Hartsop Above How

I like Hartsop Above How. It has a long ridge that is relatively low compared to the surrounding fells and there is a sense of being surrounded by the mountains. It is also possible to see the ridge's final destination of  Hart Crag ahead of you. The sun had still not climbed up the mighty Stony Cove Pike to the southeast and I was still in shadow. Gale Crag is a mere bump on the ridge line . I'd crossed it many times in the past, but it was only due to my Explorer Venture, that I now knew it by its name.  My arrival at the summit of Hartsop Above How coincided with the sun's golden rays. I stood a while to admire the scenery and appreciate the sun's warmth. I couldn't see anybody else, anywhere on the fells. It seemed I had these wonderful fells all to myself for the day.  Looking beyond the gap at Boredale Hause, south of Place Fell, I could see the cement factory at Shap. I'm not sure whether it was smoke or steam billowing out of its chimneys. I'd find out later that Shap was recorded as the coldest part of England last night (-7.7 degrees C).

The last craggy section up to Hart Crag is always the most arduous part of the Hartsop Above How route. I reckoned that any standing water would be frozen and could be rather slippery. I plodded across towards it.

Hart And Dove Crags

I started climbing the crags, but as I expected, the route had frozen over in to an icy chute. I traversed across the crag to the easier climb on the south side. This area was also in the sun and so was far less icy. Halfway up the climb I rested and looked back along Hartsop Above How's ridge. I could just see a figure quickly descending from the summit. If felt a little like somebody had intruded on my kingdom. I'm not the fastest climber, but I was determined to reach the top of Hart Crag before my chaser. The gradient eased at the top of the crag bypass route and I plodded towards the summit. The views opened up to the northern fells as I reached the summit cairn. I looked back along my arrival route, but my chaser was still not in sight. Despite my half a mile start, I still felt some achievement in getting to the top first. I was on the Fairfield Horseshoe route now and I was expecting to be surrounded by its walkers. I scanned the horseshoe right around but I couldn't see anybody. How odd, on such a perfect walking day. There was a strong wind on top and the wind chill had dropped the temperature so much I had to put my mid layer back on. I could see Dove Crag over to the south east and I headed off in its direction.

I met my first walker of the day on my descent from Hart Crag. He was an elderly fellow who had come up from London for three days of walking. 'It was a nightmare journey on the trains. It was just delay after delay.' After many years of train commuting, I expressed my understanding. 'At least, I'll get a good view from Fairfield today, it was thick mist when I was up here a few weeks ago.'  I told him that I thought most of my Fairfield visits had been in mist. It turned out that the chap had been to Sheffield University and we swapped some Peak District reminisces. We'd probably have still been chatting there now if it wasn't for that cold wind and so we said farewell and continued our separate journeys. 

I was the only summiteer at Dove Crag, although I could now see several walkers making their way up from High Pike, These would be the 8 o'clock starters from Ambleside. 'Have you got some good photos?' one of them shouted as he walked by. I confirmed that I had. 'Did you get some of the clouds?' It was an unusual question, since there weren't actually that many clouds about. In order to satisfy his curiosity, I confirmed in the positive again. He seemed happy at that and walked on. Hart Crag and Dove Crag were my high points of the day. I now needed to descend to Scandale Pass.

Scandale Pass

The path from Dove Crag to Bakestones Moss had iced over. It would have been perfect for testing crampons. I walked down the side of the steep fell about 10 metres to the side of it, on the grass. It was still a bit icy, but I managed to stay on my feet for the descent. It was easier walking once I reached Bakestones Moss. It is normally boggy, but had been hardened by the cold and made for surprisingly easy walking. 'Good morning' the male walker looked at this watch and then added 'just about.' Crikey, time must have been cracking on a bit more than expected and I looked at my watch to check. 10:55. Hmmm, maybe the fellow lived his life by the European timezone. 

There were plenty of people coming up towards me from Scandale Pass. Some of them diverted off to climb Little Hart Crag. I branched off the path on other side to make my way over to the pretty Scandale Tarn. It is a lovely little tarn with a choice of background of Scandale Head or Little Hart Crag.  A cairn nearby hid some rubbish. I wouldn't besmirch the name of wild campers, because the people who left this pile of trash aren't. 

Just above Scandale Pass a young lad was half running, half walking up the path. He had a camera strung around his neck. He had a shirt on with the sleeves rolled up. He was obviously immune to the cold. 

At Scandale Pass I hesitated before making my way down the valley to Brothers Water. This was the part of the walk that I'd been silently dreading. Even mid-summer, it is a rather moist valley, and with today's frozen ground I had a fear that it would be tricky underfoot too. There's no reasonable alternative though and I started heading down.

Return 

The top of the descent seemed to be a large collection of streams. The normal path had iced over in patches and was best avoided and so I made my way down carefully along its sides. I thought I'd be bound to take a slide at some point, but by some miracle I remained upright. In some respects the harder ground made it an easier descent route than its normal muddy, wet condition. It took a while, but eventually I reached easier gradients and I could relax a little. 

A couple of men came up the path with their wives (presumably) 10 metres or so behind. The blokes were too deep in conversation to notice me but I heard one of them saying '...and it helps when I give interviews with the BBC...'  as they past. I did wonder whether they'd contrived to say that as I was walking past, just for my benefit. I thought about doing that myself. Just dropping something extraordinary into a conversation as another walker past me. Something like: '...and yes I did cut the red wire, against the expert's advice, but as you see, it was the best decision I ever made...' I'd obviously only say this when I'm out walking with somebody, otherwise it might not have the desired effect. 

A couple of  bearded, young blokes with big rucksacks were resting near the intake fields and I stopped for a chat. They were making their way up for a wildcamp on the top of Red Screes. One of them commented that they expected it to be a lot colder. I warned them of the cold wind on top and the windchill. 'It's okay we've brought some beer to get through the night.' I told him that a bottle of whiskey might make them feel warmer.

A van had parked about a foot away from me at the carpark and another car directly behind me. As I attempted to reverse out, it was the first time that I'd ever seen my  radar proximity alerts go off on 3 sides of my car. It took me four goes at reversing, but eventually I was able to squeeze out.

What a cracking day. The weather had been perfect for walking. For a while, it had felt like I'd been the only person walking in the Lakes. The views had been exceptional.