Yes, I am a quarter of my way through my Lakeland adventure. I have done 50 Wainwrights!
This hike started from Patterdale just across the road from White Lion Inn.
I followed the path through the park and at the point where the path split into two turned to the left. When reaching a gate, I turned to the left again and started ascending whilst keeping the fence to my right at all times. The weather was very hot and the ascent steep. On a cooler day it would have been a nice climb but in this hot weather it was a struggle. There was a moment when I even thought that I will give up and just go back home or do something else.
After taking a break by a wall I gathered enough energy to try to get at least to Arnison Crag. Luckily as some height was gained, a nice cool breeze came in. At that point I realised that it will be possible complete my hike. Taking many breaks in the shade and keeping hydrated was the key. The problem was there wasn’t much shade because the landscape was pretty exposed. Every time I saw shade by the fence, I took off my boots and sat down for a while.
It didn’t take long to reach the summit of Arnison Crag. The views from the top over Ullswater were stunning. From the
summit the route towards my next mountain, Birks, was visible. It was nice to walk on a flat route before starting climbing again. The Climb to Birks was pleasant but took a lot longer than the first climb to Arnison Crag. After taking photos by the summit cairn I looked towards my destination – St Sunday Crag. It looked like there was not much distance left now. Oh how wrong I was! The route up was long with many false summits. Every time I thought I was at the top another climb appeared. Finally getting to the top made me absolutely exhausted As the summit isn’t flat my first thought was to find a camping spot, before crashing out on the grass. Drinking water and getting shade by lying behind the rucksack helped me to cool down.
The tent pitch was perfect- grassy and flat with outstanding views over the Helvellyn range and Grisdale Tarn.
My favourite thing to do in the evenings is to walk around in the summit when everybody has left the mountain. Seeing the golden colour of the setting sun always adds some magic into the evening.
I wasn’t quite on my own, not just yet. Shortly after taking photos by the trig point I heard noises and saw six cyclists coming towards me. We stopped for a little chat before they carried on their journey. I watched them as they disappeared in the distance. I always find it amazing how friendly people are when you meet them on the mountain.
But I digress.
Back at the tent it was time for my celebration. 50 Wainwrights! Yay! \party food. Quiche and flapjack. I lit the candle and congratulated myself for climbing 50 Wainwrights. The night was very pleasant, warm and peaceful. I loved watching the flame of the candle burning in front of the mountains in the light of setting sun.
The alarm woke me up at 4.30 just for the time of sunrise. Hot chocolate and porridge always taste very good when I am able to admire the sun coming up behind the horizon. It felt wonderful and empowering to be on that huge mountain on my own.
In this heat water was a bigger problem than usual and I decided to descend to Grisdale Tarn became necessary. The route was rocky and quite exciting, maybe because I could see the tarn in the distance. After spending nearly four hours at the tarn; chilling, swimming and snacking, I decided to carry on hiking towards Fairfield. The route up Fairfield was very steep but it did not come as a surprise as I had done that route before. It was steep and a bit scary but reminding myself to take it easy and not to rush helped a lot. Actually it is a lot easier to go up than to come down.
I reached the summit by six o’clock and decided to pitch the tent straight away. It was easy to find a spot as Fairfield is so huge and flat. After spending some time in my tent doing crosswords and cooking dinner I went for my usual wander at sunset. There was a funny moment by the trig point when a sheep took an interest in my tripod. I had to chase him away to stop him from licking it. The sheep on Fairfield are quite inquisitive. Often sheep just run away when people approach them but this time they let me to get pretty close. It is great for filming.
The next morning around ten my long and tiring journey back down to Ambleside on a Fairfield Horseshoe ridge started. For my joy I bagged four new Wainwrights. Walking in the heat was not easy. Before getting to the last fell I ran out of water and was desperately looking for a bridge I had noticed last time when I was in the area. Unfortunately I took the wrong turn and no bridge was seen. That meant no water. At that point I was very thirsty and I knocked on the door of some nearby houses. A lovely lady was so kind and brought a nice glass of cold water as well as filling my water bottle. It felt like a miracle.
It wasn’t the only miracle. When waiting for the train in Windermere Station another hiker started to talk to me saying he watches my channel. The coincidence was that I also watch his channel and he is one of my favourite youtubers. First time ever for me to meet a youtuber. We had a great chat and, before parting our ways, we said we should do a hike together. Maybe soon.