LAKE DISTRICT - FEBRUARY 2014

DAY 1: PIKE O'BLISCO - 2,304ft
6 HOURS TREKING/CLIMBING/SCRAMBLING

As per usual, Mr & Mrs F was up at the crack of dawn to make the long 5hr journey from London to the lake District to meet our treking buddies, Mr & Mrs S who were already there from the night before. We were aware of potential snow the higher we climbed and after some deliberation, we decided against crampons and to just make sensible judgement calls.

We arrived in good time to the Hawksmoor B&B and checked in to our usual room 12 and headed straight out for our first adventure...Pike O'Blisco.

We parked up at Dungeon Ghyll hotel car park in Langdale, geared up with all the necessaries, including new gaiters, along with maps, satmaps, compasses, Wainwright book, a flare, emergency foil blankets.....well prepared!!

We started off walking through the farm and up along side a waterfall, onwards and upwards....

           Mr F making his way up..... 

........Little obstacles to conquer....a river!

As always, the lakes is a stunning place to be.....

Mr F consulting the Wainwright book to ensure we're on the right track.....

Mr F stepped in what looked like a small puddle, but infact, it was a very muddle bog and got his new gaiter very muddy and dirty!! 

Poor Mrs S had a rotten cold but was soldering on like a trooper!! With a few stops for fuel and various wardrobe changes as it was starting to get colder the further we were climbing......

The higher we climbed we came across snow, but it was still safe at the point as it was still quite soft and hadn't settled into ice...so we kept on going!



.....How different Crinkle Crags looks now compared to when we done it in September 2013

Mrs F With Crinkle Crags Behind Her

Now that we were quite high up, there wasn't any grass left to dread on, only snow, which not any of us have treked on before.....and we loved it! We came across our first scramble and all our sensible judgements about not treking on snow and turning around once we reached the snow line went straight out of the window....we climbed it!!!

 

Mrs F Loving Treking In The Snow

Mrs F Fell Through A Big Hole!!!!!

It was quite tough walking on the soft snow trying to stay up on top of it, but where it was so soft, we were all falling through which was challenging but fun and in a away dangerous as we had no idea what we were walking over as it was all hidden away under the snow! Thank the Lord that we weren't injured.



                  Climbing on our hands and feet was great fun!....

 

We made it to the top......

and to the summit....

Mr & Mrs S

Mr & Mrs F

We stopped for lunch sitting right by the summit trig point away from the cold brisk wind and shortly after heading off back down to the car. We couldn't figure out a way down at first, but once we found our way, we were well on our way.

 Really have no idea what Mr S is doing here!!!



Our Last Close Up View Of Crinkle Crags



One of Mr F's famous waterfall shots

Mrs F making her way down carefully and by the looks of the picture below is wondering why she put's her already broken body through it all!!!



Our View Lookig Back From The Car Park

Mr F & Mrs S in mid-munch with Bakewell cakes!!





Can You Spot Muggles & Buggles??

We got back to the hotel and planned to go to the spa (complimentary of the B&B) down in lower Windermere to MacDonalds hotel for a much needed and well deserved spa. Unfortunately, Mr S was really feeling unwell from his cold and so we just went out for dinner. Mr & Mrs S suggested a place to eat that they had previously looked at but not yet tried, The Ship Inn right by the Windermere Lake. We went and had a look at the menu on our way back from Pike O'Blisco and decided to give it a go. After the first night's verdict, we carried on eating there for the rest of our trip! The food was delicious and reasonable in price, much better than The Elleray that we always used to eat. Mr F was especially impressed by the Chilli Con Carne and Mrs F had the curry 2 nights running. All in all, a good golden find!


DAY 2: NO MOUNTAIN SUMMIT ACHIEVED DUE TO  UNEXPECTED SNOW STORM


We headed back to Langdale and planned to tackle 4 summits as they were quite close together. The weather forecast looked OK and from ground level looked good too. However, that's from ground level!
We started out by the waterfall again but this time going further around to the left and up....

 

The boys consulting the maps as per usual

A Lovely Picture Of Mrs S & Mrs F

The waterfall that we had to carefully cross



The route onwards and upwards

Mrs F Ready To 'Get On It'

Quite soon into our trek, it went from being quite a pleasant, mild walk to the rain coming down which needed for us to put the rain covers over our rucksacks and other waterproof clothing.....

Mr F, Mrs S & Mr S all doing each others rain covers for their rucksacks

Mr F helping Mrs F put her waterproof gloves on

Regardless of the rain, we pushed on through it and eventually it stopped....and turned into snow and fog!!

