Howgills Backpacking 14th March 2022

Ravenstonedale > Randygill Top > The Calf > Bram Rigg Top > Calders > Arant Haw > BEER Sedbergh > Cautley Spout > Ravenstonedale

This little trip served as a much needed head-straightener, a bit of a pre-TGO Challenge shakedown, and a rather essential fitness test.

I met up with Lucky the Dog and Mike in Ravenstonedale on a cold, breezy, but dry day. The plan was to wild camp for a few nights, breathe some clean, fresh air, and have a bit of an explore of the Howgills. The plan worked out well.

Heading south in the blustery cold, we didn’t walk too far before we decided to stop and pitch up for the night. Mike’s pitch was good, mine was rather less so. In fact it was downright lumpy and quite uncomfortable . There was some good news: we were pitched by a stream, and we both managed to get into our respective tents before the rain and came in. The wind was, well, very windy. Rocks were needed to supplement guy lines – I was beginning to wish I’d brought my Akto rather than the Scarp.

On day 2 we continued south-ish, it was dry but still quite breezy and cool. Being as wot the rain didn’t, we had great views over the green and rounded Howgill tops. Life doesn’t get much better than this.

 

After Arant Haw we began to look for a place to camp, Mike pointed out a nice looking spot down by Crosdale Beck. 

DOWN by Crosdale Beck. It was a long way down – and it was steep. Very steep. I hate steep descents, even with poles. Just ask Dawn.

The descent from Arant Haw was mostly achieved by taking to the backside – ie sliding down on our respective bums. This was great until bits of rock were met on our way down. Quick but uncomfortable.

Our chosen pitch was good – fairly flat and next to a stream.

Sedbergh, with it’s supply of gas, dog food, baked beans, pasties, beer, and food beckoned. The excellent Red Lion provided the latter, we probably spent longer than we should in the pub – but it was very comfortable, and once we got the pub fire going, nice and warm. It was raining anyway.

We eventually dragged ourselves out of the pub and made our wet and muddy way to our last pitch for this trip, close to Cautley Spout – a spectacular waterfall. There are signs of an Iron Age settlement - the falls may have had some special significance to these Iron Age people.

Again we found a nice, fairly flat pitch, next to a stream.  The sky cleared and the moon came out to play, it was a chilly night but I stayed warm and cosy.

Next morning it wasn’t raining, well not until we’d just about finished packing. The wind soon remembered that it’s duty was to be a bloody nuisance to campers, and accompanied by rain, meant that full waterproofs were needed.

 

More mud followed. Signs outside the temperance Cross Keys invited us in for coffee – but when we got to the door it was firmly CLOSED.

Why on earth do pubs & cafes do that….’Open for Coffee Now’ should mean exactly that, not ‘Open for Coffee when we can be mithered to open the front door’. Oh well.

 

We soon hit the yellow road that took us home, well it took us to our cars, parked up on a nice bit of flatness, just south of Ravenstonedale.

Another coffee was suggested – Mike knew of a cafe just up the road, at Newbiggin-on-Lune. This would have been great, but that cafe wasn’t just closed, it just wasn’t there. Lost. Gone. Never to be seen again. Oh well. Again.

Thanks to Mike and LTD for a good few days out, I just need to get hill fit – now THAT’S going to be a challenge!

More photos here. 

 

Fireworks Avoidance 5th Nov 2021

It was that time of the year again, LTD needed to get away from the bonfire night flash-bangs, and seeing as Mike and I don’t need much of an excuse to get out, we headed off to the Howgills for a cheeky overnighter.

I found Mike, wrapped around a pint of Black Sheep, and LTD languishing in front of a rather nice fire in a Tebay pub (tsk). I had a pint and some lunch without chips…..Mike had already had his lunch without chips.

It was only a bit chilly and claggy as we set off south, passing a hidden benchmark, to a spot previously spotted by Mike. It wasn’t too far, but far enough to be away from human habitation and fireworks. And the pub.

The appointed spot, with an adjacent sheep fold, was convenient well supplied with water, and parts were even fairly flat, albeit stony.

