7/24/16

I am sitting on a cute, little couch outside of room #5 at the Shepherd’s Arms Hotel in Ennerbury Bridge. Our second day of walking is over and some parts were quite hard! Lots of uphill and getting lost with Case, who is a Dutch guy, and an Australian couple, Judy and Greg. Greg consistently walks half a block ahead of Judy. She says that he does not stop to smell the flowers and he says that she would only walk slower if he did not stay ahead of her. They have been married forever so they must know what they are doing!

Observations:

1. Full English breakfast is defined as eggs, ham-like bacon, sausage, beans, black pudding, mushrooms and tomato….we ate some of it!

2. We have been walking in drizzle or rain from the very start.

3. We got lost when Greg confidently told us that the road went straight to the top, Dent, which had supposed views of the surrounding mountains.

4. We all gathered aroundmy Gaia phone map and found the right path…I let them start ahead of us so we wouldn’t have to do the group hike all day.

5. My shoes were not waterproof! As it turns out the Mel/Glory style are not waterproof but the brown ones are.

6. The arms of my rain jacket leaked and I had to use a big garbage bag as a backpack cover since mine was at home in Minnesota.

7. My rain pants kept slipping down, bringing my shorts with them… Alterations will be made tonight!

8. If rain is predicted tomorrow I will start out in my waterproof shoes, altered pants and gators…along with my umbrella.

9. The Gaia was a life-saver and we used it as a security blanket when necessary.

10. The Shepherd’s  Arms was a beautiful sight at the end of the walk.

Now, with my soggy socks off, I am very happy! And I didn’t get a single blister! Tonight we will relax, maybe, with a drink.

7/25/16

OMG~ ENDLESS EVERYTHING 

1-endless pleasantness at the Shepherd’s Arms

2-endless Ennerdale Water with endless ankle- busting rocks

3-endless adorable British families

4-endless logging road

5-endless climb over Gable Mountain

6-endless climb back down to YHA

7-endless variety of uncomfortable walking choices

8-endless human hair on shower walls of the hostel

9-endless frustration with the Wi-Fi

JK..IT ALL ENDED!

7/26/16

Ouch!

Oh, Lord, my thighs!

Heart attack coming!

How many more miles?!

Fuck!

What was I thinking?

More mud?!

More ankle-twisting rocks?!

More precarious stepping stones across water?!

Will we ever get there?

This is incredible and so worth it!!!

7/27/16

A sunny morning! Not a drop of rain! My walking companion is very easy to get along with! We spent very little of our time walking side-by-side, mostly due to the nature of the trails. Some of the trails are smooth gravel, some packed down soil and grass, some pasture grass. Others are miles of ankle-breaking boulders and, the favorite, look like streams with enough rocks or firm, muddy sides to be able to get through. In a couple of higher climbs the paths disappeared and we had to mountain climb our way up over sharp slabs of rock or through fields of boulders in order to rediscover the path. In some spots it was impossible to locate the path so we had to use the GPS to find an approximate or parallel path. On one occasion, at the height of our walk, we had no idea where to go and hightailed it down a steep, grassy hillside where we actually found the path and ended up ahead of some people that had been behind us. I have hiked many places, in many countries and never seen so many potentially leg-breaking situations. However, it can be sort of fun to figure out stepping stones across stretches of water and determine which muddy mess will not suck your shoe off of your foot! England is magical in the amount of charming footpaths that give access to villages, almost all with stone walls and hedgerows. This has been an astounding five days of exploring the byways of the Lakes Region.

7/28/16

HARD DAY

Thumbs down to:

rain, stomach ache after hot chocolate stop, elevation, long, long, long way to Bampton, big rain pants, hot backpack. 

While I am at it…thumbs down to: 

hard square toilet seats, waffles that are potatoes, pants that are underwear, paths that really aren’t, funny buttons on toilets, not enough outlets in rooms

7/29/16

EASIEST DAY SO FAR

We walked 16 miles but with fewer hills! We saw civilization multiple times. There was nearly no rain and there’s hope for the same again tomorrow! The icky part was a massacred sheep whose decapitated head stared our direction. The humorous parts included Melodie’s poop-slip, tiny gates and stiles and our game at the end of the walk. I am becoming a gammon and sausage expert! Yorkshire pudding too!

7/30/16

To Kirkby Stephen

It was a very pleasant hike in every way! We had supper with Pattie and David with lots of naughty talk. We, also, saw Jane and Andrew and Judy and Greg…sausage and mash again!