The fog was so bad we couldn't see very far ahead of us at all! We had to negotiate our way around snowy bogs plus other deep snow that looked quite sturdy dreading ground, but was just a deceitful covering for more bogs beneath.....

Mr S's satmap batteries ran out at the most inconvenient time....and we couldn't see any clear route, path or basically anything beyond 5 metres!! After stopping to change the batteries (and dropping them on the floor!) We had a route to guide us and so we carried on going as we thought that the first summit was only around the corner, up a bit....

Mrs S standing on what she and we thought was Loft Crag summit.....but we realised it wasn't once we got back to the room and had a good look at the map...it was just a small hill compared to the real summits that were surrounding it!!!

After a little while and out of nowhere, a snow storm came about that was hard and fast, it was whipping our faces and was hard to look up to see ahead of us. At that point, we all made a unanimous decision to head back down. Mrs S stopped to put his waterproof trousers on and we had numb fingers, even with thick waterproof gloves on!

A few last pictures before heading back down

We saw a couple heading up as we were heading down and we warned them that was a snow storm up ahead and wouldn't risk carrying on, but they still went on anyway! From the pictures below, you can really see how so many people get caught out with thinking that the weather is fine from a lower level and that they don't need to be more equipped for the snow further up and other weather that may come their way.

Once we were on a roll and making our way down, we were getting more warmed up as we moved away from the snow and onto greener pastures. Unfortunately for Mrs F, her knee still wasn't right from when we tackled Sca Fell & Sca Fell Pike and so was in a bit of pain going down along with her shoulder :-( Mr F asked her for a smile which she just couldn't manage....



Mrs F's grumpy 'I'm in pain' face!

 

Greener Pastures And Not As Cold Treking Grounds Ahead

Mrs S caught Mr S standing in this position.....doesn't he look the part!!

We got back to the room for a short chill out before heading for the spa to take full advantage of all the facilities. Since it was quite a mild night, we decided to walk from the spa to our newly founded Ship Inn, which was about a 15min walk for more top nosh!

After dinner we headed back to the B&B and we all piled in to Mr & Mrs F's room for a while. Mr F & Mr S looked at maps and routes.....Mrs F & Mrs S looked at youtube videos!! Mr S said it felt like his uni days again! :-)

DAY 3: LINGMOOR FELL - 1,530ft
5 & HALF HOURS TREKING

We decided that a low level walk was needed for today after the day before's unexpected snow storm, so we headed off for Lingmoor Fell. Again, we parked up in Langdale and headed in the opposite direction of the waterfall route we had previously taken. It started off as a really lovely level ground walk through woodland terrain and came across a stunning little lake where we sat for a while, eat a few jelly babies just before it started to rain. Luckily enough, we were expecting rain today so we were already waterproofed up and ready for the downpour!

The bots checking the satmap route



All set and ready to tackle the rain

Mr S pointing out the route from the day before

A short slug up some stepping stones before getting to the lake

The boys enjoying adventures with Mum & Dad again! Buggles has 'A Owl' plaster on his nose....apparently the cat scratched him!

Mr S in mid munch with jelly babies....or doing a very good impression of a monkey!

Shortly after setting off from the lake, it really started to pour....and pour...and pour! But never the less, we were still having loads of fun in our element! Mrs S managed to bash her head on a low, solid tree branch that knocked her to the ground....Mrs F went back to see if she was OK and bashed her head on it too!!

Our destination, Lingmoor Fell. We stuck to walking along the ridge and followed the wall pretty much all the way. Some parts of the wall had barbed wire on it, so we had to be careful when squeezing through smaller, more narrow paths.



Mrs F looking pretty drowned!

After Lingmoor Fell, we headed for another mountain summit called Side Pike, which unfortunately isn't on the Wainwright list of mountains, but we still did it anyway since it was a short distance away. We came across an obstacle on Side Fell that Wainwright calls 'Squeeze Rock' which meant us having to take our rucksacks off to squeeze through the gap and have the person behind you pass your rucksack back through to you. There is an alternative route leading down, but we were all up for doing it the proper way! It did however mean getting even more wet from having to rub up against the rocks, but worth it, was great fun!



Mr F was up first to ensure he could fit, which meant the rest of us definately would!!

Mrs S up next....

