Captain's Log

Wasdale

After the last two days of waking up to rain it was quite a relief to hear nothing but silence today. Well, almost silence; somebody had a particularly loud snore on the National Trust’s Wasdale campsite. It was just gone 06:00 on a Sunday morning and so I tried to be as quiet as possible when I packed up. I didn’t even shake my tent to get rid of the condensation; I’d have to dry it out later on when I stopped. I filled all my water bottles which amounted to 2.5 litres since I wasn’t too sure of viable water sources on today’s route. The only one I knew for sure was Sail Beck on Kirk Fell, but I wouldn’t arrive there until late in the day. 

Today’s walk on my Bob Graham Round (BGR) Venture was simple enough in concept…just follow the rim of the Mosedale valley, a tributary of the main Wasdale valley. The reality was a rollercoaster route  of some of the highest peaks in the Lake District including Red Pike and Pillar. A couple of them, Yewbarrow and Steeple, had scrambles that might prove difficult with a large, heavy backpack.  For most of the day, I’d be hugging the high edge of the valley, hence the lack of water sources. I wasn’t really sure how far I’d get today. I had a fanciful notion of making my way to Brandreth, or even Grey Knotts near Honister Pass, but that would mean traversing the beast that is Great Gable. In all probability that was not going to happen. More likely was a summit camp on Kirk Fell and leaving Great Gable for tomorrow. One never really knows how much progress one will make and so it’s always best to leave options open. I set off from Wasdale NT campsite, leaving the sleepers and snorers.

Yewbarrow

The first part of the day involved a road walk alongside Wast Water. I met quite a few cars coming the other way. I had to squeeze myself onto the verge to let one young idiot pass who was treating the road as a rally track. I was glad when I turned off the road at Overbeck Bridge and onto the footpath. The climb up Yewbarrow was along its south-western ridge. Initially this was a gradual grassy assent, but then things started to get serious when stone steps started leading me up into the crags. I’d climbed this route a few times before, but never with such a large, heavy rucksack. I wondered if I would make it. A woman caught up and overtook me. I was in no rush to get to the scramble section. To be honest, there’s only one particular stretch that was tricky and I was over it within a minute. It was okay going up it, but I wouldn’t attempt going down it with this size of rucksack. I continued plodding upwards and finally reached the ridge line at Great Door. There was a wonderful view over the Bell Rib crag to Wast Water. As I was admiring the view, I noticed a woman making her way up towards me on the path. It turned out to be the same woman who had passed me earlier on. 

‘I took a wrong turning, and it soon became apparent I’d taken the wrong path,  and I had to backtrack’ she informed me. We had a chat and she told me that she was a teacher who had retired last Friday. I wished her well for her retirement and she set off ahead of me again towards the top of Yewbarrow. I followed her at a slower pace. She’d disappeared when I reached the summit cairn and I sat down to have a short break. I was thankful that this ‘difficult’ Yewbarrow section was over. I took the path that drops down from the summit ridge towards Dore Head. It’s a bit of a steep, rocky path, but offers a far easier descent than continuing along the ridge and scrambling down Stirrup Crag. 

Red Pike

‘Oh, hello again!’ I’d stopped to nibble on a few nuts and heard a voice behind me. It was the Teacher again. She’d taken the Stirrup Crag route.
‘That’s not a route I’d take my dog down’ she told me. I have been down it a couple of times and I’d have to agree. We said our farewells again and she set off up the Red Pike path. I followed her again at a slower pace. The sun was out and it was getting quite warm. There wasn’t much breeze either. There’s about 350 metres of vertical ascent from Dore Head to the top of Red Pike and it felt like it too. There’s wonderful views down into the Mosedale valley though. I could see the fells that I would be crossing today: Black Crag, Pillar and Kirk Fell. I was convinced now that Great Gable would be a hill too far.    

I met a chap on the summit of Red Pike. He said he was doing the Mosedale round in the opposite direction to me. He must have set off at an early time to get this far. I left the dramatic cliffs of Red Pike behind and started a traverse of rounded Little Scoat Fell. The only reason to summit this bump was to get to Steeple on the other side. 

Steeple

The BGR fell runners must hate Steeple since it involves an out-and-back along a narrow ridge to its top. I’m sure they would much prefer to take a direct to Black Crag and then Pillar. Steeple is a superb hill on the BGR itinerary though. Its ridge actually pokes out into the Ennerdale Valley. I could see Ennerdale Water to the west. It had only been 3 weeks since I’d walked down the valley on the Coast To Coast path (see Captain’s Log, Buzzing In St Bees). The ridge to Steeple was surprisingly busy with walkers. There were long drops on either side of the ridge, but it felt safe enough. I met the Teacher halfway across. She’d ticked Steeple off on her Wainwright’s list and was now on her way to Pillar. I left my rucksack at the bottom of the final climb to the summit. I couldn’t see any other people making their way across the ridge and so I figured it’d be safe enough. I scrambled to the top and then took a moment to remember the last time I was here 3 years ago (see Captain’s Log, Steeple, The Last Wainwright). It was certainly a fine view along the Ennerdale valley from its summit. I scrambled back down to my rucksack and made my back over the ridge. 

