Todays permitted exercise!

[Mike T]

11.01 miles, 4,099 feet, 3 hours 54 minutes: Travellers Rest - Winterseeds - Tongue Ghyll - Grisedale Hause - up the zig zag steps - Helvellyn - down the grass next to the steps - Seat Sandal - Winterseeds - Travellers Rest.
Mainly overcast, with both high clouds and banks of cloud in places above about 2,000 feet. Some spells of sunshine. A moderate wind from the north, often stronger in the valleys than on the tops. No rain. Terrain anything from dry to wet/saturated, so grip was variable. Not many walkers about, despite which the car parks and town were very busy. 7 other runners seen near the top of Helvellyn.

The buzzard just above Winterseeds is back - I was buzzed as I was descending.

[Mike T]

9.32 miles, 3,015 feet, 3 hours 16 minutes: Travellers Rest - Helm Crag - Bracken Hause - Green Burn Bottom - up the valley to Calf Crag - Steel Fell - Travellers Rest. Overcast, with the cloud base above the high tops. A few spells of sunshine. No rain, but a couple of brief light showers of graupel. A strong cold wind from the north. Terrain mainly dry with good grip. I saw a dozen walkers on the fells, and one other runner.

[Mike T]

12.24 miles, 3,206 feet, 4 hours 2 minutes: Elterwater Common to High Raise and back, taking in Blea Rigg both ways, and Swinescar Pike, Lang How and Silver How on the return. Sunshine and high fluffy clouds, no precipitation, a moderately strong cold breeze from the north. Terrain mainly dry with good grip. There were some small collections of graupel in protected hollows above 2,000 feet. Very few walkers about, though there was one large group of about fifteen. Two other runners seen.

The AAC Tuesday/Friday group also went to High Raise, though they ran from NDG. I did not see them.

[Mike T]

9.03 miles, 3,272 feet, 3 hours 58 minutes: ODG - Langdale race route in reverse to Pike 0'Blisco - Crinkle Crags - Three Tarns - Buscoe Sike - ODG. Overcast, with the cloud base above the high tops. No significant wind, no rain; terrain mainly dry with good grip. Not many walkers on the fells; one other runner seen.

Today was one of those days when I changed my plans at the very last minute. As I was leaving the ODG car park I decided I would learn very little by doing this route the usual way - anti-clockwise - so I went clockwise instead. Descending from Blisco to Red Tarn is no fun on the steps - I need to sort out some grassy lines the next time I go up that way. And I took a slightly different route behind the Crinkles - I need to explore it the other way to see if it is useful. Buscoe Sike is really good in its middle third - lovely grass - but the top section is too steep and rocky, and the bottom section next to Hell Ghyll has some very steep steps and some narrow slippery sections of path with a long drop. I will go down The Band next time.

[Travs]

The Band is pretty quick down most of the way.

Although every time i go on it i'm haunted by my LDMT of a few years ago when i dropped out midway and had to haul myself from Lingcove Bridge, all the way up to Three Tarns, then down The Band.... a long enough jaunt at any time, never mind after 5 fruitless hours on the LDMT.

[Mike T]

The Band is pretty quick down most of the way.

Although every time i go on it i'm haunted by my LDMT of a few years ago when i dropped out midway and had to haul myself from Lingcove Bridge, all the way up to Three Tarns, then down The Band.... a long enough jaunt at any time, never mind after 5 fruitless hours on the LDMT.

The Esk valley as whole seems to go on forever, and ascending from it to the Crinkle Ridge is no fun - for example in the Great Lakes Race.

As to the Band in descent, there are far worse sets of steps.

[Mike T]

9.46 miles, 3,532 feet, 3 hours 48 minutes: ODG - The Band - Three Tarns - Crinkle Crags - Red Tarn - 3 Shires ascent to Pike o'Blisco - ODG. Overcast, with the cloud base above the high tops; misty in the distance. No rain; a moderate breeze from the north. Terrain dry with good grip. I saw perhaps 5 walkers on the fells, and no other runners.

I tried the new section of path behind the Crinkles that I discovered yesterday - it felt good - I will now use it all the time. I lost the main path towards the top of Blisco - yet another route I need to clarify. And a minor deviation on the descent from Blisco was good - so many possible variations.

[Mike T]

10.2 miles, 2,736 feet, 3 hours 7 minutes: Wansfell Pike from 2 sides, including the loop along the ridge to the true top. Overcast, with the cloud base at about 2,000 feet; misty in the distance. No rain; no significant wind. Terrain damp/wet and slippery in places. Not many walkers about, though there was a group of about fifteen on the top of the Pike the first time I was there. One fellow runner seen.

I saw one deer, and heard my first cuckoo for the year.

[Mike T]

10.01 miles, 3,070 feet, 3 hours 10 minutes: Loughrigg trails from/to Rothay Bridge, including Fishgarths Wood, Todd and Ivy Crags, Lily Tarn, and down the race route to the road at High Close, and up the steps opposite Loughrigg Tarn. Overcast, with the cloud base at about 1,500 feet; very misty in the distance. No rain nor wind; terrain mainly dry with good grip. Not many walkers on the fell; three other runners seen.

Two cuckoos heard today, as well as a very loud woodpecker.

There were some campers on Todd Crag. I do so hope they do not leave a mess. The last lot left a sizeable burn mark in the grass - still there - and a large bag of I don't know what dumped in the bracken.

[Mike T]

10.01 miles, 2,813 feet, 2 hours 58 minutes: Wansfell Pike from 2 sides, including the loop along the ridge to the true top, down to Nanny Lane and back up to the Pike. Overcast - I was in cloud above 600 feet. Constant drizzle/light rain. A moderate wind from the south west. Terrain saturated and slippery. Not many walkers about; I saw 2 runners in the valley and 2 on the ridge.