I confess, I was worried about this stage (even though it was only 10 miles) because of the notorious zig-zag descent. Every publication talks about it. ChatGPT with whom I chatted, as one does, suggested, as a tactic, an early start time, 8:00 or 9:00 a.m. Imagining being stuck between boulders, hanging onto tree branches for stability and other horrors, I made sure to set out at 5:00 a.m. — so that no matter how slow I was, no one would be behind me trying to pass where you could not pass. It turned out that the infamous descent was the easiest part of the entire walk! Let's start there. First, it does not zig-zag exactly, it is called The Snake Trail or something like that, because it is shaped like a long, slithering serpent. The surface was small stones, so yeah, you want to go slow, but it was not treacherous or even particularly difficult.
Ascent and descent 1400 feet of each, or, to be precise, 1398 up and 1402 down. The ascent was was about the first third. It was one of those ascents that as you are climbing, you are thinking, "OMG, I hope the descent is not like this." (See above; it wasn't). It was boulder-y and well, rocky in every way a mountain trail can be rocky. Then there were these stream crossings THAT I HATE. And not only were there many many of them, the water was flowing very fast. Why that makes it worse, I don't know. How I managed all the crossings, I don't know either. Sometimes I went up or downstream looking for a narrower place to leap, sometimes I found one, sometimes I didn't. And the ground was boggy. Very very boggy, so you had to be careful of that.
When the route leveled off, it was worse!! Bogs and streams and more crossings, and sometimes a stream was actually the path—thank God it had not rained a ton lately—Let me just say that I don't know if I ever had to concentrate harder on a walk than I did today. You (I) had to watch every single step.
¡Esto no me gusta!
The scenery was, uhhh, rugged:
Back to those navigational horrors:
A change of topic for a minute and on to the weather. At first it was ferociously windy, so that was something to worry about because I thought that way up high, the wind would be unbearable, but eventually, the wind died down. It was grey, and misty, and looked like rain, only, baruch haShem, it did not rain. It was cool, a plus. Honestly, I hardly paid any attention to the scenery, I was looking at the ground the whole time, calculating where to step.
One scenery shot:
It was not a good day to take pictures, and I was not especially disposed, so there are very few. Near the end, I did meet some people who were going in the other direction,...first there were groups of teenagers, who scampered like billy goats, and playing music as they went. Then there were a couple of women who were having a snack; we had quite a chat. One of them told me that someone she knew fell while in a stream, hit her dead and died.
Not many trees. This one, like one several days ago, seemed to invite a critter to make a home:
¡Esto, sí me gusta!!
But honestly, the only one like that.
People, yonder, camping in this wilderness!
At the apex of the ascent a cairn and sheep.
¡Esto, sí me gusta!!
People, yonder, camping in this wilderness!
At the apex of the ascent a cairn and sheep.
One scenery shot:
It was not a good day to take pictures, and I was not especially disposed, so there are very few. Near the end, I did meet some people who were going in the other direction,...first there were groups of teenagers, who scampered like billy goats, and playing music as they went. Then there were a couple of women who were having a snack; we had quite a chat. One of them told me that someone she knew fell while in a stream, hit her dead and died.
It took seven hours to complete the stage, super slow, but having emerged unscathed, I would say that is an accomplishment. Arriving at the hotel at noon, I could not, of course check in, but I could get a ginger beer for $6.02! And then spend forever trying to connect to the wi-fi, which I knew ahead of time would be a problem.
All there is in Rosthwaite are a few hotels and some houses, but it is stop for The Coast to Coast as well as the Cumbria Way, and a good place to come if you have a car and like to hike and don't need a grocery store!
The Royal Oak is a lovely hotel! I thought they served lunch, but they don't. Waiting for dinner until 6:00 is tough when all you have had to eat are grapes and an apple, but the food is reputed to be excellent, otherwise I just would have eaten the second half of yesterday's cheese and pickle sandwich and called it a day!
Just to note, it is amazing how exhausting a major expenditure of mental energy can be. The physical aspect of the walk was hardly nothing, but the focus and concentration were consuming. It made me think about Alex Honnold, the guy who free soloed El Capitan and had spent years planning every foot and hand placement.
According to my watch, I have hardly done a thing all day, so no reason to feel as if I climbed mountains (only one).
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