Day 15: The Highest Low Point

August 10, 2024: The wind died down during the night, but the weather gods decided to switch out the wind with rain. Better than wind and rain, though!

Because of the rain, I lingered in a camp a bit late trying to wait out the rain, more-or-less successfully.

The trail descended to a valley bottom before climbing again, this time popping out by High Cup Nick, an impressive gorge and cliff in the ground before the trail descended a long way down to the town of Dufton.

I stopped at the Stag Inn hoping to grab lunch, but it turned out that they weren't serving food at the time. I was disappointed about this, I got a Pepsi while I got online and used the bathrooms since I was there already.

Later, I headed across the street to the Post Box Pantry, which I thought was some sort of convenience store and maybe I could get food there. I was correct in the fact that I could get food there, but it was more of a cafe than a convenience store! That was fine by me--even better, actually, since now I could order a proper lunch. =)

Post Box Pantry

But the day was still early, and I had miles to do. After finishing lunch, I headed out of town climbing steeply toward the highest point of the entire trail: Cross Fell.

But before I reached that point, I had to reach a few other smaller peaks. First there was Knock Fell, then another peak, and another peak--the names of each aren't important--but it was demoralizing to reach a peak, then know there was another peak further ahead, and another. It was exhausting, not the last of which because the fierce wind had returned and it was absolutely brutal, often pushing me over and off my feet.

Great Dun Fell had a giant radar station on top, which made that particular peak memorable. There was a large building by it, and I hoped there was a space where hikers might be able to get out of the wind, but not only was not that the case, but there was a large fence around it that didn't even allow me to get next to the building where I could use it as a windbreak.

Great Dull Fell had this radar station on the top--which I could actually see all the way from back in Dufton while eating lunch at the Post Box Pantry.

 

And the trail became horribly boggy at the top along the ridgeline! My feet were positively soaking. Even the stepping stones meant to keep me out of the bog were often under an inch or two of water.

I really hit rock bottom by the time I reached the peak called Little Dun Fell. I had been certain that it was actually Cross Fell and excited to be done with the last peak, but as I neared the summit, I realized that it wasn't the high point. The next peak along the ridgeline was visible, and it was tall and steep and when I realized that I still had to climb it, I practically wanted to cry. I was so tired, cold and my feet were soaking wet. It was really my low point on a mental level despite being so close to the high point of the trail.

There had been a few wind breaks created from the rocks nearby, so I took a brief rest behind one of them. If it was large enough to camp, I would have been happy to stop right then and there, but it was never intended for camping and definitely not large enough for even a small tent. No, I would have to push onward to Cross Fell and beyond.

Karolina looks for protection from the brutal winds in this windbreak on Little Dun Fell. That's Cross Fell in the background.

 

After the quick break, I continued hiking. Down off the peak we were on, then up the steep slope to Cross Fell which looked like it had a large plateau at the top.

At the top of the steep slope, I once again thought we were at the high point but once again found my spirits smashed when I realized that it was a false summit. The real summit still lie ahead, somewhere ahead. Fortunately, it was just the high point on the plateau and didn't require a steep climb to reach, but I still found it dispiriting. When would I ever reach Cross Fell?

But finally, late in the day, I reached it. Exhausted and tired. There was a windbreak at the summit, and I now stood at the official high point of the trail at 2930 feet (893 meters) above level. I took another short break before heading down the far side for a place to camp.

The windbreak at the top of Cross Fell was huge!

For camp, I had my eyes set on Greg's Hut, one of the few shelters on the trail. Given the hurricane-force winds at the top, I definitely wanted to reach Greg's Hut for the night and have some solid walls to protect me from the brutal wind.

It wasn't long before I could see the hut in the distance, far below the slope I was descending. Deep in the valley, it was already in shadow before I arrived, although the summits were still in the sun. Not for much longer, however, as the sun was setting rapidly.

At one point, I took a step on what I thought was solid ground, or at least marshy ground, but it wound up having this weird feeling of a waterbed. The ground itself looked solid, and I nearby fell when it wobbled unsteadily. My foot didn't plunge through, however, like it usually did in boggy areas--like mud that's a lot softer than you expected. The thick vegetation was enough to support my weight, but there was obviously nothing but water underneath it, and it quite literally felt like walking on top of a waterbed.

