27/28 April - The loss of Williams, Sillet and Selman has been big, so a big replacement was needed. Cue big Kev, our match-making saviour from Easter. Having learnt of the BG round and had a chance to survey the terrain in his newly found freedom (Gents, the tale would bring a tear to the eye) Kev has signed up to the remaining reccies and the attempt itself.The boldness of this move is justified by his CV as an outdoor enthusiast extraordinaire. Whether he can onsight the BG round remains to be seen but his strength, stamina and unbridled Aussie enthusiasm is a strong acquisition to the team at a time when the spirits needed lifting after the departure of Herr Williams. Hell, he's even starting to learn a little about football.
His first outing was with the remaining crew of Caspar and myself. The plan was to do legs 1 and 2 in one go, for the first time without big packs and tents. Caspar's legs were still sore after the London Marathon so he agreed to drop us off in Keswick and meet us somewhere along Leg 2 having parked the car at the finish. Ahhh, the joy of logistics.
Needless to say it didn't go to plan. The weather was stunning once more, but so was Kev's cough and, although we managed to knock off Skiddaaw, Great Calva and Blencathra in the allotted 4 hours without too much bother, it was clear he wouldn't be able to continue.
A highlight, aside from the blood-speckled green lumps sailing out of Kev's lungs, was his exclamation after asking which way we went off Blencathra. For those who've been there, Hall's Fell doesn't look like a plausible descent route when stood by the trig point. "Giddy up!" was the reply from big Kev.
So as Caspar set off from his car at Dunmail Raise we hitch-hiked to a pub in Grasmere. Inspired by the fine weather Caspar was out for some time. I received a text saying he was tackling Striding Edge "to watch the sun go down" at gone 5pm. Not bad given he went via Fairfield and Glenridding.
The night was spent camping at Chapel Stile in lovely Langdale, home of the famous lamb shoulder at Wainwright's pub. Sunday saw Kev rest up while Caspar and I trotted over Pick O'Stickle and reccied the short cut to Rossett Pike via the narrow part of Stake Pass. The main note for next time is not to run through any puddles on the moor there. It took me some time to free my leg after plunging into a bog up to my waist. At night and on my own it would have been frightening. As it was, Caspar just laughed at me as I stuggled to escape its vacuumous clutches without losing my shoe.
Having missed the path up and across to Rosett Pike, we found it at the top and, so as to mark it for next time, followed it back to Stake Pass before descending to Kev, the pub and a wee climb on Scout Crag before the long haul back to the big smoke.
