14 April 2013: 30km. Started 09:00. Arrived 17:45.
The late breakfast at Edale Youth Hostel appeared to be universally unpopular – although as the sample was everybody who arrived at “opening time” I guess there was some bias. However I eventually got away at 09:00 and was at the Old Nag’s Head in Edale by 09:30. This is the official start of the Pennine Way, completion of which was one of the subsidiary aims of my expedition. The Pennine Way has the reputation for being the toughest of the UK National Trails.
As I left Edale, I wondered what all the fuss was about – it was uphill but a good path on flag stones and the weather was dry. The path became more steep up Jacob’s Ladder but was distinct and easy to follow. Passing Kinder Low, it was breezy and the path was less obvious. There was a hint of rain in the air so I donned my waterproof jacket, but thought there was no need for waterproof trousers.
I could see the spray of Kinder Downfall (a waterfall) ahead of me and planned to put the waterproof trousers on to get through the spray. A walker heading towards me was soaked. By then it was so windy that I would never have managed to stop to put the trousers on, so I would just have to get wet. Before I really knew what was happening, I was in a very wet and windy place, barely able to stand upright and struggling to make any forward progress. I didn’t even see the waterfall as I was far from the edge and just fighting to get through. Worse was to come. I saw a man with walking poles blown over by the wind. Slowly I pushed through, concentrating on staying upright. Amazingly there were runners in a race coming towards me – about 200 of them I should think – they must be tough in the north! I was walking along a distinct path which was fairly level, but I could barely make progress. My rucksack cover blew off and acted like a sail attached by one tape and pulling me backwards. Fortunately it was the repaired cover attached to the rucksack so I didn’t lose it. If I had tried out my new cover with no attachment to the rucksack it would certainly have blown away. I was almost crawling along, struggling to force a way though the wind without getting knocked over. Occasionally I just gripped on to a rock or the ground to have a momentary rest. This went on for about 2km which took over an hour to walk, crawl and creep along. I wondered how I would ever finish. The easy initial bit had certainly lulled me into a false sense of security.
Eventually the “wind tunnel” came to an end. I was very pleased to find that, after an initial tricky downhill stretch, I was able to make rapid progress on paved slabs to Snake Pass.
I crossed the road and initially there was an easily followed path. It became less distinct – I missed a small turning and was forcing my way across a pathless area of bog and undergrowth. This slowed me down again around Bleaklow Head. However I regained a good path above Torside Clough and down to the Torside Reservoir. The way from the reservoir was a straightforward end to a difficult day, crossing the dam and walking alongside the reservoir to the youth hostel at Crowden.
There were only three people staying at the hostel at the time I arrived – the warden cooked dinner to order. I had a dormitory to myself which was perfect as it meant I could spread out and not worry about my things being in the way of anyone else.
Later in the evening a man arrived – he had walked all the way from Castleton that day, carrying full backpacking equipment including a tent. To be fair, he did think that as he was later than me past Kinder Downfall then the wind had dropped a little. It took me until day 35 and a few more meetings to find out that his name was Tom. He was clearly extremely experienced and very fit, particularly as he was several years older than me. In retrospect, I wonder if I was carrying almost as much weight in my rucksack as he had with full camping gear. For example, he was wandering round the hostel with only socks on his feet, whereas I was carrying trainers to wear in the evening (I have learned and I don’t usually carry separate footwear for the evening nowadays). He had set out from Lands End on 13th March, and my date at Lands End had been 16th March so our daily distances were probably fairly similar. From what I remember, he had taken a route further west using part of Offa’s Dyke. It was not his first Pennine Way traverse but he was on his way to his first End to End.
Where's Kathryn? 