Luckily for me, I took the step with my good foot. I'm not sure my twisted ankle would have handled the unexpected wobble very well, but my momentum pushed me another couple of steps which, I'm happy to report, were back on solid ground. 

I finally made it the rest of the way to Greg's Hut without any further problems.

Greg's Hut was my destination for the night!

At the hut, a couple was already there who had set up their tent just outside. The wind wasn't so strong here anymore, but it was gusty and I was surprised that they hadn't chosen to sleep inside of the hut.  I definitely intended to do so, however, and it was a wonderful hut separated into two main rooms: a living room and a sleeping space with a wooden deck to sleep on.

There was a register in the shelter, which Bob had signed and left a note for me. He even signed it as "Bob Ross", the trailname I suggested for him looking like a young Bob Ross. Maybe it's a trailname that will stick?! =)

I'm signing the register inside the hut

 
The hut was located next to an old, abandoned mine. Tailings were piled high all over the area, and the hut was originally used by the miners before falling into disrepair. Later, when the Pennine Way was created, it was rebuilt into a hut that hikers could use and find protection from the elements.

Karolina had bought a pasta dinner back in Manchester that she planned to eat on the trail, but until now, she hadn't actually cooked anything at all. I didn't find a hardware store to buy the alcohol for the soda can stove until several days in the hike, and technically, open fires--including on my stove--weren't allowed in the backcountry. I might have tried using it despite the ban, but there was never really a good place or time for it. It was always too windy, or too wet, and inside of a tent seemed like a dangerous place to cook a meal. (Tarps definitely worked better for that purpose!) Plus, with all the restaurants  along the route, I didn't feel a strong need for a hot meal. And thus, Karolina had been carrying this pasta meal for the last two weeks.

But inside the hut seemed like a good place to finally cook it. It was on solid rock, which certainly wouldn't burn by accident, and I could finally use the fuel I'd been carrying. I didn't actually have any food that needed cooking, but Karolina took the opportunity to finally eat her pasta dinner.

Afterwards, realizing how little I was actually cooking meals, I decided to leave the rest of the fuel in the shelter. Others had left other items like partially used fuel canisters, wet wipes and other stuff--kind of like a hiker box without the box, so I decided to leave the fuel for the alcohol stove behind and lighten my load. Maybe someone else will get more use out of it than me. I was thrilled to lighten my load as well. =)

Thus ends another day on the trail....

High Cup Nick

Another view of High Cup Nick

An honesty box on the side of the road on theway into Dufton

Walking through Dufton

Day 14: May the Force Be With You

August 9, 2024: By morning, my ankle was still badly swollen and quite tender, but I had to suck it up and push onward. If I waited until it felt normal again, I'd probably have to quit the trail and return a month or two later! However, I will note that the ankle did seem slightly less painful than in previous days. It did seem to be feeling better, but I wasn't sure if that was because it really did feel better or if it was because my body had become numb to the constant pain.

In any case, I packed up my belongings. Just as I was ready to walk out the door, I realized that my Fitbit was missing, and I couldn't find it anymore. It wasn't under the bed, or behind the counter, or in the bathroom. I knew it was nearby, however, since I could still sync it on my phone, and I wondered if it somehow got mixed up and ended up in my pack. Rather than unpacking to look for it, I set my backpack on the bed and bounced it up and down for 10-15 seconds, then synced the Fitbit to see if it recorded any steps. It did! After carefully checking the bed and sheets to make sure my Fitbit wasn't mixed up in that and not finding it, I assumed it must have been somewhere in my pack.

With that taken care of, it was time to leave Middleton-in-Teesdale.

Goodbye, Middleton-in-Teesdale!

The weather looked gorgeous--sunny with a few, puffy white clouds to give the sky a little texture. However, the word of the day was windy! Good grief! The wind was strong and relentless, all day long. The fact that I was walking into it just made it worse. It was positively exhausting.

But other than the wind, it was absolutely beautiful weather. I also passed a multitude of scenic waterfalls that were swarming with day hikers. There was Low Force, and--not surprisingly--a High Force not far beyond it. Other waterfalls didn't have any name that I could find--or at least had not been mentioned in the guidebook. High Force apparently isn't the highest waterfall, or the biggest--but they claim it's the "highest unbroken fall of water in England." It seems carefully worded to be technically correct. But in any case the drop is 70 feet (21 meters), which does make it a relatively big waterfall and a nice sight to watch.

