The day had arrived! Forecast was a mix of showers and sun with a bitter -1 at the summit. After a short introduction to meet our fellow walkers, chat quickly turned to the weather and reassuringly everyone was well equipped with waterproofs, woollies, first aid kits, torches plus we had enough food to stay up there for at least a week, ha! A guide (me) and a first aider were appointed, a quick photo shoot then we were off.
We’re all leisurely dog walkers not seasoned mountaineers so the route chosen was the gentler of a few options and definitely no scrambling. Perfect for us and the dogs.
Plenty of chatter and good spirits made for a relaxed atmosphere. But then, we all knew once we took our first turn it was ‘the turn’ before the real ascent begin.
12:15pm and our first snack stop. We had been walking for 2 hours and only quarter of the way. At least the slower pace meant I was feeling good for now.
Lunch was at 1pm and met with a huge sigh of relief by… well everyone. Three Buzzards were flying above they must have seen us withering away, ha! Sandwiches for us while the dogs were treated to mini pork pies.
The group split on this busier section with many other walkers coming towards us. We noticed their woolly hats and gloves. When we asked what we had coming to us, windy and cold was the consensus but and I quote ”the track is much gentler, and you’ll be at the top in an hour” one person cheerily confirmed. Little did they know by this time we had already been out for 4 hours, and we still hadn’t reached half-way.
By now some were feeling the effort and angst to ‘get there’ but everyone was in agreement to keep picking our way up. It was about 20 minutes later I finally got to shout ‘we’re half way’, phew!
Jacqui x
40 and Fighting 