Ruth, Paul, and Nina

It was wonderful to meet up with Ruth and Paul again, friends who have met me annually for a day's walk, and this year Nina, who was also on the Tour de Mont Blanc, joined us. After an early dinner, we went to our separate B and B's for a good night's sleep before the next day's seventeen plus mile walk to Stonethwaite.

It was P O U R I N G the next morning, and little did we know that in such weather, one is supposed to take path that hugs the north side of Lake Ennerdale, not the more scenic south path—we are talking five miles of path here. It was very hard going.


Tried to upload image to illustrate the ten-foot (or more) wide rushing, DEEP streams we had to cross; waterfalls, really. Several. The worst one was the first. Paul tossed his pack across, and then made it across, himself. The others managed in like manner, I needed help. I could not have done it alone. Had I been alone, I would have turned back. Water gushed over the tops ove everypne's boots, which meant that it was squish squish squish walking for the rest of the day. It also meant that your boots, absolutely saturated, weighed a whole lot. Snow-Seal does not deal with situations such as this.

All day, it poured, it drizzled, it sleeted, it blew; The walking was was wet and rocky, and there was a lot of climbing. It was exhausting. Let's put it this way: the above mentioned Nina, who, the morning after spraining her ankle, hiked in the Alps, declared the day to have been a challenge. There is no hyperbole here.

Our reward was a fantastic dinner at the Langstrath in Stonthwaite. I was too wiped out to enjoy it to the fullest, even though being with these special friends is such a treat.

Very sad that I still cannot get pictures to load. Please come back at the end of August when all such technical difficulties will be solved, and you will be able to read the new and improved version. I think I will stop complaining about the pics thing until IT help comes!