High Force

I actually enjoyed Low Force more since the viewing area for that was closer and it seemed to be a few waterfalls giving it more depth. Plus, the sunlight on it was considerably better. Both waterfalls (i.e. "forces") were nice, however, and both of them had day hikers crawling around them like ants on a piece of chocolate on a hot summer day.

After getting away from the hoards of people, the trail passed by a quarry, then alongside a very rocky shore of the river that was murder on my ankle. The rocky section wasn't long, but it felt like it lasted forever trying to get through. Then the trail followed up the side of another waterfall (unknown name) and past a dam before finally leaving the water and heading into hillier terrain.

Some sort of quarry

This late in the day, it was time to keep an eye open for a place to camp. The thunderous wind was a problem, however. The land was badly exposed and there seemed nowhere to get away from it. Even tents can be damaged in such strong winds, so I pushed onward looking for potential places to camp that might be protected from the brutal beating of the wind.

Ahead, in the guidebook, I saw a bridge that crossed a river, and thought maybe the bottom of that valley would provide a sheltered place from the wind (assuming, of course, it wasn't a wind funnel and the wind would be even worse!), but before I reached that point, there was a small fold in the ground. It was just a slight dip in the terrain where the wind miraculous dropped to a fraction of what it had been.

"Here," I said. "Let's camp here."

It wasn't completely protected from the wind, but at least it wasn't so strong that it would cause any trouble. The campsite wasn't ideal--a bit small and filled with sheep poop--but it was the least windy space I had seen in hours.  Maybe there was something better ahead, but I didn't want to risk it. A bird in the hand and all....

So I set up camp and called it a day. After unpacking my backpack, I also found my missing Fitbit. Hurray! =D

I took a break at every bench so I could to rest my ankle!

This rocky shoreline was murder on my ankle!

Low Force

Low Force

Low Force

High Force

If this waterfall has a name, I don't know it!

Day 13: The Yarnbombing Town

August 13, 2024: Being a zero day, I decided to sleep in late. No reason not to!

In the morning, I picked up my hiking clothes which I had had laundered the evening before, and it felt awesome having nice, clean clothes again. There were some stains in them that will probably never come out, but they were vastly better smelling and more comfortable than before.

The main reason I had selected today to have a zero day rather than a few days earlier in Hawes was because the weather forecast predicted a steady rain all day today, and I wanted to avoid that. As it turned out, it really didn't rain at all until very late in the afternoon. I was a little miffed that the forecast turned out to be so inaccurate, but I was badly due a rest day so I couldn't complain too much. I would have taken a zero day regardless. After nearly two weeks, I deserved it!

Around 11:00, I headed out to a cafe where I ordered lunch. It was a different cafe than the one I had visited yesterday, but they also had panini on the menu and I liked yesterday's panini so much, I ordered another one for today.

This time, I remembered to take a photo of my panini before devouring it. =)

I planned to visit the post office to send some postcards, but I had trouble finding it. It was clearly labeled on the maps of the guidebook, and even in Google Maps I could see where it was, right by the Co-op, but I couldn't find any sign of it. I thought maybe it was a little section inside of the Co-op, but looking around inside didn't find the post office either.

What happened to the missing post office? I learned later that it had recently closed and the town no longer had a post office. Oh, well, that would explain it. It also meant that I wouldn't be mailing any postcards today.

My ankle still hurt horribly, so I limped around town using my trekking pole for support. I walked around town looking for all the yarnbombing creations around town. They seemed to be on every post and bike rack all over the town! And they were absolutely adorable! 

But most of the day, I wound up back at the hotel, continuing to catch up with work on my laptop.

For dinner, I was happy to eat the food from my pack.

And thus ended another day on the trail.....

The town was filled with all sorts of adorable little yarnbombing creations! I won't post them all here (I took photos of 36 separate installations in all), but here's a nice sampling. =)

Day 12: Walking With Bob

August 7, 2024: It rained during the night, but that didn't bother me at all being safe and dry in the shelter. There's always the risk that a shelter isn't as waterproof as you might expect, but the roof was solid and did its job well. Bob, I knew, was tenting it and was going to have to pack a wet tent in the morning--but hopefully he was staying dry as well.

