Captain's Log

Duvet Day

The cloud hung low over Skiddaw. The forecast wasn’t good. It didn’t look like it was going to be a good day for walking. The Cabin Boy had a look that said she wanted it to be a duvet day. The Kapitan was nodding off on the sofa. ‘Come on!’ I said to them, ‘Let’s go for a walk.’ The Kapitan snorted himself awake. They didn’t look too enthusiastic about the prospect. We were staying in digs at Braithwaite. I suggested that we could walk up the Coledale Valley from the house and climb Force Crag at its end. If the weather looked bad at that point then I told them we could retreat back down the valley to the house and watch daytime TV for the rest of the day. On the slight chance that the weather was good, we could climb further up to Sand Hill, traverse across to Grisedale Pike and descend into the Whinlatter valley via Hobcarton End. It would then be a forestry plantation plod back to Braithwaite. The Cabin Boy and Kapitan didn’t look convinced, but they reluctantly got kitted up anyway. As soon as we started walking from the house, the sun came out and patches of sunlight lit up the valley. ‘See! It’s going to be a lovely day for walking,’ I told them. 

Force Crag

The rain started halfway along the Coledale Valley and we stopped to put our waterproofs on. A threatening, dark mist descended over High Crag. The Cabin Boy and Kapitan gave me looks that said ‘I told you so.’ We followed the path along the contour of the hillside at the base of Stile End and Outerside. The remnants of the old mine workings at the end of the Coledale Valley looked rather miserable on a day like this. I wondered whether we should just cross the valley and retreat down the Miners Track. Force Crag did look quite interesting though with its huge cliff face and two waterfalls on either side. I decided to continue with my plan and to at least climb Force Crag. I wanted to tick it since it was an Explorer hill. A stony track took us to the south of the crag, where we branched away and climbed towards its summit. There wasn’t a track, but it was a short and easy climb. There was no cairn at the summit and we wandered over to the crag’s cliff face to look back down the Coledale Valley. It was a stunning view with the old mine buildings far below the crag. We convened a Wainwright’s Missed Gem committee and decided by three votes to zero that it should be added to the WMG list. We headed back to the track and found a sheltered spot to have a break. I decided that I’d consult the Cabin Boy and Kapitan after our coffee break as to whether they wanted to proceed to the high level peaks or head back down the valley. 

Sand Hill And Grisedale Pike

After the break, I didn’t bring up a retreat down the valley as an option and I set off up the track towards Coledale Hause. I looked back after about five minutes of walking and was satisfied when I saw the Kapitan and Cabin Boy following me. I did wonder about my decision though when it started to snow quite heavily. So heavily that Eel Crag and Grisedale Pike started to disappear from view. I stopped and put on my snow goggles, much to the amusement of the other two. I’m not really sure why they find them so funny, since I find them very useful in these conditions, especially since I wear glasses. I decided that the weather conditions were an ideal challenge for the Kapitan and so he became navigator for the rest of the day. When we reached Coledale Hause, our view opened westwards and we could see sun lighting up the Lorton Valley. It seemed our snowstorm was very localised. We plodded up the steep slope to the top of Sand Hill; another Explorer hill ticked. The snow was blowing horizontally now. The col between Sand Hill and Grisedale Pike was just visible. ‘We don’t have to go all the way down there and up again, do we?’ asked the Cabin Boy. ‘Yes’ I said, and started the descent down Sand Hill’s snowy slope.    

The conditions made the amount of descent look greater than the reality and it wasn’t long before we reached the col and started the climb to Grisedale Pike. The Kapitan suggested that we could use the broken wall alongside the path as shelter to have our lunch. It was a good call, since we wouldn’t find any shelter once we’d dropped off the summit of Grisedale Pike. As we drank our coffee a total of three other walkers dashed by. It seems we weren’t the only people daft enough to be out in this weather. After lunch we climbed the track up to the summit of Grisedale Pike where the sun tried to break through the clouds, but failed miserably. As the Cabin Boy and I shivered at the top, the Kapitan went on a mysterious walkabout and took many pictures of the summit crag with his phone. After this extensive survey, with our teeth chattering, we began the descent to Hobcarton End. 

Hobcarton End

It was a nice walk down Grisedale’s broad north ridge to Hobcatron End. There were magnificent views to the fearsome Hobcarton Crag, and across the valley to Ladyside Pike. Unfortunately, another horizontal snow/hail storm started and it was better to avoid looking in their direction. We made good time down the ridge and ticked the Explorer hill, Hobcarton Crag as we passed its cairn. The track started to descend steeply into the Whinlatter valley. At this point the sun started to come out and we were privileged to see a wonderful rainbow terminating somewhere near the Whinlatter Visitors Centre. It was like a different world when we entered the forestry plantation since we lost the wind and the trees sheltered us from any rain. The Kapitan navigated us back through the plantation towards Braithwaite. The one thing about the Kapitan is that he is always prepared to go the extra mile, and so it turned out today. He missed a critical turn on the route and we ended up walking an extra mile along a forestry road to get back on course again. We finally escaped the conifers and joined the path to take us down the road into Braithwaite. The sun was out now. A pity it had not been like this when we were on the tops. 

The weather had made today’s walk quite interesting. The hills can look quite spectacular under such wild conditions although I appreciate that it is not to everybody’s taste. Walking in such conditions  is better than watching daytime TV though. I did a shorter version of this walk a couple of years ago (see Hazy Day At Hobcarton End). This alternative misses out Force Crag and Sand Hill, climbing directly up to Grisedale Pike from Braithwaite. Re-reading the Captain’s Log of that walk, the weather was definitely more amenable on that day.