles.
Great Rigg
Beefy and Squeaky
We were descending down to Greenhead Gill
Helm Crag in view now on the right
Helm Crag again
The bridge over Greenhead Gill that was lost in the floods in Dec 2015 hasn't been replaced yet so we had to cross the beck. There is work being done here and a notice said a bridge would be in place by Dec 18. We walked into Grasmere Village and had a coffee. We still had half an hour before the bus so we walked up the Allan Bank road for a while, turned right across the path to join the Easedale Road back to Grasmere. Day 2 was pitch below Heron Pike - Heron Pike - Nab Scar - Alcock Tarn - Greenhead Gill - Grasmere - Allan Bank Road - Easedale Road - Grasmere 8.9k with 190m ascent. Not the longest walks we've done but they felt double that distance, with the steep and rough terrain. It was good to be out camping again but it might be day walks until springtime maybe.