Hi folks,
This Sunday, Paul (Dr Nytol) and I made our trip to the lakes to complete a hike I had never particularly looked forward to. Skiddaw.
Our planned summits were:1) Ullock Pike (2230ft)
2) Longside (2405ft)
3) Carl Side (2420ftm)
4) Skiddaw (3053ft)
5) Bakestall (2189ft)
But ended up including:6) Skiddaw Little Man (2837ft)
7) Lonscale Fell(2344ft)
Keswick & Derwentwater are my favourite areas of the lakes and as such, I have spent a lot of time in Skiddaws shadow during the course of my photography trips and it has always struck me as an imposing and not easily accessed fell. Today I was to find out if that was all just talk by this beast of a mountain, or if in fact there was some truth to its imposing looks.
I am having various personal problems with business at the moment so i was up at 4am to get some work done before I left, but I was out the door at 7am in time to fuel up and meet Paul in Preston at 7:45 at our usual meeting place. As always, he supplied the breakfast and I provided the chauffering skills.
We hit the M6 and marvelled at what was starting to look like an awesome day.
I did Rannerdale Knotts with my girls the day before (See seperate TR) and the weather was awesome, so I was hopeful for the same today.
Paul had scoured Google for a reference address for our parking layby near "High Side Haus" and as always, he came up trumps and directed us there perfectly.
En route I pulled over and grabbed a shot of the range from ground level. It didnt make me feel any more enthusistic about ascending her flanks, but she still looks beautiful in the morning light.
We get parked up and start to don our gear.
I always take my coffee in a large, high capacity and excellent flask to ensure its still hot when I arrive in the lakes some 4hrs after making it. And my small hiking flask is filled with boiling water and sealed for the journey. When I don my gear, I just bin the boiling water and refill with hot coffee from my large flask. Interestingly, Paul has exactly the same hiking flask as me, but fills his at home and is happy with it like that.
So, ready to set off, I pick up the hiking flask, whip the lid off and fling the contents out all over the road... you can guess whats coming cant you?
"Thats odd..." Says me...
"This flask has coffee in it? But Im sure i filled it with water"
The look on Pauls face instantly provides an answer to my perplexing problem... I had thrown the contents of PAULS identical flask on the road.
Mine was still tucked up - nice and warm in the boot, complete with boiling water! Doh... sorry Paul. I felt awful about that all day!
So, having made some light of the situation and persuading Paul that the missing 70% of his flask contents would in fact aid his hike no end due to weight saving, we set off across the fields in the direction of Summit 1: Ullock Pike. Ullock Pike looks to me to be a hideous ascent from where we were standing at a place called "Watches"
This image shows the first half mile across fields, looking back in the general direction of the car.
The weather however is looking very kind and it was nice to be in lighter summer gear.
As you ascend higher onto Ling How, the view starts to open up and its feeling like today is going to be a very good day indeed.
But its a harsh trek onwards...
And much to my dissapointment, the sun is high with very little cloud, so I already know all the days images are going to be a little washed out as im using my little G7X and consequently have no filtration available to deal with the dynamic range. Not to worry, its a good test for the G7X I guess as this light is the worst possible for photography.
Since I like to include a selfie, heres one a kind hiker took of us with my camera.
(Paul left, Myself right.)As you can see, Paul isnt having to stoop over as much as me, because he isnt carrying as much heavy coffee...
The path continues upwards steeply, but all the time you are looking at the last pull up to Ullock Pike which is very steep.
It doesnt look a lot of fun to me, but regardless, we stop for a breather and some pictures before the final pull upwards.
After you have finished "The Edge"... the final pull up to Ullock begins.
Its steep, but its a little scrambly and is by far my favourite part of the route so far as i like ascent like this. I ascend first so that I can grab a shot of Paul ascending.
The views up here are great... the day is getting better, as it always does when you know the major ascent is done for a while.
(Or is that just me?)The views from here back across Bassenthwaite are wonderful. Such a beautiful area that I had never appreciated prior to this climb.
I dont know why, but it hadnt occured to me to grab a nice wide vista of Skiddaw from here and when Paul sent me his images to help with this TR I literally shouted "B@$Ła&d" at the screen when I saw he had captured an image which, for me, was the image of the day, and all on his damn telephone!
