On Saturday we went for our first wild camp of the year and the first since my op. We were planning to pitch on Silver How and we got the bus to White Moss. We were lucky with the weather apart from a few spits and spots for a short time, we'd missed the morning rain because we didn't get there until 12.05. The cloud was low over the fells though so not very good views from Loughrigg Terrace.
Some vibrant greenery in Redbank Wood
We were going up Silver How on the Huntingstile Crag path once we were passed High Close YH
A very lovely cat at High Close
I spent some time stroking this cat, what a lovely cat it was
Lingmoor Fell and the Langdale Pikes in view
The views were better on this side of High Close, the cloud was higher and it was turning into a brilliant day. We had left the crowds behind on Loughrigg Terrace and there was hardly anyone about.
Snow capped Wetherlam with Lingmoor Fell to the right
Wetherlam and Lingmoor Fell from our lunch spot
We had our lunch before we started the ascent. It was a little breezy but the views were good
The view north from the top of Huntingstile Crag
That is Steel Fell and Seat Sandal in the centre
Dow Bank and Silver How ahead
I was feeling ok carrying the camping gear, I was pleased about that I had thought I might get a lot of neck pain.
The snowy Langdale Pikes
Our eyes were always drawn to the Langdale Pikes
TB on Silver How
We'd only seen a couple of people on the way up. It was cold in the wind up here.
North toward Ullscarf, Steel Fell and Seat Sandal
We'd brought microspikes with us but we didn't use them, we thought we might need them for the descent on Sunday
We looked around for a place to pitch, we found one half a km away from the summit. It was early at 15.10 but there was nobody about, well we saw one man and a couple who passed us once we had pitched. It was too cold to hang about in the wind though and we wanted to get in the tent.
The MSR pitched on a knoll above Megs Gill
The MSR with Seat Sandal and Fairfield in the background
We unpacked all our gear with huge enjoyment. There is nothing like spending a night on a fell, it was great to be out! Have I mentioned this already?
We got our water from a nearby stream and set it filtering. Then we had a brew and our tea and had some wine. It was too cloudy for a sunset view but we didn't mind we'd had such a good time being out again. The wind died down and it was very still overnight which hadn't been forecast. It did rain a bit overnight, we were lucky with the weather for once. Day 1 route was White Moss - Loughrigg Terrace - High Close - Dow Bank - Silver How - pitch above Megs Gill. 7.2km 360m ascent.
We awoke to mist and clag but this didn't dampen our sprits at all. It was quite nice watching the mist dance about. We packed our gear away and descended toward Grasmere on the Wray Gill path. We didn't use our microspikes in the end but we'd rather carry them just in case.
Looking back at Silver How
The ravine of Wray Gill
It was wet and slippery getting down the rocky path to cross the gill here
Helm Crag in the mist
The road to Grasmere on Allan Bank
We walked through Grasmere and walked past Dove Cottage on our way to walk the Coffin Route to Rydal. We stopped for a bite to eat and a brew near How Top.
Loughrigg and Rydal Water from the Coffin Route
We got the bus at 12.30 from Rydal and 2 buses later got home by 15.30. It was wonderful to be wild camping again and my neck held up quite well, we will do more mileage next time! Day 2 was Pitch on Silver How - Wray Gill - Allan Bank - Grasmere - How Top - Coffin Route - Rydal - Pelter Bridge - Rydal 8.4km 45m ascent.
