With an unexpected cancellation of a days work which I took as an omen, I packed my rucksack on Friday evening and plotted a route into the hills...
I woke up early as usual, pita pattered around the kitchen enjoying a coffee and some oats and enjoyed the quiet. Despite the early start, I didn't get out of the house until mid morning. The hills in question were the Peak District, a few hours drive from my humble home.
As it is winter, I took the Kelty Redcloud 110 rucksack and although it looks big and heavy, it wasn't that heavy at all. I packed for the cold nights. Once I arrived at my carpark the weather didn't look promising, but I like it when it's closed in because it scares the fair weather folks off and it's quieter.....
I haven't been this route before and I knew that the gentle ascent would finish in a near vertical climb up onto the ridge. I wasn't wrong, but the views when I stepped through the clouds were worth it.
The walk had started off chilly, but by the time I got up to the ridge I was a touch sweaty, so I stopped to strip off a layer and rehydrate. I had a small handful of jelly beans, a trek bar and I drank about 250ml of a Electrolyte drink. With the short rest over, I cracked on.
After an hour or so more walking in bright sun and a stiff breeze, I stopped for a brew. Picking a spot next to a waterfall, I refilled my water bottles and got the stove out for a 3in1 coffee and a bit of jerky.
My planned campsite was just over a km from my brew stop, but the descent to it would be steep. It was 2hrs until sunset so once I got my eyes on the area, I made that descent as safely as I could....
(If you know where it is, don't disclose it here. Let someone find it themselves and not attract the hordes....)
I got the tent up and got settled. I faced west for the sunset and I wasn't disappointed.....
Dinner was a freeze dried meal and a coffee. I enjoyed the total silence. I had a go at a time lapse and caught the full sunset, a first for me! The evening was spent watching the night sky and reading a book, before dozing off about 9pm. Snuggled in my down bag I slept the sleep of the gods.
A 6am walk out was a nice test of my navigation. The moon was full and I surprised to find a deep hoare frost back up on the ridge. The temp difference from my campsite was a drop of 5 degrees! The walk out was done in darkness. I had to step off the path for the most of the way back due to it being badly eroded by the thousands of walkers over the year turning the peat to bog in a lot of places. I walked on a compass bearing cross country, towards the rising sun.
The steep descent back towards the van was done with caution, I didn't want to twist an ankle at this late stage. The last wild camp of the year done, I'm already looking forward to the New Year camp. Time to plan......
Not too shabby. Merry Christmas folks!
Sent from my SM-G970F using Tapatalk
I woke up early as usual, pita pattered around the kitchen enjoying a coffee and some oats and enjoyed the quiet. Despite the early start, I didn't get out of the house until mid morning. The hills in question were the Peak District, a few hours drive from my humble home.
As it is winter, I took the Kelty Redcloud 110 rucksack and although it looks big and heavy, it wasn't that heavy at all. I packed for the cold nights. Once I arrived at my carpark the weather didn't look promising, but I like it when it's closed in because it scares the fair weather folks off and it's quieter.....
I haven't been this route before and I knew that the gentle ascent would finish in a near vertical climb up onto the ridge. I wasn't wrong, but the views when I stepped through the clouds were worth it.
The walk had started off chilly, but by the time I got up to the ridge I was a touch sweaty, so I stopped to strip off a layer and rehydrate. I had a small handful of jelly beans, a trek bar and I drank about 250ml of a Electrolyte drink. With the short rest over, I cracked on.
After an hour or so more walking in bright sun and a stiff breeze, I stopped for a brew. Picking a spot next to a waterfall, I refilled my water bottles and got the stove out for a 3in1 coffee and a bit of jerky.
My planned campsite was just over a km from my brew stop, but the descent to it would be steep. It was 2hrs until sunset so once I got my eyes on the area, I made that descent as safely as I could....
(If you know where it is, don't disclose it here. Let someone find it themselves and not attract the hordes....)
I got the tent up and got settled. I faced west for the sunset and I wasn't disappointed.....
Dinner was a freeze dried meal and a coffee. I enjoyed the total silence. I had a go at a time lapse and caught the full sunset, a first for me! The evening was spent watching the night sky and reading a book, before dozing off about 9pm. Snuggled in my down bag I slept the sleep of the gods.
A 6am walk out was a nice test of my navigation. The moon was full and I surprised to find a deep hoare frost back up on the ridge. The temp difference from my campsite was a drop of 5 degrees! The walk out was done in darkness. I had to step off the path for the most of the way back due to it being badly eroded by the thousands of walkers over the year turning the peat to bog in a lot of places. I walked on a compass bearing cross country, towards the rising sun.
The steep descent back towards the van was done with caution, I didn't want to twist an ankle at this late stage. The last wild camp of the year done, I'm already looking forward to the New Year camp. Time to plan......
Not too shabby. Merry Christmas folks!
Sent from my SM-G970F using Tapatalk
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