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  • Lake District 2022

A wild camping trip curtailed early by my lack of fitness and the weather closing in. The plan was to do a loop from Pooley Bridge, via the Kirkstone Pass, over the Helvelyn range to Blencathra. This was a very hard walk. I made around 15 miles on the first day, ending with a teetering descent down the rock ridge leading to Blea Water under High Street. The next day a mistake lead me high on the cliffs above Small Water, having stupidly missed the main path. An impassable ravine made me reverse the very exposed path back to the beginning. Continued over Thornthwaite Crag to descend a scree run down towards Caudale Moor. I took a tumble here but was not hurt. Climbing up the other side on a rock scramble with my 14k pack was trying. Then the long walk to the Kirkstone Pass as the rain set in. Abandoned walk there and camped the night before walking to Ambleside the next day.

Photos marked with * are not mine.

Pooley bridge

Ulswater evening

Route start

Pilgrims Way?

Blencathra

1st top. Loadpot Hill

Helvelyn Range

Long Stile Ridge.

Blea Water

Long Stile Ridge

Long Stile ridge

Blea Water camp and kitchen

Blea Water camp, sunrise

Small Water

Cliffs I wandered onto in error

Towards Caudale Moor, rain

Rocky route to Caudale Moor

Rain. Windermere in the distance

Bright rain shower

Kirkstone Pass and rain.

Kirkstone Pass

Inn sign

Kirkstone Pass rain

Windermere. Langdale Pikes