LTD settled in to build himself a nest

Tents were up in no time, pegs had to go in almost horizontaly because of the stones just under the grass. There was a bit of a breeze, Mike’s Akto made use of a few rocks to keep a couple of pegs in pace. My Scarp ‘seemed’ a little more secure, although as the night wore on….

I tried out a different dinner: cous-cous with a sachet of tuna stirred in. It was good and tasty but needed a cup-a-soup + bread as a starter.

The evening was spent listening to the radio, drinking tea, reading, and periodically checking for the sky to clear…which it didn’t.

By the morning the wind had really got up. At 7am-ish one of my tent pegs popped out with a bang….so at least I was out of bed at a sensible time!

 Slightly wind-blown tents

After breakfast we hastily packed. The strong wind blew my foam mat out of my tent. I thought it was lost but Mike spotted it in the stream. and I was able to rescue it.

It was drizzling quite heavily by the time we got back to Tebay. I was thankful for the flask of hot water I’d left in the car, a quick coffee set me up for the drive home.

Thanks to LTD for allowing me along. Oh, and Mike too.

 

 

Gear Test: Sleeping mat pumps

An alternative to lung power was needed in order to keep the dreaded moisture from making a mess of the inside of my expensive sleeping mat, so….

Left to Right:  

FlextailGear, Thermarest Mini-Pump, Thermarest Poly Bag Pump

 

Thermarest Polythene Bag Pump

The was first option I explored. The pump consists of a short section of very flexible tubing that has a large open-ended polythene bag on one end, whilst t’other end is pushed over the inlet valve of the sleeping mat.

The idea is that the poly bag is opened up to it’s max, then with the open end of the bag scrunched closed, the air is squeezed out, thus inflating the sleeping mat.

It’s good, it works, it’s lightweight, and the batteries never go flat. I paid around £10 for mine 6-7 years ago, quite expensive for a bit of tubing and a poly bag – but it does work well. I store mine in an old sleeping bag liner stuff sack, total weight is 68gms.

6-8 squeezes are enough to fully inflate my full-size NeoAir, taking a couple of minutes.

The bad news is that I don’t think it’s available any more having been replaced by Thermarest’s Blockerlite Pump Sack – a similar idea, but rather than a poly bag, it uses a stuff sack. Price is around £34.

Thermarest NeoAir Mini-Pump

I bought this on the recommendation of my friend Beryl the Peril (aka Margaret) who was, and still is, delighted with her pump.

The gentle buzz emanating from her tent as she enjoyed a brew and her sleeping mat inflated (whilst I was going cross-eyed trying to inflate mine with lung power) was enough to convince me to buy one!

This is an electric pump, powered by 2 AAA cells. Thermarest recommend using Lithium cells, presumably for longer life and maybe (?) their ability to provide higher current. I only had a quick look around but I couldn’t find the capacity of these cells. I store it in a small poly bag, total weight is 80gms.

I power mine with 2 Energizer alkaline cells, they seem to work well enough. The pump draws around 300mA, so batteries will be taking a bit of a hammering.

The pump is operated by opening an end flap that conceals a flexible rubber nozzle which should be connected to the sleeping mat air valve. The pump starts to run when the flap is opened.

Mine developed a fault earlier this year, it was only minor but it stopped it working. I repaired it at home (it was just a corroded battery connector) but it wouldn’t be repairable in the field. I stripped it, cleaned it, and soldered a copper connector in as a replacement.

I paid £32 for mine, a recent advert I spotted has them priced at £40.

It took 3 mins 40 secs to fully inflate my Neoair, not quick.

FlextailGear pump

I’ve only very recently bought this pump so haven’t had time to try it out in the field. Yet.

It’s larger, and at 159gms, twice the weight of the Thermarest Mini-Pump. It’s powered by an internal rechargeable Lithium Ion cell, presumably 3.6v. Capacity, according to the ‘manual’ and markings on the pump case, is 3600mAh. The electrical power rating of the pump is published at 15W. Charging is via a mini usb charger, not supplied – although a short lead is supplied. It comes with a stuff sack, plus a selection of adapters to suit different-sized valves.  The pump has an one / off slide switch on it’s side.

The pump has inlet and outlet ports, so as well as inflating it can be used to FULLY deflate a sleeping mat – saves struggling to get every last bit of air out prior to trying to squeeze it into it’s stuff bag.

