Fletcher House, Kirkby Stephen to King's Arms Hotel, Shap
Officially 20 miles, Lois walked the last 7 only. 4 hours over bogs, mud and very uneven trails.
Took taxi to Orton to cut off those beginning miles where originally the knee was injured climbing up and over the multitude of stiles.
"Do not follow where the path may lead. Go instead where there is no path and leave a trail." Ralph Waldo Emerson
There was a path, sort of, and it was good that I had a general sense of the direction where the path was supposed to be. Between the mud, overflowing streams, heavy rain with low cloud cover, it was often difficult to know where the actual path was, and it was left up to me to make a new trail.
So nice to finally be able to FaceTime last night with Gary and Olivia. Special!
Yesterday in Shap had a great lunch. It was the Best tuna sandwich yet. Served on a crunchy baguette with salad and chips. No evening meal was needed as lunch was filling. And at Fletcher House rather than the hosts serving tea and cake and guests have to sit around, formally (often in damp and muddy clothes), there the cake and cookies were left on a table in a large Tupperware type container. And there was a machine that produced all sorts of coffees, and hot chocolate. Kind of like a hotel lobby (in America).
People could help themselves when they felt like it. This trekker chose to take a slice of lemon cake with icing, after the shower, and walked/limped about Kirkby Stephen while chewing the sweetness.
On the road in to Kirkby Stephen my route went through Suburbia. A very modern community of identical individual homes, complete with real yards and fences. One larger home was set apart up on a slight hill and the green grass was a massive display to every other property seen. That grass actually would have been mowed, and not just chewed down by sheep. Very green, kind of like Kentucky Blue.
Two couples at breakfast this morning. As I arrived first I chose the best table. It was set into the bumped out bay window area with a good view of the front flowers and the High Street beyond their gate.
One couple was British and the other Australian (Melbourne). Lots of chatting back and forth across the room. After the Australians finish the C2C they travel to France where they will walk two weeks on the El Camino way.
As museli and fresh fruit was being chewed I looked out the windows and saw a man who was coming in the gate. He saw me and Waved. I smiled and waved back. He rang the bell. It was the driver to collect luggage for the others who were possibly smarter and chose to not carry all their possessions on their backs (me). The man in the entry came straight into the dinning room with a huge smile on his face. It was Joe, my Packhorse driver who delivered this limping hiker from Richmond to Ingleby Cross a couple weeks ago. Right away he asked how my journey was going, and How Was the Knee?
Off in another country, and people recognize me from long ago. Kind of feel special.
At one point while trudging, at a confusing place where there were numerous potential options for going astray, and where a sign post had fallen down, someone had stretched out a pair of white mens briefs with C2C and an arrow pointing to the right, painted on. Certainly an eye catcher out there where everything else was bright green, black muck, dirty sheep, and heavy cloud cover.
Cold tomato and onion cheese quiche eaten huddled behind The Huge boulder deposited by the glacier. Shivering a lot so quickly moved on.
One Way traffic count for today. At least 39 trekkers aimed for Robin Hoods Bay. One large group all together were 12 Australians. There were other Australians but separate. One couple from Virginia. One solo man from Seattle.
Most Australians were wearing those wide brimmed hats. Most of the women were hiking in shorts or skorts. All in short pants had bright red legs from the cold, rain and wind.
Went off trail to find again the prehistoric double stone circle near Oddendale. It was about as remembered, interesting, but not magnificent, tiny, compared to Stonehenge.
On arrival at Shap had leek and potatoe soup at a cafe. This person was the only one leaving a dripping muddy mess in the chair and area about the chair (trekking poles, huge backpack, froggie, and Sealskinz gloves). The bottoms of the rain paints were not only covered with mud, but lots of plant life picked up along the way.
After soup went to the tiny grocery to get a few items. On leaving saw 2 hikers standing near a building. It was the same guys first seen by the Wainstones, a couple hours later at Lord Stones Cafe, and again later that day as they were ahead of me crossing that pasture where shortly after I got so totally confused in the trees and went completely wrong. They are planning on camping tonight by Haweswater (good luck in the rain). One of the guys, with his chin pierced, has injured his knee so he is limping along wounded. Knees seem to be the big injury, aside from falling and dying.
My room here in the King's Arms Hotel has 3 twin beds. I chose the bed "center stage". Best to see TV, and closest to electrical outlet.
Rained All Day. SOAKED.
BOOTS soaked inside due to immersion in bogs, streams, sheep droppings. Boots now with bath towels shoved inside to try to absorb moisture. It would help if they would turn the heat on.
Socks soaked and muddy. Washed and hanging to dry, but wool does not dry quickly.
Lois soaked!!!!
Laundry draped about room buy doubt it will dry. That means a. It extra weight to carry tomorrow.
Ending the day watching BBC 4 and a program about The Ancient Ridge Way, located near where I have been walking. Part of the old Roman road. Interesting. Am also jealous of the man who is describing everything and his carefree way of just walking normally about the fells. Someday soon I hope to walk normally again. K-nee Mend!
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