Hike Notes
Tried to find an outdoor store in Keswick open early enough to get a better pair of boots before meeting the group. Unfortunately, the earliest any of them open is 9am, 15 minutes before I had to get on the bus. So I had to use my damp, muddy shoes that aren't super effective against rocky terrain. "I'll just have to tough it out. How bad could it be?" (he thought to himself, stupidly)
Took paved streets down from the slate mine and I was feeling good. I seemed to have recovered pretty well since the day before, even though the incredible amounts of wind pushing my tent around kept me up half the night.
Trees make better doors than Windows! Also my iPhone auto-capitalizes 'Windows'. Strange...
THUMB
Even at the top of the day's ascent, I was feeling great. Thought the rest of the way down would be a piece of cake. Boy was I wrong.
We basically walked on a steam all the way down. So, not only were there more jagged rocks to walk on, but they were wet and muddy. I had a few slips but was able to either catch myself or use my walking poles to keep me up. Still pretty demoralizing and annoying. I ended up trailing the group by quite a bit just because I had to be extra careful I guess.
It seemed to go on forever and by the end of it I was feeling every edge of every rock on my soggy, muddy feet. I was miserable. It was great.
Once we met back up with the main road, I bolted to Grasmere while the others stopped to look around a bit. Every step was so painful but I just wanted to get to the end as fast as possible to get off my feet. I spent my time in Grasmere and on the van ride back to Keswick sitting and wincing in pain, terrified of what I'd find on my feet once I got back.
Foot Status: 0 useable feet out of 10
Consolation Sheep!
I Get By With A Little Help From My Friends
I guess it was pretty obvious by the end of the day that I was in a lot of pain (not like I was trying to hide it really). So much so that a married couple from Devon, Tim and Sue, offered to take me to the house they were renting to repair whatever damage I had done to my feet (surprisingly, no blisters again...) and possibly lend me Tim's spare boots. But, first things first, we had a cup of tea.
They offered to put me up for the night in their extra room instead of sending me back to my rugged campsite. I graciously accepted pretty much immediately. It was my last night at the campsite so Tim drove me over there, I packed my things up and we took down my tent (a heroic feet with the gusting wind coming off the lake).
On the way back we picked up some fish and chips for the three of us (don't worry mom and dad, I insisted on paying, and thanked them on your behalf). Sue already had peas waiting for us when we got back.
We had Cornish ice cream and tea after dinner while we watched a reality show about competing amateur orchestras (even reality TV is more classy here!). One of the orchestras was from Devon, so Tim and Sue were excited to see them get through the round.
Tim went to bed after that. I had some clothes in the wash so I had to stay up a little longer until they were done. Sue stayed up with me sewing and stuffing an arm/hand for a doll she was making.
All in all a very relaxing evening, which I desperately needed.
Hikers Exposed: Stubborn Sam
Ok. I know I said I wouldn't write about Sam anymore. But today ended up being so difficult for me that I'll stick with the familiar. Plus, something of note happened to her today. Plus, Plus, the others got wind of my little project and didn't seem very excited about it. Not sure if I'll be able to go into as much detail on anyone else.
Sam isn't the fastest walker. She's pretty middle of the road and very consistent about it. However, she can be somewhat stubborn in terms of path finding. There was a point at about midday where her and I came to a fork in the path and no one else was around. I told her my watch said to go right. She said the other way looked better. I told her that's not the right way. She said "No, but it's the ' Sam Way' " and laughed. Not sure what the joke was but I chuckled a bit too. Her laugh is a bit contagious like that. She took the left path. I took the right.
No one saw her for the rest of the day. We got to Grasmere and everyone was starting to get worried. The bus pulled up and we were waiting for about 10 minutes not sure what to do when Sam walks up from the opposite side of town the rest of us entered from, drying mud covering a lot of her clothes. She kind of hobbled onto the bus and sat down. It was clear she had been through quite a bit, but you'd never guess it from her demeanor. She was as chipper as ever, which I admit was a little annoying to miserable old me sitting there coddling my foot booboos. Bah Humbug!