Brock Crags

Angle Tarn is picturesque and a popular spot for wildcampers. There were half a dozen tents around it today. I find that this area can be confusing in mist since there are many paths and knolls dotted about the place. Angle Tarn itself is obviously a large and good reference point for navigation. I remember being up here in a mist so thick I could only see about five metres ahead of me. I could hear the geese honking on Angle Tarn, but the sound didn't seem to be coming from any specific direction. It was all very disorientating. There were no navigational problems today though and it wasn't long before we stood on Brock Crags. There is a great view across to the end of Gray Crag and over to Hartsop Dodd. It looked a long way down to Hartsop in the valley.

Our next objective was The Nab. The Nab would be quite an easy fell to visit if it wasn't for the huge lump of Rest Dodd being in the way. The easiest way to get to The Nab is over the northeast shoulder of Rest Dodd and so avoid its summit on the outward journey. We headed in that direction.

The Nab

Above Satura Crag we spotted dozens of deer. At first they didn't notice us, but as we got closer they spotted us and started moving en masse. 

We followed the stone wall across Rest Dodd's shoulder. It isn't an easy path, but it is much better than going to the summit and going to The Nab down it's north face. The route across to The Nab is very boggy. Behind me Mo slipped down and muddied his right side. When he told me later I chastised him for not shouting me over when he did it so that I could have a good laugh. So inconsiderate of him. I've been to the top of the The Nab a few times and have never met anyone on the journey. Today there was a conveyor belt of people coming and going across there. There is a small cairn at the top. You need to go a bit further over the summit to get a good view into the Martindale valley. There is a great view over to the crags on Beda Fell. 

The Nab ticked, we headed back across the bogs to the hardest challenge of the day, Rest Dodd.

Rest Dodd

The only good thing to say about the ascent of Rest Dodd's north face is that it is easier going up, than coming down. I know this, because two people said it to me as they were coming down the path. As I stumbled the last 50 metres towards Rest Dodd's summit I met an elderly walker on his way down. He asked me about the path and I gave him an honest answer. 'My knees aren't as good as they used to be', he informed me. I told that if he went down the northeast shoulder he could hit the easier path that we used to get across to the Nab. He was unsure and I left him dithering.

The sun had come out by now and it had turned into a super day. The descent southwards from Rest Dodd is easier than its north face. There is an option to follow a stone wall that goes in a straight line to our next objective, The Knott. I've sometimes used this as a navigational handrail during bad weather, but today we dropped down further southwards on to the better path up to The Knott.

High Raise And Kidsty Pike

We had a late lunch on the stony top of High Raise. I secretly thanked Wainwright that he hadn't included the nearby Low Raise in his list. There were dozens of deer, lower down on the flanks of Low Raise. They were too far away to be bothered by us. As we put on our backpacks to set off to Kidsty Pike a couple appeared on the other side of High Raise's flat summit. The man was topless and was a dead ringer for Billy Bunter. It was certainly warm enough to go topless, but personally I've never fancied the sunburn.

The couple followed us across to Kidsty Pike's summit. The summit looked insignificant on its approach, and this then made the summit view of its sheer drop into Riggindale, even more dramatic. We could see Haweswater way down in the valley. Billy Bunter had caught up with us, but he didn't say anything. There was a sharp wind and a nip in the air around the summit and maybe that caused him to leave before we did.

Downhill All The Way

We made the short ascent back up to Rampsgill Head. From here the route back to the car was all downhill and reasonably direct. The view down to Hayeswater got better and better, the further we descended. Some wildcampers had pitched on its western side. When we reached the end of the reservoir there was a strong, putrid smell. It was coming from a dead sheep further along the shore line. The air was buzzing with flies around it. The track back to Hartsop contrived to make it difficult for us with each of us slipping on the its stones at some stage. In compensation we had lovely views of the waterfalls  alongside us that cascaded down the valley. Hartsop was its usual pretty self as we trundled through.

Eight Wainwrights in one walk wasn't a bad tally for the day. The views are so good though, the walk is well worth doing even if you aren't bagging the Wainwrights.