Originally Posted by
Splatcher
I too must put my head above the parapet & admit to planning a May/June attempt (along with another club member & maybe others). I'm up for weekend recces & car sharing from Cheshire, so I'll post our recce plans once we've got some. My first recce was Leg 1 on Saturday. I'm taking the routefinding more seriously for this as it's the bit I'm planning to run in the dark (clockwise, midnight start). I found the routefinding easy as far as Great Calva (i.e. it should be OK in the dark), & I reckon I can get down Hall's Fell. The ascent from the Caldew seems OK as well, as I reckon the right bearing will get you to the right place even without finding the path ESE from the cairn at 312292, & the ground on the steep bit isn't too bad without a path. But...what's the best way down Great Calva at the moment? I headed down a little path that diverged right from the fence near the S summit on about 120/130 degrees. It peters out, then if you keep the same bearing in good visibility you can pick up a continuation path through the heather. But I doubt I'd find it in the dark, and the heather is getting long enough to be slow going. Even on the path, the heather on the lower section now covers the path, so you can't see where your feet are going to land. It's a lot better than no path though. When I got to the valley track I headed straight on - horrible short section to the river. Looking back, it would probably have been better to head right along the track for a short distance to avoid the long heather - can anyone confirm that? And, is it currently easier to take one of the other options off Great Calva? What's the going like east down the fence? Or south initially before heading SE? Any guidance from 2010 runners would be appreciated.
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