Sunday 31 October 2010

Coast to Coast Sept 2010 Day 4

Looking back into Grasmere
Day 4 Grasmere to Patterdale 8.5miles 1635’ ascent


Weather gloriously sunny



Later start because there’s no need to rush another lovely day. Off at 9am. Lovely climb up Tongue Gill to Grisedale Pass and Grisedale Tarn. Two alternatives here. The main path takes you past Ruthwaite Lodge shelter and follows Grisedale Beck into Patterdale. Or you could climb Helvellyn, which means descending the precipitous Striding Edge, or you could climb St Sunday Crag, two ridge walk alternatives into Patterdale. We took the view that we’d earned our stripes on the second day, and that both these ridge walks would be lovely day walks in their own right. But in view of the fact that we still had 9 more days walking to complete, and that tomorrow’s walk took us over Kidsty Pike and was 16miles, we decided to play safe and take it easy today, and stuck to the route following Grisedale Beck. We were collected in Patterdale by Ian, who had found a site some distance away at Matterdale. It’s a bit remote here and few sites.With lovely views over Ullswater, with the Steamboat sailing across the water, we drove to our site at Troutbect in Matterdale, between Penrith and Keswick. New boots felt brilliant but feet really sore. Sore knees too- slept with frozen peas on them during the night!

Heavy pack tomorrow, as we overnight at a pub in Shap. After two short easier days, two longer days in prospect- 16 and 20miles and what would have been the highest point of the route, Kidsty Pike, had we not done the higher alternative on Day2.

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