Journal Entries

I stopped for pre-lunch snack time, and what should happen, but the clouds burn off from the summits! What luck! And in a most spectacular fashion. I also had my first taste of Kendal Mint Cake during this break. I had assumed it was, as the name implies, some kind of cake. Oh how wrong I was... but oh so delicious. If you can handle a little sugar.

I'm headed up to Kidsty Pike, the last big mountain on the C2C, and also the highest point on the main route of the trail (Helvellyn and a few others are higher, but they're side trips). Walking into the clouds once more, though, so it's doubtful I'll have any views from up there. Shame, considering how clear it was until just a few moments ago.

Angle Tarn, the last of the mountain lakes I'll be passing on the trip as well. I hear it's a very nice camping spot, but after yesterday's long day, I really couldn't go a step further last night. Oh well. It's awfully pretty up here today.

It's a fairly quick ascent out of Patterdale (the lake Ullswater is its main tourist draw, from what I can tell) and up into the hills.

The little village of Patterdale. What a place. I didn't have much time to spend there, but leaving in the morning on a gorgeous, sunny day was a fine way to end my time in the Lake District. Today, I walk out of the Lakes and head to the Yorkshire Dales.

Now it's time for the long ridge walk down to Patterdale. It's starting to rain a little bit, and I'm starving!

Striding Edge! It looks pretty gnarly, and yes, it was pretty tricky climbing down to it. But you can choose your own adventure over it. I took the quick route. Dinner is on my mind.

Oh my! Literally a minute before I got to the summit of Helvellyn, the clouds burst open and left me with these amazing views! This is the highest point I'll be on for my entire trip to the UK, so it's hard to beat this. I'd stay up here for hours if I could, but it's almost dinner time, and I still have to make my way to Patterdale.

The ridge with the clouds clinging to it right now is Striding Edge, which is supposedly just like Katahdin's Knife Edge. It has a mean reputation, but I'm sure it can't be that bad, right?

Well, the climb up Hellvellyn has been pea-soup fog, so it looks like I'll be following the path very closely. Luckily, there are at least a few things to help me find my way. Of course, the path is pretty well defined here. I think a lot of people come this way.

Well, St Sunday Crag wasn't out of the clouds entirely, but it was just the top of the summit that was enshrouded. There's Grisedale Tarn, which I'll be passing once again. Hellvellyn is much higher than St Sunday, so it looks like I'll be walking into a cloud there. Pretty!