Here Comes the Sun (finally)

The journey across England progresses. We left the Lakeland and headed toward the Pennine Hills and Yorkshire Dales. Leaving Orton, the weather showed some improvement though we left our rain gear on. Strode by large hilly sheep farms and a few grand estates off narrow country lanes. Took a few variants off the stated route, at one point finding ourselves on a pleasant disused railway converted to a nature walk. Home of the colorful Scotch Argus butterfly, this area between Orton and Kirby Stephens is also a site of considerable historical significance. Significant British-Roman settlements have been discovered. Limestone was quarried to make mortar to build England's stone houses and the tremendous stone viaduct and bridge of Smardale. In 13 miles, we reached Kirby Stephens, a larger market town and agricultural center. Our lodging was at the youth hostel, converted from a Methodist church. Now the pews are used as benches for a dining area with large tables. We slept in a private room with bath and shower. Cooked spaghetti with tomato sauce along with a huge green salad in their self-catering kitchen, delighted to eat-in for a change. Average age of youth hostel client - 50s. Awoke to an almost cloudless morning and dug out our long forgotten hiking shorts for the mild ascent to the Nine Standards (second highest point on walk). The Nine Standards are nine large rock cairns you can see far off in the distance. No one really knows why they were built but seem to be an old boundary marker - both a district border and the continental divide of England for river flow. At the top, the clouds rolled in, the temperature dropped quickly, wind picked up, and on came the rain pants again! From here, the hike is known for being a mud pit of sorts through sporadic severly eroded peat bogs. The windswept wide open moors are not a place where you want to become either stuck in the mud or lost. The paths are faint and trails are not marked. I took a map bearing just in case the weather worsened. Made it through the boggy area with only a few boot dips ankle deep into the black muck and literally crawled on all fours to get out of one ditch. Decided on a side trail down off the plateau to take the road the rest of the way to Keld. Had a lovely walk near the river, for the first time flowing east toward the North Sea, rather than west towards the Irish Sea. I still have the west coast pebble in my pack, though at times it has seemed more like a larger rock. Nevertheless, the sense of accomplishment is a powerful motivator to continue progressing forward over the remaining 95 miles. The terrain is constantly changing yet retains its country charm, and each night's accommodation is full of variety, and usually a pleasant surprise.

Advance across England

Left the green grass of Grasmere to head over the valley to Patterdale, next to Ullswater lake. A straight-forward hike to waterfalls and a remote tarn at the pass under one of England's higher mountains, Hellvyllyn. Stayed at a B&B ranch style slate home with nice view and breakfast, but severe mildew issues. Looking out that morning at dark thick clouds, I had a feeling the low pressure keeping this weather pattern in place had not budged for one of the more rigorous days on the walk, a 16-miler with 3000 ft elevation gain and longer descent, to Shap. Climbed quickly up the side of the fell to Angle Tarn. Momentarily lost the way with fog and rain rolling in. We could still intermittently see a few hikers above us but didn't know if their route was the same as ours. Realizing we were about to climb a big hill for nothing, corrected and made our way across muddy grasslands to the rocky trail. Hiked up to High Street, an old Roman road, and turned toward Kitsy Pike, the high point on C2C walk, as the rain came down harder. Haweswater lake far below appeared through the fog. After carefully descending, walked nearly four miles along its rocky coast with a quick lunch stop in a dark dense rainproof forest. An English walker, who kept to himself with his waterproof maps and compass, like many of the local walkers here, was also having a boil and some tea. (No "bon appetit!" here like the French alps as the mountain culture is quite different.) Soon enough we reached lake end for the last five miles through farm villages to reach Shap, a mining town. Next day we passed a limestone quarry on way to Orton through fields of purple heather and nesting site of sensitive bird species like golden plover. Weather improved enough to break out iPods. Arrived quickly at the picturesque village, home of an early leader of Society of Friends (Quakers), we'll preserved mansions, and a chocolate factory! Lunch has consisted mainly of food from the breakfast table splitting up the high cholesterol English breakfast. It's the same every day so DS wraps a sausage, and possibly a slice of bacon, in a tortilla (store-bought). On rainy hike days, this welcome treat along with a peanut butter and jelly tortilla have enabled us to eat on the run. The pubs don't have much in the way of fresh salad so we'll need to find some veggies at next store opportunity in Kirby Stephens, tomorrow's destination 13 miles away. Understated reactions to this weather is a reminder of the country across which we walk. "Not too bad", shouts an elderly hiker as we pass by through mucky fields and heavy rain blowing sideways against our faces. As wet as its been, it's still no big deal here in the country that produced Admiral Scott, George Mallory and Ernest Shackleton.