7.14 miles, 2,188 feet, 1 hour 52 minutes, along the Wansfell ridge and back. That cold wind has lessened. A few spots of rain - I could see it falling rather more over the Coniston fells. Nobody on the fells, very few on the roads. Tomorrow could be interesting.
Today's PDE was a 15 mile and 1'500 feet evening run up and down and in and out of Lathkill Dale. it took 2hrs 15 min which I was quite pleased with considering the number of stiles and gates to deal with. One gate, at One Ash Grange, had a sign, made from a vitamin lick container lid which said "Covid 19 Do Not Touch Gate" written on it. How they expected anyone to get through I don't know. I opened the gate and on I went.
A very enjoyable run apart from the clouds of small flies near the river. The highlight being the field before Ricklow Quarry which had dozens of orchids looking fantastic in the evening sunlight.
Visibility good except in Hill Fog
i've very rarely strayed onto local fields/footpaths etc, but on the odd times that i have (this morning for example) i've used the paranoia over gates/stiles to practice my steeplechase technique...
8.15 miles, 2,192 feet, 1 hour 56 minutes, Wansfell Ridge and a bit more. More people/cars than I have seen since the lockdown started, perhaps three times more, but this is still very quiet compared to what we normally see at this time of year. Two large P+D car parks that are normally full had 1 car between them.
A jog up round the hill yesterday, not far but from out the front door it pretty much goes up 850ft so I get some climbing every time. Nice ride today, better going and pushed the hills a bit, about 90 minutes in total.
Don't roll with a pig in poo. You get covered in poo and the pig likes it.
MikeT it's pretty obvious from your posts that you have been pretty active on the fells over the lockdown...Originally Posted by Mike T
I'd be genuinely interested on your thoughts of the various parties in Cumbria telling people to stay off the fells due to perceived pressures to Mountain Rescue etc?
I'm certainly not having a pop at you (far from it... if i lived in Ambleside i'd be up on the fells every day, possibly longer and further from Ambleside than you've been going, and i'll be on the Shropshire Hills tomorrow morning)
I just wonder whether it's a feeling that it doesn't apply to locals... i know several lakes locals who have personally told me they've regularly been up on the fells (and fair play to them).... yet they're then sharing articles on Social Media telling everybody else to keep away and keep off the fells...
Last edited by Travs; 13-05-2020 at 05:24 PM.
Wansfell, Loughrigg, Silver How, Red Screes, Nab Scar - that is all I have done since the lockdown, on pretty easy terrain that I know well. Sure, I could be unlucky and need rescuing - but I think the bigger risks are DIY and cycling, or falling down the stairs after a few beers. I don't do any of those. As to others, some are going higher and longer, but again on terrain that mostly they know very well. Fairfield for example - people get lost on it all the time, even in good weather, but that is almost certainly not going to happen to a local - I must have done it 30 times, others even more. I think a non local is much more likely to need outside help than a local, even on relatively gentle terrain.
Why don't we want visitors? Having to cross the road is a minor irritant, but some people are resistant to keeping 2 metres apart on narrow paths/trails which is really annoying. But the worst thing would be crowded shops - 2 metre distancing can be really difficult even now, and the risk of infection is much higher inside than out, and we do have a large number of frail and vulnerable friends/neighbours, as well as a high local infection rate.
As to potentially needing Mountain Rescue/Ambulance/A+E - as I have said I think non locals are at much higher risk of needing help, and now that day trips are permitted I think we will see these services being used much more often than they have been. My concern about shopping pales into insignificance compared to eight Mountain Rescuers having to carry somebody off the fells, and then self isolate until hopefully negative test results come back - or not.
But it is all about balancing risk - I know we are open to criticism for asking others not to do what we do daily - it will be interesting to see how busy Mountain Rescue get, and who it is they need to help - MR have been very quiet indeed since lockdown started.
I know one poor chap - not in Cumbria - who fell down his stairs at home and dislocated his shoulder, and then a couple of weeks later mis-fuelled his car at a cost of £750. So you don't need to go anywhere near a hill to need outside help.
Last edited by Mike T; 13-05-2020 at 08:53 PM.
All completely fair points.
A non-local fell runner may say "well I've ran the Fairfield Horseshoe, Wasdale in awful conditions, got round the LDMT in zero visibility, done BG legs in the dark in winter.... I'm no more (or less) of a risk than any local".
Of course you can't ask every visitor to submit their running/walking cv before leaving their car, which I suppose is the main problem.
I thought long and hard about this yesterday... Would I travel to the Lakes to run...? I'd deem myself less likely than the average visitor to find myself in trouble. I'd probably consider the chances of needing Mountain Rescue to be minimal (I'd have to keel over. Or sustain an injury severe enough to immobilise me to an extent that I couldnt get down to safety). I'm sure most regulars to the Fells would think similarly.
However, living in the Midlands, I'd have to pass by several alternative hill destinations with less pressure on them... Shropshire Hills, Lancashire Hills, Howgills, etc. So no I wouldn't travel to the Lakes in the current climate.
However if I lived anywhere from Preston northwards, I'd have to be brutally honest here and say that I'd be highly likely to be finding a quiet part of Cumbria/Lakes to go running. As you say, there is risk in every part of life, and I'd probably weigh up that risk and decide to hit the Fells (as you have done). Of course should anything happen I'd rightly have to take all criticism on the chin.
Personally, as stated somewhere on this forum, I'd ask the mountain rescue teams to stand down. This would force the national parks to either close the Fells as per Wales, or at least people would be fully aware that if they go up the fells there is no specialist help for them.
Last edited by Travs; 13-05-2020 at 09:33 PM.
I've mostly been running on the low fells around Shap and Haweswater which I can do from home without driving. I've been taking extra kit and poles (which would be useful with a lower leg injury or as a splint) and my wife is under strict instructions that in no circumstances is she to call out MR.
I suppose that's akin to a Do Not Resuscitate instruction.
"...as dry as the Atacama desert".
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote