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On arriving at Wasdale Head on a glorious clear blue October
afternoon, myself and Terry Coulson proceeded to pitch at the wasdale head
inn campsite, meeting up with fellow backpackers Les Gardner, Graeme Boydell
and new member Mike Gardner.As we basked in the last rays of this glorious
October evening we decided to head for the Wasdale Head inn for some food
and one or two refreshments!.
After a clear and fresh night we awoke in the morning to the lack of
movement from one of our members, Terry Coulson. As most of the Northumbria
Group will tell you Terry has the nocturnal habits of a badger and only
seems to come alive through the night. This is because being a constant
nightshift worker for the last sixteen years has put pay to his normal body
clock. So while most of us are fast asleep Terry can be heard through the
night packing his gear away and has even been known to be up and packed at
four in the morning ready to go. So it was to our great shock to find
Terry’s tent still pitched and closed. On closer inspection we found Terry
flat on his back with considerable back pain (an old injury) unable to move.
Being of a considerable and thoughtful group up here in Northumberland we
all agreed to abort the weekend for our fellow backpacker. But we were told
in no uncertain terms that we were not to abort our weekend and were to
proceed with the backpack and that he would be ok after a long rest.
So after a lot of pondering we left Terry although still feeling guilty.
The four of us set of Paul Butcher, Les Gardner, Graeme Boydell and Mike
Gardner headed up Lingmell Gill, past Hollow Stones towards our first
destination, Lingmell. After labouring in the freakish hot and clear October
weather, we had our first brew stop on Lingmell with fantastic views across
to Great Gable and Wasdale Head and our next destination Styhead Tarn.
As we set off of down the Corridor Route we seamed to encounter every man
and his dog taking advantage of this glorious weather and heading up to the
summit of Scafell Pike,
Lucky for us as we were heading the right direction, away from all the
hustle and bustle of the crowds. After a fleeting visit to Styhead Tarn we
headed for Sprinkling Tarn and lunch.
After an extended lunch break we headed up towards Esk Hause and then
followed the gill down past the Tongue and Cockly Pike into the the ever so
peacefull Esk Valley and Great Moss where we found a fantastic pitch just
below Cam Spout Crags. After a well earned cuppa we sat and watched the
glorious golds, pinks and purples of the last rays of sunset dropping over
the Eskdale skyline.
After a rather mild but dry night we packed our gear away and set of for the
summit of Slight Side. After a hot and humid climb to the summit we decided
we needed replenishing with fluids so in that time honored tradition of the
Backpackers we got a brew on and sat on what was described as the highest
coffee table in England and sat and soaked up the fantastic views of Illgill
Head and Whin Rigg ahead of us.
After our brew stop we headed past Burnmoor Tarn and down through the last
couple of kms to the National Trust campsite and on to Wasdale Head and what
was decribed as another successful backpacking weekend |