Here in all its glory is our destination up Longside edge, over to Carl Side and up to the Skiddaw Summit, with Skiddaw little man peeping through too!
To the left is our descent path through our 7th Summit of the day, Bakestall. Such a great image - I am jealous of that one Paul!
Moving on, you just pick your way across Longside edge, all the while looking towards Skiddaw and what looks to me like a grim ascent.
Maybe my heads not really in it today due to other issues that are clouding my mind, or maybe its because I have been up since 4am after very little sleep.
I would normally be excited to get there - but not today.
This is the view back the way you have come while stood at the summit of Longside edge.
Next Stop... just below this peak, is Carlside, totally flanked by that horrible looking Skiddaw ascent path. LOL
Which I took a few pictures of as we reached Carlside.
While Paul instead took pictures of me....
(As Im clearly more attractive than that climb up Skiddaw... LOL)
Now, one of the only things that attracted me to climb this range was the promised views over my favourite town and water, Keswick & Derwentwater.
All day I had noticed and voiced my complaints to Paul
(sorry for whinging pal) about the horrible air quality and thickening smog.
I was sure the views would be rubbish and it would dissapoint me greatly.
Sadly... I was correct... it never got any clearer than this.
But my sadness was appeased a little by taking 30 mins for lunch at Carlside Tarn
(How can they call this a tarn?) and watching people ascend and descend Skiddaw.
We werent that hungry, so decided to eat half our lunch here and save half for later.
After lunch our final ascent began. Its very steep, and rocky and quite "Scree like" if that makes any sense. A lovely hack up though, but hard on the legs and lungs.
Its one we took slowly and I enjoyed the views backwards immensely as we ascended.
This is the view of our original route up here... what a lovely ridge!
A lot better looking than the view forwards...
(especially if your behind me... roflol)
But we made it, and collapsed down into a surprisingly empty shelter atop Skiddaw.
I had been suffering from what felt like the onset of blisters so I took my shoes and socks off here to dry the skin out and re-lace in an attempt to keep them at bay.
We were actually surprised we had reached the summit so soon and with so much daylight left as we normally descend in the dark and enjoy it.
But it was nice to sit down, our days ascent finally over.
I think this is the point a good day turned into one that I didnt really enjoy so much.
While sat with Paul we were looking out across the range and Paul pointed out two more Wainwright summits. Skiddaw Little man and Lonscale fell.
This small conversation turned into Paul looking at maps and figuring out just how far away they were while i nursed my sore feet.
We figured another 3.5 miles would bag them nicely and extend our day back to something more normal
(For us - based on previous hikes)... and save us having to return just to do those two summits. That fact was the clincher so off we went, ignoring the actual summit of Skiddaw in favour of turning right and dropping down the other side towards Little man.
As you get down there... you start to realise how bland it all is.
For me, this kind of terrain reminds me of the Peak District or as I call it, the "Bleak District"
The run up to little man is steep, and flanked by a reminder that my great image of Keswick & Derwentwater is getting mistier by the hour!
But the Summit of Little Man did at least make me realise that it probably affords the best view over Keswick & Derwentwater.
I vow to maybe return here one day via the tourist route just for those shots, and not bother going up Skiddaw.
Descending from here there is a Cairn on what appears on the OS map to be "Jenkin Hill".
The view back up from here to Little Man is about the only decent view here.
And its also the turning point to the tourist route back down to below Hallin Fell. A route I have looked up at many many times from below while sat awaitinga sunrise on Hallin Fell and wondered whats up there. Now I know. But today, we are crossing it and heading over to Lonscale fell.
(The boring looking field ahead)
It seems to go on for miles!
Finally... we make it there.
Another pile of rocks touched and I ask Paul what makes us want to go and touch a piece of rock?
I am questioning my whole
"Doing the Wainwrights" idea and wonder why I dont just do the bloody ones I actually want to go up?
Hmm... Im sure this wont be the last time I ask myself that question this year, but ive done over 30 Wainwrights this year so far and its the first time ive questioned the plan, so I guess we are doing ok. Its probably just my low state of mind at play again... I mean, who wouldnt want to walk down from Skiddaw, right at the top of this image below, walk all this way, climbing OVER Skiddaw little man and then walk all the way back again... JUST to touch some pebbles? Its great fun right?!
