Monday 15 April 2019

Yewbarrow, and just one more

We'd walked the Yewbarrow ridge before, staying at Bowderdale three years earlier, but I hoped that we could fit in Red Pike as well this year.

Difficulty: 7
Walkers: Tim, Caroline, Isabelle (16)
11:08, 0.0km 0h00 0m, Start (68)
13:19, 2.5km 2h10 614m, Yewbarrow (627, Wainwright, Hewitt)
13:46, 3.4km 2h37 647m, Yewbarrow North Top (Stirrup Crag) (616, Hewitt)
15:26, 6.6km 4h17 1116m, Red Pike (Wasdale) (826, Wainwright, Hewitt)
15:52, 7.7km 4h44 1199m, Scoat Fell (841, Wainwright, Hewitt)
16:07, 8.3km 4h58 1201m, Steeple (819, Wainwright)
16:40, 10.1km 5h31 1349m, Haycock (797, Wainwright, Hewitt)
18:35, 16.9km 7h26 1359m, End (68)

We parked at the car park just after the bridge on the left, right at the bottom of the Yewbarrow ridge path.

It's one of those paths, where you have no idea how it gets up the rocky part at the top, but you mainly focus on continuing to make progress up the steep section and ignore what the future has in store.

Nearing the top, for a view across Wastwater.

Looking down at Isabelle, and across to Middle Fell.

Evie at the top of Yewbarrow.

Poppy at the top of Yewbarrow North, a little like Cambridge North - it's there, and some people swear by it, but most people can pretty much ignore it's existence.

Heading down the steep section to Dore Head, the saddle point between Yewbarrow and Red Pike opposite.  Once we'd got everyone down this, we decided to split the party, with Jo taking the four smallest children back leaving myself, Caroline, Isabelle & Dave to make our way up to Red Pike to compete the planned walk.

We made it to Red Pike!  Surprisingly quickly given the lack of small children to encourage...

Caroline at Red Pike, the cliffs down the side are quite impressive from here.  At this point, given we were quite close to Scoat Fell, we decided to just do one more Wainwright.

Yes!  We managed to get to Scoat Fell without much difficulty.  This photos looks east towards Black Crag & Pillar.

Now at this point, I spotted the fairly accurately named Steeple, and we all decided that it didn't look too far away, so we really should to another Wainwright.

Panorama from Steeple, sweeping from Ennerdale at the left to the ridge with Pillar, Black Crag and Scoat Fell on the right.

From Steeple, looking back the way we'd come.  At this point we could make a circular walk of it, if we just headed a little more to the west.

Fortunately that path brought us 500m from Haycock, so we spent the extra 25min or so on a little diversion to our final Wainwright of the day.  Here looking towards Ennerdale.

So finally we headed down the path back towards Wastwater, turning directly into the very strong wind for the first section - my eyes were streaming so much I could barely see where to put my feet.

And finally we got to see Yewbarrow again, lit up in the late afternoon sunshine.



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