Where this pump scores is the time it takes to inflate my NeoAir: 40 seconds – rather quicker than the Thermarest Mini-Pump.

Assuming the power source is a single 3.6v Lithium Ion cell, and that the 3600mAh capacity is correct, the claimed 15W power rating = a current draw of around 4.2 Amps.

I don’t know much about the characteristics of Lithium Ion cells, but the sums, guesstimation, (and a smattering of experience of discharge rates) suggest a theoretical total pumping time of around 40 minutes.

Price: £24.99

Conclusion

Each pump has it’s own merits. Although it’s a great performer, I’m not sure whether I’d take the FlextailGear on long trips – weight and the non-replaceable battery being the main drawbacks. I’d be happy taking it on shorter trips of 2 – 4 days though.

The Neoair Mini-Pump is slow and fairly lightweight - but batteries are replaceable. I’m not 100% sure on reliabilty though.

The NeoAir Poly Bag pump is lightest, the batteries last forever, and it has no moving parts – although it’s a bit of a faff to use. For longer trips this is the one to go for.

 

Christmas Eve Wild Camp, 24th Dec 2019

I managed to escape some of the madness that Christmas has become by a wild camp in the Peak District.

My usual camp spot, suggested to me some time ago by the very excellent Chrissie Dixie, proved to be impractical because of the high winds – so a lower and more sheltered spot was called for.

I wasn’t expecting the wind to be so, er, windy – in fact when I arrived in Edale there was just a gentle breeze, but as I climbed higher the wind got much stronger. After a quick squint at the map I dropped down and wandered up Grindsbrook Clough where I found a lovely flat spot, right next to a water source. Nice.

My tent was up and I was safely and cosily snuggled up in my Akto just as darkness fell. A cheating tea of bread & cheese and Heinz Tomato Cupasoup followed by mince pies & custard (well it WAS Christmas Eve!) sorted out my hunger pangs. 

The evening was spent reading (Laurie Lee’s ‘As I Walked Out One Midsummer Morning’) and listening to the Radio 4 type wireless. All was well.

Although it was a breezy, wet night I slept through it all, not waking until 7.30am. After a quick breakfast of porridge and numerous mugs of coffee, I packed up and headed back to Edale and my car. 

I was surprised how many walkers and even runners I met on my walk back to my car. One runner passed me, having run DOWN from Kinder….he must have started early, wherever he came from.

I was back at the car by 10am, and home by 10.45am. Then it was Christmas Day with my family – great fun!

A Musical weekend in Staffordshire

Last weekend:

https://youtu.be/fCh-tUHY6gI

https://youtu.be/hvgBXfAIUjg

A night with a Madwoman. And a gear test.

It was all a bit last minute. I needed to get out for some serious brain-straightening peace and quiet, plus I had some new(ish) kit to test out.

I packed my rucksack and travelled by train to Edale, alighting in the late afternoon. I scuttled up Grindsbrook Clough in the failing light and once at the top, headed east (East is good) along the edges to a nice little spot by Madwoman's Stones.

It was dark by the time I was putting the tent up, but the sky was clear and the moon was shining brightly - and it was damned cold. I grabbed a couple of litres of water from the trickling stream at Jaggers Clough and got my tea on the go

My Plan, given the lovely clear skies, was to spend a bit of time taking photographs by moonlight. The Plan, like so many plans, failed. By the time I'd eaten and sorted my kit out it had clouded over. And then it started to rain. And then it got very windy. VERY windy.

Ho hum.

I was checking some new kit out: a NeoAir X-Therm, a down-filled balaclave (for sleeping in) and down-filled socks.

The socks and balaclava all came from AliExpress for around £15 each.

Balaclava: 85gms, Down socks: 105gms

All this kit worked superbly well, I spent a very warm and cosy night in spite of the horribly cold conditions. I was so warm that I had to unzip my sleeping bag and remove the balaclava during the night.

 My wind-battered Akto

Leave no trace

 My water source at Jaggers Clough....a bit peaty!

Jaggers Clough

 Descent into Edale

Next morning I headed down by Ringing Roger, back into Edale for my train home.

Good bits:
a) All the kit I took out for testing worked well
b) I had a nice overnighter.