7/31/16

To Keld

We experienced a good first half of the day. There was a strong breeze helping us up the hills to the Seven Standards…were they built, long ago, to trick oncoming armies? The way down the other side was awful! Marshy and tricky. I took a step into a clear footprint to cross a small creek and ended up in quicksand up to my hip! I couldn’t pull my leg out and Melodie couldn’t find a safe way to get to me and help me. I pushed ny upper body forward, grabbing the grass on the bank, and rocked and pulled my foot until my whole leg sucked out covered with black mud! Melodie thought it was funny-looking but I felt scared at the time and uncomfortable afterward. She helped me get out of the muddy clothes and  into my clean socks and rain pants but my shoes will never be the same again! We stayed at a place called Birkdale Farm. We were picked up in town in a four-wheel-drive vehicle and arrived at a seriously rutty road. At the end of the jostling we arrived at an ancient farm redone by the owners. It was adequate and charming but I prefer space and luxury.

The view I am seeing as a write, seated at a well-worn picnic table includes – 

1. flower gardens living in a chicken wire fence

2. a small wooden gate in a stone wall

3. a barely moving stream 

4. three stone houses dotting the valley to the left

5. stone walls and a stone house 

6. another stream in the valley to the right 

7. yet another stone farmhouse directly below 

8. frozen butt that needs to go inside

8/1/2016…journal  entries ignored

8/2/2016

8/3/2016

8/4/2016

8/5/16

8/6/16

8/7/16

8/8/16-Ta dah!!! Robin Hood’s Bay

The Brits welcome us at Robin Hood’s Bay and take us on an excursion to Whitby!

Manchester…Our last sleep in England…appropriately in a “football” hotel with a field on the roof!

People we met in England:

~couple that drove us to Warrington 

~drunken fat boy a.k.a. old woman molester in Carlisle 

~taxi driver in Carlisle 

~train conductor from Carlisle to Saint Bee’s

~couple from the Netherlands at Saint Bee B&B ~Irene and her curmudgeonly husband at B&B ~couples met on the first day…Debbie and Graham and Sarah and Henry outside of pub

~Moor Road Jasmine House mistress, a world traveler 

~mom, dad and son from the Netherlands

~Greg and Judy Molesworth from Australia 

~Case from Netherlands 

~Patsy and David at Shepherd’s Arms 

~Jasmine at Shepherd’s Arms who gave us free Yorkshire pudding

~Caroline,behind the bar, serving up samples of amber ale and stories about her naughty, genius child 

~singing server at breakfast, on her way to  

  Florida soon 

~family with Expat American dad, mom with blisters, two quiet boys and a teen daughter

 ~Andrew and Jane whose picture we took when we were really asking them to take ours

~two walking women with fear of cars, pleasant dispositions and short hair like mine 

~the boys from Hull 

~Aussie women at Blacksail Hut

What I have learned from the Coast to Coast: 

1.Friends are a beautiful thread decorating our lives and strengthening us. All of the Facebook friends explaining and commenting and supporting…the friends in England anticipating our arrival, having cards and presents waiting at our lodgings and finally celebrating our completion of the journey with flags, a banner and a paper horn…and the new friends made on the trek… David and Patsy were consistently funny, warm and delightful. Greg and Judy got warmer and more welcoming each time we saw them. Debbie, Graham, Sarah and Henry were a little dubious of us at first but became fast friends after walking the same miles and meeting again and again. Garth and Sturge, the father and son were a sweet duo from Pennsylvania (the dad helped us not be the oldest people on the trail).

Case was an unprepared and misguided Dutchman. All of these friends, whether lifelong or moments long, contributed to the fabric of the trip and made it, in the end, a garment I was proud to wear!

2. Bring less! I read all of the sites I could find that spoke of preparing for the walk. It was clear we needed certain first aid items, some food items, extra shoes, raingear, certain clothes, gators, etc. etc. etc. We changed from small daypacks to larger ones to accommodate the advice. After one day of hating the bulky packs we ditched most of what we had carried “just in case”. When all was said and done we could almost have done as Garth and his 71-year-old dad had done. Carry just a toothbrush, money and light rain gear and wash the same quick-dry clothes every night.

3. There is something magical about a very old country such as England! The stone walls that so many hands have built over so many centuries… the ancient farm houses, pubs, huts, homes… Everything looks more beautiful juxtaposed with stone structures! The paths from village to village, ancient rights-of-way, are a wondrous maze…delightful to travel…through pastures, between walls, behind churches, through cemeteries, next to schools, over a tremendous variety of stiles…through fences fastened with an interesting variety of devices. It is fascinating to navigate the same byways that have forever been used by friends, foes and farmers!