In the morning, my ankle still hurt like crazy. I had hoped the rest during the night would have dulled the pain, but my ankle was as big and painful as ever. Ugh. It was going to be a difficult day for me. I had about nine miles into town. Fortunately, the day was expected to be relatively flat and easy otherwise, and even with only 9 miles, the distance wasn't particularly long. I'd just have to see how it goes....

I packed up my backpack and headed out. A mile or two later, I passed a guy who was working on rebuilding a fallen section of a stone wall. Finally! I had been passing stone walls the whole time--seemingly hundreds of miles of them, but had never seen even a single person building or maintaining them. I had to imagine they took a lot of time and effort to create and maintain, so it seemed weird that there was never anyone working on them. I figured it was like a paved road--if you drive around long enough, eventually you'll find sections that are being worked on a daily basis. As soon as one section is fixed, it's on to another section that needs fixing. But where were all the rock wall builders?!

I finally found him. As far as I could tell, he was the only person in all of England working on the rock walls. At least the only person I ever saw. I knew they had to exist, however, and it was nice to finally get that confirmation.

Around the bend from where he was working, the trail entered through a gate into a farm that passed by a building with a sign pointing hikers inside. I took a look and screamed at the bizarre figure that greeted me. Okay, maybe I didn't actually scream, but it was oddly disturbing.  He looked like Freddie Mercury wearing a jumpsuit.

What do you think? Freddie Mercury in a jumpsuit? =)

But, more importantly, there was a huge selection of foods and drinks for passing hikers that apparently was free for hikers. There was a donation box for anyone who wanted to donate to the cause, but there were no price lists anywhere about a "suggested" donation for each item, so it really did feel like a "help yourself to whatever you want" kind of thing, and if anyone felt like donating, they could--but it wasn't required. (I decided to leave all of the change I carried to lighten my load as well, which was maybe about 5 pounds worth but I didn't count it out.)

There were also fridges and freezers so you could get cold drinks and ice cream. There was a kettle to boil hot water for tea or coffee. There were chairs to sit down and relax, and a register to write messages in. Flipping through the register, most of the entries were just people thanking the hosts for the surprise smorgasbord of food and drink options. 

While I was inside, it started to sprinkle. That wasn't a huge surprise--the weather looked terrible and occasional bursts of sprinkles were expected in the forecast. But it was nice to be inside and out of the rain for the time being--but I'd be in it again soon enough. Then I heard thunder.

Moments later, Bob appeared around the corner and joined the party. "Bob!" I exclaimed. "How are you?!"

He sat down, and we continued our conversation from yesterday evening and wound up chatting for about an hour because we were having such a good time. He was from England, so I asked him which of the candies and foods were "classic English" options that everyone locally would be widely familiar with but that I likely wouldn't be, and he pointed out a few of the options. I don't remember the names of any of them, but I remembered the packaging and how they looked, and later, I did notice them in grocery stores all up and down the trail after that. In any case, I took one of each item he suggested that I should try.

Karolina and Bob, chatting in the farm building

A black cat wandered into the building, and he jumped up onto my lap. I started petting him, but then he clawed me and I pushed him off. No cat is allowed to sit on my lap if they're going to claw me! He rubbed against my leg trying to get my attention again, but no, I told him, you tried to claw me!

The three of us eventually realized that we needed to continue onward, and we reluctantly left the comforts of civilization behind. Bob decided to walk with us to extend the conversation. I was the one in the back of the pack, slowing everyone down due to my injured ankle. The rain--and thunder!--had stopped by the time we resumed, but we fully expected it to pick up again before reaching town. At least we had a small reprieve from it for the time being.

Bob was amazed at how much backpacking I had done. Not just being a Triple Crowner, but all the other trails I had also done and he said somewhat jokingly said that I also carried the biggest, heaviest pack he had ever seen which seemed incongruous to him.

"Yeah, I know," I replied, "I definitely don't recommend it."

My pack was ridiculously heavy, I admit it. For one, I carried a laptop--I needed to do some work online while I was out here, and I didn't know how to ship it ahead to myself on the trail like I usually did while hiking trails in the United States. I also carried three heavy guidebooks--three of them! One for each of the three trails I was planning to hike. Usually I just have one guidebook, if I carry a guidebook at all. Now I had a brick of them that amounted to nearly 900 pages of text and maps. Plus battery packs and cords. I had four different cameras as part of my job taking photos and videos for Walking 4 Fun. Plus all of the batteries and power needed to run them. 

