Day
4 - Friday 16th July
Little Tongue to Haweswater
14miles: 11h 45mins
Although I slept almost immediately I awoke at 1am to the sound
of raindrops. I slept again until 3am and then woke feeling hungry and thirsty.
I consumed a packet of crisps, drunk some water and wrote my log. By that
time it was starting to get light. I slept for a couple more hours and then
at 6:15am I made breakfast (porridge, 2 boiled eggs and fried potato), packed
up and was away by 7:45am. It was no longer raining but everything was very
wet (including the tent when I packed it away). The sun was trying to break
through the mist and I sweated profusely. My legs were tired of climbing
and I would climb for 15mins and then stop for 5. Within an hour the worst
was over and by 9:30am I came across Grisedale Tarn enveloped in mist. At
that moment the sun finally broke through and the mist lifted. There were
two tents camped at the far end of the tarn and they were flapping in the
wind. Not really the best place for a camp and I was glad I had stopped
when I did.
An easy walk down to Patterdale followed with a stop half way to tend and
air my feet which seemed better today although my boots and socks were still
wet on the inside. I saw no one until I was within about a mile of Patterdale.
The Coast to Coast hordes would still be struggling up Little Tongue and
I was unlikely to catch those ahead. I reaches the shop just before midday,
stocked up and then sat on the bench opposite to eat a Callipo and consume
milk and lucozade as tradition dictates! I wrote and posted cards to Gemma
and David. I moved off again at about 1pm and started the climb up to Angle
Tarn. The sun was shining and there was a cool breeze but my legs were still
tired. I passed various people but did not stop to talk. I ate barley sugars
and drank water to try to keep my strength up. And then I came upon Angle
Tarn. What a tranquil and delightful sight. I paused for a while to take
in the magic of it. Walking further I looked down at Hartsop eventually meeting
the path we had trodden on holiday in 1998. It was 4pm and I stopped by
the same wall where we had previously rested. I ate a roll with cheese and
marmite and brewed a cup of tea. At 4:30pm I continued my journey, eventually
reaching Kidsty Pike. I felt some sadness, as I looked back at the mountains
of the Lake District that I had crossed, and some satisfaction that
I had made it so far. The descent to Haweswater was rapid and although I
had read it twice I was still taken by surprise by the lakeside path. Shortly
after the start, it rises steeply, going up a full 200ft! My legs were complaining.
I still had hopes of reaching the camp site in Shap and there was certainly
nowhere on this steep hillside to camp. Then I came across a grassy spot
by a wall next to a forest. A stream was only 30yds away and so I decided
to call it a day. I had climbed climbed over 4000ft and walked 14miles. I
had never done this before in one day let alone with a 24kg load. Perhaps
I wasn't so unfit as I felt!! I had seen no Coast to Coasters today and
the last people I saw were before Kidsty Pike. I had dinner of soup, chilli
con carne, mashed potato, fruit salad, coffee and chocolate. I bathed my
feet in the ice-cold stream and they now felt a lot better. My socks were
dry and my boots were almost dry and in fact everything else had dried out.
Who knows what tomorrow may bring?
<<Back Next>>