Black Crag

There’s a very bouldery bump between Little Scoat Fell and Pillar called Black Crag. The summit isn’t included in the BGR list which I think is an excellent idea since it's a tricky one to traverse because of its boulders.  Instead, the worst of the boulders can be bypassed by taking a rather airy track that runs along its southern flank beneath the summit. There’s quite a spectacular drop down into the Mosedale valley from the path and so a little care is needed. It’s infinitely better than traversing that rocky summit though. The path brought me around to the col with Pillar known as Wind Gap. 

Pillar

It had been a long time since I’d climbed Pillar using the south-western ridge path and I’d forgotten how steep and rocky it was. There was even a bit of hands-on scrambling at one point. It soon turned into a gradual trudge to the top though. A fellow had set up a small radio mast near the summit and was talking to somebody somewhere in the world. I had to admire his dedication to haul all his equipment up here for a conversation. I’m surprised the hobby still persists nowadays given mobile phones are now available. I met the Teacher near the trig point. She was just heading off towards Kirk Fell. I wished her well. It would be the last time that I would see her. I touched the trig point and headed over towards a stone shelter next to Pillar’s north face. There was no need for a shelter today though since there was no wind. I pegged my tent out so that it could dry in the sun. I brewed a tea and boiled some water for a Firepot. As I was eating it, a man’s face popped up over the cliff edge. He’d followed the climber’s path along Pillar's north face to Pillar Rock and had climbed up from there. He’d picked the perfect day for it given it was dry and windless. I looked over the edge and couldn’t see anybody else making their way up from Pillar Rock. 

Kirk Fell

Belly full, I started my journey towards Kirk Fell. It was all downhill and I made good time. Even so, it was quite obvious now that I wouldn’t be traversing Great Gable today. I was therefore going to end the day with a wildcamp on the summit of Kirk Fell. The only question was how to get to its summit. Normally, I would take the scramble up its north ridge, but I didn’t really fancy that with my heavy rucksack. The other consideration was that I was nearly out of water and so I needed to get a refill before venturing up onto the top. If I headed down to Sail Beck, that would mean descending and reascending about 60 vertical metres, before attempting the north ridge. That didn’t seem too enticing. An alternative plan would be to make my way down to Sail Beck, refill my water bottles, and then take a track that follows a contour along Kirk Fell’s northern flank to Beck Head. I could then climb Kirk Fell by its easier eastern path. It was a longer route, but I thought it was preferable to the first option. I dropped down to Sail Beck and filled my water bottles. The track along Kirk Fell’s northern flank was rather vague in places. There were one or two small cairns to indicate the direction, but a lot of the time I was forging my own path. The track became more distinct as it climbed up to Beck Head, the col between Kirk Fell and Great Gable.

I set off up Kirk Fell’s eastern path. It’s easier than the northern path, but it was still steep and exhausting after a long day. The top of Kirk Fell was quite a large plateau and the summit was at its western end. I started making my way across to it, keeping my eye out for potential wildcamp spots. Despite the large area, most of it was rocky and not the best terrain for wildcamping. When I reached the summit I met an elderly couple sitting in the stone shelter. I recognised the fellow from earlier in the day when he’d been sitting at the bottom of the north path climb to Kirk Fell. Crikey, it had taken them a long time to get up here. He told me they weren’t the fastest walkers and were looking forward to having a pint in the Wasdale Inn this evening. I watched them tottering over the rocks towards the eastern path descent. They then had to drop down into Wasdale on that long, horrendous scree path. I hoped they’d reach the Wasdale Inn before last orders. Fair play to them though, Kirk Fell had been their 200th Wainwright. 

Kirk Fell Tarn

I wandered around the plateau for a while trying to find the perfect pitch. A lot of it was very rocky though and I didn’t want to bend any pegs. I found a good spot next to Kirkfell Tarn in the centre of the plateau. It was exposed to the elements, but there wasn’t a breath of wind. I soon had my tent up and was able to relax.    

It had been another great day on the BGR with amazing views into Mosedale and Ennerdale. It had been an exhausting one though. I’d underestimated how difficult it would be to complete the BGR with a large, heavy rucksack. It wasn’t just the scrambling, but the sheer ascent and descent involved. Tomorrow didn’t appear to offer much relief since I’d have to traverse Great Gable in the morning and the rollercoaster path over Dale Head to Robinson in the afternoon. I wasn't going to worry about it now though. Tomorrow’s another day, as they say.