ON DROPPING CRAG

Sunday 27/09/09 Travelling by bus to Keswick yesterday took an exceptionally long time, my first connection at Stockton a mere three miles from home was late and my waiting time was nearly one hour, this knocked my Newcastle and Carlisle connections out of timely synchronisation and the best part of an hour was spent waiting there as well, still it costs me nothing which is great, but the background noise is humming that pensioners bus passes will be axed due to public expenditure shortfalls and the need to cut back on the psbr. Just my luck so I will make hay while the sun shines.

Today I travelled by the Pathfinder bus to Ambleside then on to Coniston to finish the walk I started on my last visit to this area but abandoned due to bad weather at the top of the Walna Scar Road. So that is where I headed, having completed the round of Dow Crag from Goats Water todays walk was from the summit of Walna Scar track to the nearby top of the fell then on to White Pike, the short hike east to White Maiden (a lovely summit and rarely visited) and then downhill to pick up the difficult to find top (coming from above that is, from below it would be quite easy), of High Pike Haw. All done in decent order but the location of the last top took quite a bit of time and I doubt if I would have got it right without the benefit of my new GPS toy, still got a lot to learn about how to use all it's features, but as it gives an accurate location for it's own position it earns it's keep for that alone. A short walk across the top of Torver High Common and back up to join the Walna Scar track and a 600' ascent to the top of the pass about a mile away and at the darkening of the night I pitch my tent on the very summit on a great bit of turf. Today has been dry and cloudy, not at all bad for hill -walking. Pitched and settled in then tomorrow the plan is the Dunnerdale Fells, and more Birkett competions. The picture is of the pass over Dropping Crag leading down to the lower valley and High Pike Haw.