Having spent most of the summer keeping our respective families occupied, Snozz & I decided to head off for a bit of adventure. Making a departure from our usual hanging trips, we decided to Bivi in the Lake District (UK).
The only problem was, i had no Bivi kit. So after buying something to sleep on (cheers Squidders) and borrowing something to sleep under (cheers Shewie) I was all set
Snozz picked the route and decided on setting out from Grasmere and heading up for a night next to Codale tarn & then return down the other side.
We arrived later than planned in Grasmere at about 16:15, dumped the car in the lay-by, got kitted & booted and set off on our way.
The first section was mainly road walking as we made our way through Easdale, i seemed to spend the entire time faffing with my walking poles trying to find the "right" height setting, much to Snozz's amusement.
Soon we picked up the footpath through a small woodland:
The path ahead leading on to Tarn Crag and Sour Milk Gill waterfalls:
Moving towards Sour Milk Gill before passing beneath Brinhowe Crag and up to the top of the waterfalls:
The path past Sour Milk Gill waterfalls:
Behind us you can just see Seat Sandal & Fairfield in the distance:
Snozz striking a pose next to Easdale Tarn, the large boulder is all that's left of the old refreshment hut!
Looking back at Easdale Tarn:
The path ahead starts thinning out here, and a hop skip & jump over the stepping stones
Eagle Crag on the left and Belles Knott on the right.
Behind us, Easdale Tarn shrinks into the distance:
There are two possible paths up to Codale Tarn from this point, the easier one goes off to the left, and the hard scramble up the near verticle Belles Knott carries more or less straight on. Guess which route Snozz chose?
Belles Knott looms large!
Looking back, half way up:
Nearly there...
Up and round the back of Belles Knott and we arrive at Codale Tarn:
My smilie - i'm going to have a long sit down - face:
The walk up had taken two hours, and time was getting on, so we set about making camp.
To keep me from the elements, Shewie had very kindly lent me his TrailStar tarp. What a cracking pice of kit this is, and a doddle to set up with just two walking poles!
Snozz brought along a large rectangular tarp, and using some tangram wizardry, turned it into a star tarp using his poles
What a beautiful place to spend the night:
After a bit of dinner, and me messing about with a malfunctioning mini atomic meths stove (it was my stupidity really), we went for a bimble to look back down the valley we had walked up.
As the near full moon started to rise we turned in:
It was at this point i found that my new bivi bag was too small, and with sleep mat, me and sleeping bag inside, i could hardly move :aargh4:
I grunted & huffed trying various combinations of mat inside sleeping bag etc. All the while Snozz was peeing himself laughing at my misfortune.
Eventually i found a compromise that was comfortable and kept most of my down bag off the wet floor.
With the moon shining like a lighthouse, i drifted off to sleep. At 12am i was woken to the sound of rain - bugger! We had thought it was going to be a clear night. Anyway, i nodded off to the sound of pattering rain.
I was woken again at 1am, this time to the noise of a massive storm front hitting us. Sheeting rain and near 30mph gusts. I sat and assessed the situation for a few minutes - being under a tarp supported by a walking pole! But the TrailStar just sat there and took it, clinging to the ground like a Limpet.
After a night of broken sleep we woke to thick mist:
Rather than carry on with the planned route, we broke camp and decided to re-trace our steps and head back to the car. God i wish i had packed my waterproof over trousers though, DOH!
As we descended, the mist started to clear:
We made it back to the car, safe & sound in 2 hours, then headed on to get breakfast
Despite the weather it was a cracking walk & a great overnighter with many lesson learnt.
Thanks Snozz for being my guide & Shewie for loaning me the TrailStar
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