lake District Primer part i

Our second full day of the journey began with meeting Rachel at Ennerdale Bridge to begin an epic 15-mile day into the heart of the Lake District, a national park born of multiple radiating glacial valleys- the lower parts of which are inhabited by bright green grass, sheep, stone and slate towns, fences, and lakes otherwise known as “waters” or “meres” and a few people, while the upper parts are sweeping bowls of bouldery, boggy, mostly treeless tundra. Oodles of trails crisscross the Lake District, enticing hikers from all over the globe. This day the guidebook suggested we had choice of taking the southern route around Ennerdale Water, which one should avoid if the rain is heavy and coming in sideways as one will be basically trekking through knee-deep waterfall runoff, or the north route, which one should avoid if the “weather is coming in and bearing down.” Hmmm, I was left wondering if there was a possible third option? Thankfully, the day was only a bit misty with some clustering fog-like clouds so we took the southern route, which was new to Rachel. Glad we did as it was a picturesque, mostly flat and rooty, rocky trail through moss and gnarly forests along the lake. After Ennerdale Water we walked several miles along a fire road toward the head of the valley, with stop at a small youth hostel, which was open to hikers for potty stops, brown bag lunch packed up for us at the inn in the morning and the use of kitchen for a quick DIY cup of tea. A second and much more picturesque hostel called Black Sail met us at the head of the valley. A wonderful stone and slate single-story structure tucked right up into the heights, surrounded by rolling hills of green grass and hugged by the high peaks on 3 sides. The sun poked out for brief visit as we sat on grass and rocks and enjoyed watching the local “wild” lambs frolic around their mammas.