Plus, I also carried a full-sized Rubik's Cube, because everyone deserved a little something for fun and to keep their spirits up. =)

So, yes, my pack was crazy heavy. Bob was curious to feel just how heavy it was and suggested that we switch packs for a little while.

"You sure about that?" I asked him. "You really don't know what kind of torture you're asking for!"

He was game, though, so we switched packs and he carried mine for perhaps 5 minutes.

"Good God!" he exclaimed, trying to pick it up.

"Be sure to use the waist belt," I advised him, and he soon adjusted the strap and snapped it in place.

After he got it on, I picked up his pack that probably weighed maybe 15 pounds--positively light. I joked that I was afraid it had fallen off my back because I couldn't feel it anymore.

Bob carried my pack for about 5 minutes--perhaps his worst and biggest challenge of the entire Pennine Way! ;o)

After about five minutes, he was ready to switch packs again. I encouraged him to keep going with my pack. "You're strong! You can do it! Don't give up so easily! Girls might think you're a wuss!"

He could tell what I was doing, though, and assured me that he was not going to carry my pack any further. Oh, well... it was fun while it lasted. For me, at least. =)

But the whole experience just made him think I was even crazier than he thought before, I'm sure. 

We really enjoyed Bob's company, and he seemed to enjoy ours, but he said that he needed to go faster. He had a schedule to keep to, and he needed to get into town long enough to charge his devices. If he kept walking as slow as he was, he wouldn't have enough time to charge them. For him, the town was just a brief stop before pushing onward.

An idea popped into my head. I had planned to take a zero day tomorrow. Once we reached town, we'd be there the rest of the day and night--plus the entire day tomorrow.

"Would you like to charge your devices from my battery packs?" He could suck them all completely dry for all it mattered to me. Once we got into town, I would have two days to recharge them.

An added perk, for me, at least, is that Bob would carry one of my battery packs into town for me. =) It barely made a dent in my overall pack weight, but I was perfectly happy offloading whatever I could!

He liked this idea, so I pulled out my battery packs and he started charging his devices. He even started charging his own battery pack. "You're sure this isn't a problem?" he asked, a bit concerned that I would need some of the electricity. "Nope, all of my devices were already freshly charged this morning. I shouldn't need anything from the battery packs the rest of the way into town. Suck them dry!"

So we all walked the rest of the way into Middleton-in-Teesdale together. The rain, I'm happy to report, actually managed to hold off. At least nothing that really required an umbrella.

I couldn't check into my room at the Forrester's Bar and Restaurant until 3:00pm, so I had some time to kill. The three of us decided to grab some lunch at a cafe. I ordered a ham and cheese panini with a Pepsi and a square of carrot cake. "I only got the carrot cake because there was an actual carrot made of frosting on the top," I explained. "That's what makes it a real carrot cake."

It was delicious. The panini just melted in my mouth. Yum, yum......

After finishing, we offered to watch Bob's stuff while he went grocery shopping next door at the Co-op. We still had time to kill before check-in time at the hotel anyhow.

After he returned and repacked his backpack, it was time for him to go. It was also nearing 3:00pm, so he walked us to the hotel where we finally said our goodbyes and split up.

Middleton-in-Teesdale would be our destination for the day

I checked into my room, which was quite nice. For dinner, I walked out and picked up a pizza at a nearby pizza joint. Karolina went into the Co-op to buy something alcoholic, but came out empty-handed because they wouldn't let her buy it without ID, which--unfortunately for her--she had left back at her hotel room. "Nobody ever cards me anymore!" she exclaimed, surprised, but seemingly happy that he thought she might be too young to buy alcohol.

So she sent me into the market to buy the alcohol for her, which seemed like a seedy thing to be doing, but I knew darned well she was old enough to drink alcohol. She described precisely which cider she wanted, and I headed inside to purchase it.

Then I headed back to the hotel to feast on the pizza and relax the rest of the evening.  I got on my laptop to catch up with work stuff.

And thus ended another day on the trail.....

The town had all sorts of wonderful yarnbombing creations, but I'll save most of those photos for the next blog entry. ;o)

My ankle wasn't looking too good.... Good thing I was planning a zero day tomorrow so it would have an entire day to rest! =)

From this angle, you can see the swelling a lot better. It practically looks like there's a golf ball under my skin!