Grasmere to Patterdale
8.4 Miles
5.5 Hours
Stopped under a tree while still in Grasmere to escape the steady rain. Had to take off left boot, liner sock, heavy hiking sock. Balanced on one leg while putting bandaids over the outside ankle bone which had been rubbed a bit raw and was bleeding. Get foot back into socks and boots and continue walking out of town to the start of today's route.
Turned up what I thought was the correct path, but memory is fickle. It was the wrong path. By the time the mistake was realized (came to a locked gate) the thought of going all the way back down and reclimbing was not an option. Stuck poles through the gate then climbed up and over. Slight drop down through tree plantation, across a tiny private bridge, scrambled up an embankment, and arrived on the right path. Knew it was the right path because it headed basically Up, and water was flowing down.
NO cooked breakfast today. Chose from the buffet the ham, as in Real American cold ham, croissant, pastry with almonds, 2 packages of cheese, and best - plain yogurt, Real muesli, fresh berry mixture of strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, pomegranate. YUM!
Ready for departure from the plus hotel (with a great breakfast included in the price).
Hard to see very far ahead or behind due to the fog. Came upon numerous piles of these large woven plastic bags filled with boulders for trail repair. They had to have been brought up by helicopter and lowered to the locations.
Thankful the route was generally familiar otherwise there could have been doubts as the higher the feet went there was less visibility. However, it was the ONLY path and as long as it went UP it had to be correct.
Grasmere was at about 250 feet and the highest point today was about 2,000 feet.
Today used Gary's technique for crossing streams. There were lots of small crossings, a number of larger with roaring water pouring down the mountain due to rain.
The technique for fly fishing is to firmly place feet/foot on rock. Once established then lift a foot and place firmly on next rock. Repeat sequence until opposite side is reached. Make good use of trekking poles by firmly positioning each for a steady support. Don't PANIC.
Finally reached the pass and started down, but there was disorientation due to not seeing exactly where I was, even though there was a general sense of what the landscape looked like. Suddenly the cloud/mist lifted and Grisedale Tarn (lake) was on my left. Sigh of relief.
Wind and rain picked up. The tarn was no longer as smooth. Whitecaps. Crossed the lower end where the outlet to Grisedale Beck was on large semi flat stones (using Gary's instructions).
Extreme wind, hard to struggle to keep balance. Trekking poles were needed a few times as brakes to keep from being blown sideways.
Jenny on the left, Jessie on the right.
Had. It seen a single walker all morning. They might have been ahead, or behind, but none were visible.
Suddenly after descending a short distance after leaving the tarn, a man way below was shouting what I thought was my name and waving his arms. Someone I have met? A few minutes later as I worked my way towards him I saw what looked like the man rolling up a tent. I thought why would he have set up camp in such a dismal windy location.
As I got closer it was seen that he was not rolling up a tent but pumping on a person stretched out on the ground. The man was giving CPR to a lady and wanted me to assist.
He didn't know who she was. He (man in blue) had taken over his efforts from another man who had come across her. First man was a Fell Runner and he took off running down the trail to call for help. I was asked to try and see if my phone could get a signal to call. No Signal.
The lady looked terrible. Cuts, gashes to her head, fingers bleeding. She was not moving. Her eyes were open and staring. I lifted her head to see if she would respond. No. Man in blue had tears in his eyes. He kept pressing on her heart. We looked at each other and agreed it didn't look good. I lifted her wrist and it just flopped.
She had to be dead. She must have missed her footing on the slippery rocks, looked up away from the trail rather than down at her feet, been blown off balance by one of those gusts, possible a heart attack. But she fell about 6 feet, not all that far, but the rocks were not kind.
At this point I was extremely chilled. Had sweated doing the climb up, my shirt was soaking wet, then the winds picked up, then suddenly stopping to attempt assistance, was worried about hypothermia, knew there was nothing I could do to help that poor woman, and I needed to get myself down to a lower elevation.
It was decided the man in blue would stay with her, and I would descend and try to phone for help. After about 15 minutes and man came running up the path. He was the Fell Runner. He had been able to get in touch with Mountain Rescue.
Began to see Mt Rescue men climbing up the route from way below. They all wore red jackets. All carried heavy packs (probably medical equipment. There were at least 3 with folding stretchers strapped on.
No walkers came down the trail.
Met two ladies with little Jack Russel terriers. Told them what had happened above us. One gave me a hug as she said I didn't look very good.
At Ruthwaite Lodge (tiny hut in the middle of nowhere - locked) met 4 mountain bikers eating their lunch. They had planned to bike higher but decided after learning the news to turn around. I stopped only long enough to put on a sweater to stop the shivering. Coldness? Shock?
Must have been 10 - 12 Rescue people working their way up. Soon a helicopter flew up the valley. No place to land on those rocks. It must have made 12 loops up and down the valley waiting for the rescue crew to climb up to that height.
Rather sobering to keep thinking about that poor women out for a Sunday hike and to suddenly have it all end.
Met two other ladies from Holland who wondered it it was a training exercise. No, it was the real thing, and the outcome was not good. One lady named Melanie gave me a hug as she too said I looked like I needed it.
Worked way down the valley. Soon came the Fell Runner who had run to make the emergency call. He was young, early 20's. seemed slightly shaken to have come across the woman first, tried to give CPR, then run to make the call. Said he had planned to run up the route higher and make a loop back to Patterdale, but felt too emotional to continue. He was going home. I thanked him for his part.
Arrived in Patterdale. Checked in to the White Lion (I mistakenly called it The Lion King). Have a view out my window of a mountain ridge, nice, but the bathroom is down the hall. 😲
Saint Patrick's in Patterdale.
Ancient First Edition of the King James Version of the Bible from 1611, is owned by the church.
The Size of the luggage other Coast to Coasters are having transported daily. Looks like they have enough clothing to last for months, rather than their 2 weeks for the walk.
Jean Pierre, from the Pyrenees. He is camping most of the route, and travels far lighter than most.
Went out and walked a couple miles to Glenridding to clear the brain after arrival, and a shower (couldn't figure out how to get hot water, so it was a very brief session of getting wet).
Downstairs here at the White Lion all the talk is of the poor woman. Not only other hikers who arrived after me, but the local volunteers of the Mountain Rescue teams.
Trust there will be enough of a wifi signal for a FaceTime chat with Gary tonight. And I plan to get a cooked meal after all these days of only sandwiches.
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