Middle-aged flash packers

Yesterday saw us using our rest day to make an emergency purchase of walking poles to replace those cruelly broken in half the day before.

The local road closure in order to repair a bridge has caused us to take some very hairy diversions along single track lanes, but the worst by a country mile was the one on our search for a shop that sold poles.

Called the Wrynose Pass, it is bum clenchingly frightening to drive along. We were making our way down it, but people who were driving up it had looks on their faces of single-minded determination. And fear. They were not going to stop, whatever happened, because if they did, they would probably roll all the way back down to the start of the road, gathering speed like an out of control boulder and crashing in to God knows what at the bottom.

We, on the other hand, were trying to control our speed and avoid ploughing into these people (who also did not want to pull into any passing places). It was a nightmare.

We later read that a lady had got so terrified driving down the pass, she had to stop and ring Mountain Rescue who then drove her car down for her. I have every sympathy with this lady.

On arrival at our destination, I shakily got out of the car to do battle with an extremely complex parking ticket machine. The average time for someone to work out how to use it was taking around 7 minutes, a little longer for the lady who put her card in the wrong way and then had to get her husband to bring some pliers to get it out with. (Again,full sympathy here. The Lake District seems to be full of my kind of women.)

Despite the inauspicious start to our day, suitable walking poles were found and paid for. Result.

Which brings me to today’s walk which was an assault on Scafell, picking off Slight Side along the way.

Compared to the past 3 days walking, this was a doddle when it came to navigating. There was even a signpost at the start!

However, what it gave with one hand, it took away with the other and it was an unrelenting slog up to the top and an even worse slog down on gravel and boulders. Having said that, the weather was glorious and not too windy, the sort of day you just want to be out in all day, however hard the hike is. Which was good because the 9 miles promised by app Outdooractive turned into 11.5miles.

It’s fair to say we were pooped by the time we got home. So pooped I had to lie down on the bed and drink my tea there rather than sit on a chair.

One more hike tomorrow, hopefully my legs will rise to the challenge.