Bad bits:
a) I forgot to take a compass (tsk).
b) I've decided that my Caldera Cone meths stove really isn't up to winter camping trips.
c) I missed my intended train home 'cos of phone call...so I had to drink filter coffee in the cafe by the station....so it wasn't ALL bad!

A Sweltering Dales Backpack, 24th–26th June 2018

Messrs Rye & Walker had planned this little jaunt and foolishly invited me along….probably knowing I’d bring them beer. Which I did. Obv.

The Plan was to meet up at Hebden near Grassington on Sunday around 2pm. I’d had a particularly tough week and so decided to make my own way to the first camp spot of the trip on Conistone Moor, meeting up with Martin and Andrew at 10pm. My alternative plan was a good ‘un, it meant that my walk avoided the silly high temperatures of the day.

The Planned Route

A few shots from my evening walk from Hebden to Conistone Moor, Sunday’s overnight pitch  :

I eventually found Alan and Martin just after 10pm. I wasted no time in getting my tent up (I used my TN LaserComp….just to remind it that I still loved it) and distributing the cans of beer I’d lugged up.

Monday morning dawned very brightly and rather warmly. After a quick breakfast and a few mugs of reviving caffeine we were off, via Great Whernside, to Kettlewell for tea, coffee, bacon butties etc.

It was now getting very hot. I don’t know how Martin & Andy coped with long trousers, I was cookingly hot in my lightweight kilt and T shirt.

Wot?

Looking back to Kettlewell

After our refreshment stop we headed out, climbing out of the valley. This was tough going in the very strong sun.

We’d had a good day of walking, but the high temperature and very strong sun slowed us down. Water was very scarce. We eventually found an almost dried-out tarn. My Sawyer filter clogged in seconds. Andy’s MSR Guardian filter was a life saver, it filtered what was virtually mud, converting it to clear and potable water.

We needed to find a suitable pitch for the night, ideally with a water source – not easy. Eventually we pitched up at Horse Head Gate, actually on the wide path. There was a trickle of a stream nearby so we were sorted for the night. 

Decision time.

The Plan for the next day was to head over to Pen-y-ghent, this was clearly going to be a problem. Limestone country isn’t known for a surplus of surface water – and water was going to be a vital requirement if we were to continue with our route.

Home for the night on Monday:

Sunset

Sunrise

We chose to re-route and cut our trip short by a day. We’d camped on the Pennine Journey LDP, this offered us an easy way off the top and down to the River Wharfe at Yockenthwaite and then to pick up the Dales Way – much easier walking, plus far more chance of picking up water.

An ex-mole on the Pennine Journey LDP

Descending to Yockenthwaite

The dried-up River Wharfe at Yockenthwaite

At 7.45am it was so hot that we were actively searching out shade. Bits of woodland provided some relief from the blazing sun – but the flying insects were a damned nuisance. Smidge helped.

St Michael and All Angels Church at Hubberholme

At Buckden we sat outside the village shop, ate ice creams and glugged cold drinks.

The Dales Way follows the course of the River Wharfe so it was fairly flat (apart from some hilly bits) and easy walking.

At last, water in the River Wharfe

Conistone Pie

Limestone pavement

En-route to Kettlewell and more ice cream

Posing outside Kettlewell’s village shop: purveyors of el-cheapo electrolyte drink. And ice cream. (Poor quality pic due to a mucky lens on my phone)

Next stop: Grassington…and a pub. No beer though, we drank copious amounts of coke, water, shandy – anything that was refreshing, cooling and rehydrating.

Hebden, so near….

We arrived back at Hebden around 4.45pm, we needed more ice cream and cold drinks – the tea room was still open it was doing good business. We made full use of it’s facilities…all of them!

We parted company around 6pm, Andy and Martin headed off darn sarf whilst I enjoyed a very pleasant drive through the Dales and eventually back home to Manchester.

First job when I arrived home was to run a much needed cool bath and have a good long soak, that cooled me down nicely.

I’d considered going to the monthly music session at the Lord Eldon in Knutsford….but I was too knackered! A cold beer at home suffficed.

Thanks to andy & Martin for planning the trip, for cutting it sort and for inviting me along. It was good.

Full photograph album here.