On the way back, at a point just before I almost collapsed with hunger, I reminded Paul we had only eaten HALF our lunch at Carlside, so we set down to eat alongside a view of the only intersting thing in a bleak landscape. Skiddaw house. Paul tells me all about it and I google it when I get home. I kinda wish we had walked over and knocked on the door to bag a few hours kip. Its description reads...
At 1550 feet, Skiddaw House is the highest YHA affiliated hostel in Britain. A former shooting lodge and shepherd’s bothy on the Cumbria Way, it is an ideal base for exploring the little used and quiet northern fells. This is a remote and isolated place in which to reflect on the wilderness, with no sign of the 21st century in any direction. With no electricity, phones, or TV to distract from the vista of a clear unpolluted starry night, this is simple accommodation with fires as the only heating. No noise pollution from traffic as the nearest road is 3˝ miles away, yet only an hour or so’s walk from civilisation. Low voltage electric lights provided by solar panels keep the quaint atmosphere of the hostel. Walkers and cyclists are advised to bring a map and torch. Campers welcome.
WOW! What a setting for a dwelling!
We eventually set off again feeling revitalised after food and drink. Not that Paul had much drink as some idiot poured most of his all over the road some 7hrs ago.
I apologised about that again a few times over the last 30 min break. Doh!
After quite a short while we reach the gate and look back towards Lonscale and I ask Paul why the hell we bothered with this
"Quick Detour" into a bland field. LOL
Not to worry, a few lung coughing up sessions, a couple of groans and quite a few expletives later and we are back on the top of Skiddaw, looking across to the Summit.
Indeed, back where we were only a couple of hours ago before we thought it to be a wicked idea to bag an extra couple of summits.
And across we (I) limped towards the summit cairns.
Interestingly, the cloud had descended somewhat over the central fells and kind of gelled with all the haze and smog to create something that actually looked quite nice.
But the wind was becoming quite vicious.
As it was getting cold very fast, my feet were in real pain and we estimated the last 30mins was going to be done in the dark, we decided to drop down and make a move towards the final Summit of the day. Bakestall.
The route down looks nice from here.
Bakestall Summit.
The views back up Skiddaw from here are nice and the late evening sun is starting to give everything a pleasant hue.
The descent down broad end from Bakestall is pretty grim in my opinion.
My knee was giving me trouble and the heels of my feet were in pain, not sure whats wrong with me today but my body seems to be falling apart piece by piece.
I dont know if its just because I did a mere 3.5miles on my Rannerdale Knotts Hike the day before, becuase i have been up since 4am or just because i am old, fat and knackered, but im not having fun anymore today...
That said, Paul wasnt exactly jumping for joy on this descent either. LOL
We stopped for a snack and watched this Kestrel hovering motionless... hunting we assume. It was nice to see.
When you finally reach the bottom there is a nice stream running along the bottom of the ridge.
We stopped here for a while to rest our feet and fire off some images as Skiddaw was now turning a nice colour under the intense lowering sun.
We waited around until the valley dropped into darkness, with Ullock Pike blocking the light from the fast dropping sun.
Looking back across the valley one last time after we went up and over Rendal Cragg, we commented how beautiful it all looked, most of our route was visible from here.
Then we were thrown an unpleasant curve ball that was to threaten our planned direct route back to the car through Watches... The image should suffice.
We decided to proceed carefully anyway, convincing ourselves that it was unlikely there really was a bull in a public right of way.
We did of course scan every hedge and dark corner for the next 30 mins. LOL
As our day came to an end, we were treated to a nice sky to savour while we looked for angry bulls in the darkness.
Does bull watching get any more beautiful?
And that was that.
I loved the first half of the day and disliked the latter half, but im already looking forward to our next excursion, hopefully to be done in a better state of mind.
Here is my usual Suunto 60 second route movie.https://youtu.be/akhXEy72a-EAnd some statistics from the hike. 
I wear the Suunto smart heart rate monitor in case your wondering what a lot of that means.
If you do know, please tell me as Im also wondering what a lot of it means... LOL