Mrs F ready to go through

Mr S last to go through

When we got back to the B&B, we were completely soaked! The B&B have a dry room and have offered in the past to take any of our wet stuff.....and boy did we take them up on that offer!!We handed pretty much everything we were wearing but our underwear to Helen who works at the B&B to go in the dry room and she even took our boots, stuffed them with newspaper and put them in a dry room that was right outside Mr & Mrs F's room. After we got back from dinner (and the spa) we checked on our boots that were drying really slowly. The newspapaer was soaked through and Mr F's boots were completely wet inside. So we took them and put the hairdryer in them for a while to try and dry them out. We put the heating on up high all night and was sweating for the sake of trying to dry our boots out and put the underfloor heating on in the bathroom and left our rucksacks in there all night too! Unfortunately Mr F's boots were still wet inside in the morning whereas Mrs F's boots inside stayed dry all day, just the outside that was wet. 

DAY 4: LOFT CRAG - 2,270ft

              PIKE O' STICKLE - 2,323ft

              HARRISON STICKLE - 2,403ft

              THUNACAR KNOTT - 2,351ft

              5 & HALF HOURS TREKING/CLIMBING/SCRAMBLING

At breakfast, we gave Helen a box of chocolates for sorting out all of our soaking clothes and Phillipa brought the dryer version of our clothes up to our rooms for us :-) Today's weather was the best that we were going to get on this trip, so we decided to go back to where we were defeated by the snow storm and tackle our 4 mountain summits. Once again, we parked up at Langdale and set off by the waterfall and was such a different walk with some of the snow melted and we actually see in front of us....

A Much Better Day Ahead Of Us

Making Our Way To Our First Mountain, Loft Crag

We made it to the place where we had to turn back and the views were very different to the last time we were there only 2 days ago! We could see all around us and quite far ahead, including the little mountain hill that we thought was Loft Crag summit!

Mrs S & Mrs F with What We Thought Was Loft Crag In The Background



This Actually Is Loft Grag!

We made it to Loft Crag and didn't take any time at all to set straight off for the next summit....Pike O' Stickle.

Our First Summit Photo For The Day

Mr & Mrs S With Pike O' Stickle In The Background

Mountain Number 2...Pike O' Stickle

Mrs S Making Her Way Down From Loft Crag

Making our way over to the stepping stones leading to the summit of Pike O' Stickle....

The further we were going up, we were coming across common ground of snow....

In order to reach the summit, we had to climb up this small section of scrambling rocks. Without crampons it was easy to slip on the wet, snowy rocks, but we did it injury free!

Mountain Summit Number 2!

Once we reached the top, out of nowhere it started to hail stone with some harshness - hence Mr & Mrs F shielding our eyes for the picture. 

Mountain Number 3....Harrison Stickle

Mrs S Making Her Way Down In The Snow

Coming down was really fun. The route was covered in fresh soft snow that fell away from under us nearly every step we took. It was a struggle to stay above the snow that sunk sometimes as deep as 2 feet and quite dangerous as we had no idea what we were actually walking over. But strangely found it easier coming down the mountain on snow as it gathered up under your feet to create a little stopper and you didn't have to negotiate you way around steps or stones. Mr S came up with his own way of getting down which was to just run and go for it! We had lots of fun in the snow....

Mrs F Showing The Depth Of The Snow

Mr F Either Running Or Falling!

Mr S Helping Mrs F Get Her Foot Out Of The Snow!

Mrs F & Mrs S fell right through the snow.....

Mr F Fell Into This Mahoosive Hole!

We finally made it to level ground that turned into a boggy terrain and we all found ourselves falling through no matter how careful we tried to be. But we made it to mountain number 3, Harrison Stickle where we stopped for lunch and had an amazing view with the sun shinning down on us....

Mr F & Mrs S on the summit of Harrison Stickle...

Stickle Tarn And Jacks Rake In The Distance

After stopping for a while, we really noticed how bitterly cold it was, until we got back on it and warmed up again. Our next and final destination was mountain number 4, Thunacar Knott. So again we headed over some boggy and rocky terrain and soon reached our final summit....



Mrs F Making Her Way To Thunacar Knot

Mrs F scratched Mr F's face during the night....accidently of course! :-(

Mrs F With Her Everest Look On The Go

Thinacorr Knott Summit

Since Mr & Mrs F had already been over this way in previous trips, we discovered a quick and fairly easy down that we opted for again....straight down the side of the mountain. Once we made it over the snowy slop down, we came across a stepping stone route that led us all the way back down to Stickle Tarn. However, we first had to tackle the deep snow again which Mrs S fell right through losing her boot with her gaiter still attached to it!! Mr F had to dig it out and then couldn't get back up himself after keep falling through trying to get up, so he just sat there....we called it a K2 moment after having watched a documentary about it the night before! :-)

Mrs S With Her Buried Boot & Gaiter

The Hole That Claimed Her Boot & Gaiter

Mr F And His K2 Moment

Mr F Showing How Deep The Hole Is

The View On The Way Down

....Mrs F making her way down slowly, trying to accommodate her knees...

