w/e 2/5 - We Felt The Sensations Drift Inside Our Frames

We felt the sensations drift inside our frames
Finding complete contentment there
And all the tensions that hurt us in the past
Just seemed to vanish in thin air

I think we all sometimes forget what’s important in life, what really matters. And we get sucked into the melodrama of modern day life which, in my opinion at least, is all just a made-up game we play to wile away the hours which are no longer filled with the essentials and necessities of living.

It’s certainly easy to get like that with all the election stuff that’s been going on in the news. Self-important people trying to make out that they really matter, when it’s all just a passing moment and, long after they’re gone and no-one even remembers their name, the mountains will still be there, the tides will still ebb and flow, the wind will still whistle through the trees.

And it’s easy to get wrapped up in “work”, as though it really matters. There are very few worthwhile jobs out there. Certainly, all those of us who work in “non-essential” areas would do well to remember that. The planet existed before we invented nuts and bolts and fridges and TVs and cars and playstations and all that shit.

Life is really at its essence only when we are engaged in providing the necessities – warmth, shelter, food, drink – and when we are immersed in the landscape that surrounds us.

So the weekend was a timely one, another weekend away in the Lakes, both of us leaving home feeling a little stressed about things that DON’T matter. Both of us wound up by people who will never know the freedom and exhilaration to be had out on the fells, and whose lives stretch only to the nearest retail parks and fast food joints, and whose Sundays are probably spent sitting reading papers!

Whereas we both had weekends that invigorated us and, in Kirsten’s case in particular, very much focused in on when life is REALLY being lived “on the edge”!

We headed up after a leisurely breakfast on Friday, set up camp at a beautiful site (Birch Bank Farm near Grizebeck), then decided to have a plod up Coniston Old Man, via its south face. A faint trod was found initially from the Walna Scar road, but we ended up going direct, on steepish slopes, to emerge at the summit cairn.

The cloud was down and there was a chill breeze, but the swirling mists gave us delicious glimpses across to the ramparts of Dow Crag and down into the valley. We carried on over Swirl How and then decided to take the path down from Levers Hause. Downhill on the major path from Levers Water, then across the mine workings and back up by “the Bell” to get to the car. A gentle, chatty, lovely afternoon out.

Saturday was Championship race day, and although I wasn’t running, I decided to trot around the route and watch the race. Kirsten on the other hand, met up with the group in Coniston for her first day of scrambling, in Levers Water Ghyll and on the Bell.

I parked at the race HQ, caught up with a couple of familiar faces, then set off for Wetherlam. Just as I reached the turn off to head uphill, there was Chrispy with her 2 dogs and we walked uphill together, chatting and enjoying the warm sunshine. She’s a remarkable lady, who’s been there and done it all, someone who really inspires through her infectious enthusiasm, and it was lovely to catch up with her.

After Wetherlam, we headed up the Prison Band then stopped to watch the leaders come through. Some amazing running considering how steep it was. After a while, I decided to trot on, running along with the competitors to the top of Levers Hause, where I saw Jo, Louise and Mandy go through, before dropping down to Levers Water to try and get back before them.

As I headed down by the ghyll, I made a detour when I saw Kirsten scrambling her way up a rocky face. I stopped to watch for a moment, until she saw me and, not wanting to intrude upon her day or feel self-conscious, I trotted away down the hillside, to get back in time to see Mandy finishing.

After that, the rain started and I retreated to the car to wait for Kirsten, who appeared some hours later looking cold and wet. She got in the car, said “take me to a pub, I want to get warm and I want a pint. No stopping”!

Once she’d stopped shivering, it transpired that she’d had a great day but the last couple of hours were deathly slow for someone used to fellrunning, and she was freezing. We soon thawed her out in the Greyhound at Grizebeck though!

And so Sunday dawned, a beautiful morning with the sun lighting up the surrounding countryside. We headed off early to Langdale, where Kirsten was meeting up with the group for her big day! It was glorious when we got there and, having established that they were heading up Stickle Ghyll before doing Jack’s Rake, I decided to head up that way as well once I’d got my stuff together.

And what a beautiful morning. I nipped up the path, in time to see Kirsten scrambling up the lower falls, then made my way to Stickle Tarn. Intrigued, and having never looked closely at Jack’s Rake, I made my way around the tarn and to the bottom of it. The lower slopes were ok and, with nobody else around, I had a quick scramble up. But fairly quickly, I could see it was going to turn into something “challenging” for someone like me, who has no head for heights….so I retreated and headed up “Easy Gully”, which had its moments near the top as well!!

Wanting to see Kirsten in the rake, I headed around and back down to Stickle Tarn but, having dropped down to the ghyll again, I saw them still scrambling in there so decided it was time for the off.

And what a cracking day. Up Harrison Stickle, across to Pike O’ Stickle under schedule, (where I chatted with Yvonne from Leicestershire who’s contemplating a BG in June but needs helpers….if you’re reading this, put that message on FRA forum!!!), across Martcrag Moor on a decent high line to the crags and then out to Rossett Pike. A nice chat with 3 other BG recciers, then up the traverse to Bowfell, back to Esk Pike, out to Great End, then Ill Crag and Broad Crag easily on schedule in the dry conditions.

Originally I’d thought of doing the Scafells, but with the crowds accumulating on the summit of the Pike, I baulked at the idea and headed back to Angle Tarn and the top of Rossett Ghyll. Having got here, I decided I’d get that climb to Bowfell into my head by doing it again, before heading down the Band and back into Langdale.

And I trotted into the garden of the pub, to be greeted by a smiling Kirsten who had survived a “challenging” (!) day and who had great tales to tell. A quick pint there, the decision to stay another night, then off to Ulverston for a smashing curry, before heading back to the campsite and crowding 8 of us into Thirza’s campervan for a drink and a natter – the perfect way to end a perfect day.

And a confidence-boosting day at that. Around 18 miles and 7,500ft and I never felt too uncomfortable. I could easily have carried on. With the decision now made to postpone my attempt until 24th July, to be feeling like that at this stage of my training is a bonus. Fingers crossed I can keep it like that.

And what a cracking weekend for Kirsten as well. Not so much physically, but mentally. In a few weeks’ time, she’ll face a huge mental challenge to keep going when her body is screaming to stop. The fact that she was able to confront her fears and push on when a single wrong step would have meant fairly certain death will stand her in good stead. And of course provide a timely reminder that the lives we live when we’re not on the fells are really so insignificant when compared to those exhilarating, vital times when we place our bodies on the line and feel at one with our natural surroundings. Well done lass!

Just for completeness, the week included 2 other runs – a Tuesday club run which was taken at slow pace, on the route of the Shepherds Skyline race, and a Thursday recce of Coiners with Kirsten and Jo, a smashing evening splashing through the rain and mud J

Total for the week – 44.25mls and 15,250ft

Some photos of the weekend to follow………