Stickle Tarn In The Distance....

We stopped for a short break by the tarn where Mr F changed his soaking socks. Since his boots still weren't properly dry and walking in yet more snow and bogs, his feet were soaked and cold. After having changed socks and had a little Scooby snack, we set off back down the waterfall for a long slog back to the car.....Had it weren't for Mrs F's poorly knees, we would have made it down a lot sooner :-(

Mr F Wringing His Socks out

Mrs F With The Boys

The 'Down The Side Of The Mountain' Route That We Took

The boys still loving their adventure...

Back To The Waterfall We Had To Cross And Follow Down



Mr & Mrs F Slacking Behind....Again!



Over The Bridge And A Short Walk Back To The Car



Once back at the hotel, we once again and for the final time headed for the spa and then to our last night and meal in the lakes.....

Mr F With His Favourite Chilli Con Carne With Chips & Rice




Mr S In One Of His Classic Mid-Munch Shots!

Toasting our successful day of 4 Wainwrights ticked off and a very successful and enjoyable week and our last night in the lakes....bring on tomorrow for yet more mountain summit adventures before the long haul home...hard-core!!! 

DAY 5: RED SCREES - 2,541ft

              MIDDLE DODD - 2,106ft

              4 HOURS & 15MINS TREKING

Our final day in the lakes before heading back home. In the past, we've just always headed straight home, but we realised we were cheating ourselves out of a day's worth of trekking. Plus it wouldn't matter what time we got home as we would have the rest of the week off :-)

The Boys With The Fish Tank That They Love & Want

The boys loading up at breakfast!!....



The Boys Kept Going On About Going Here & Suggested Going On Our Last Day!

So, we decided not to go back to Langdale to tackle any big mountains before our long 5 and half hour drive home. Instead, we parked up a the Kirkstone Pass car park and headed for Red Scree and Middle Dodd, which aren't necessarily low summits, but not quite so streneuos...

We did plan to climb up a scree scramble just to the right of the stepping stone route going up, so Mrs S carefully went over to see if it was do-able with the snow making it wet and slippery. But unfortunately, it looked too dangerous to tackle this time, so we stuck to the boring stepping stoe route...

The Scree Scramble Option That We Couldn't Do :-(

As we headed further up, it became more snowy and more cold, but the sun was still shinning and it was a really enjoyable walk across the top of the mountain...




You Can Just About Make Out Snowfall In This Picture

Mr F's Selfie

Mr S Loving The Snowy Trek

It really started to come down with snow, but we pushed on for the summit and really enjoyed it regardless of the snow...

...The summit of Red Screes...

The sun peaked out just behind the clouds and gave a really lovely effect...

The boys checking the route down and Mrs F taking pictures

The difference between the mountain we were on and our next destination, Middle Dodd was unreal. It was like someone had come and swept all the snow off....

This rainbow appeared out of nowhere and was se close it almost seemed like we could reach out and grab it!

Love This Picture Of Mr & Mrs F

A glance back at the mountain we had just came from....

A Stop For Lunch before heading back down to ground level

Credit To Mr F For Taking This Stunning Picture

Our final decent through the freshly fallen now....and it was great fun yet again!! Mr F went first and we tried to step into his footsteps to know it was safe treading ground, but as you can see, Mr F walks at a 10 to 2 so we made our own way down....

The fresh snow and green pastures sloping down 

Although the way down and back was to the right of us, there was no clear path but a drop, so we had to go down the left hand side and walk around to the right once we were able to. A nuisance, but we got there. 

Mrs F found a technique for coming down without to much strain on her knees

 

Mrs S and Kirkstone

We did plan to go to the spa for one final time to make use of the facilities and have a shower before heading home. But it was a unanimous decision to just head straight home. We headed back to the B&B where we separated into our own cars and got back on the road for the long drive back to London. 5 days, 9 mountains, 8 Wainwrights ticked off and al in all another great trip.....until next time...

VERDICT OF THE LAKE DISTRICT IN FEBRUARY 2014

Mr F: Excellent time in various conditions,. Always love the Lake District and can't wait to go back when there is less snow.

Mrs F: I really enjoyed the different experience of trekking in the snow, I loved every moment of it....accept from when my knees weren't hurting! :-( I would definitely trek in snow again, but do look forward to going back when the snow has melted tackle Great End, which we couldn't do this time around. All in all, it was a great trip with great friends and can't wait to head back for another week in June for Mr F's birthday to tick off as many Wainwrights as we possibly can! :-)