Theres an old saying, might even be on the website somewhere, ‘theres no such thing as bad weather, just the wrong(bad) clothing.’ Todays walk put that little pearl of wisdom to the test. 9 of us in the car park at Maggies bridge putting on every conceivable piece of high tech all weather gear before setting off. To be honest things didn’t look all that bad and all being x boy scouts or girl guides, be prepared was the watch word of the day. Off we toddled through High Nook Farm and onto the fells. I abandoned the idea of going up the valley as I thought the recent heavy rain would make the head of the valley very boggy so it was straight up Black Crag.

The cloud was thick and low but spirits were wide and high(for the minute) as we gained height. The rain started to get a bit heavier but you can’t deter CADRs that easy. About half way up Gavel Fell the wind picked up the rain got heavier and our faces grew longer but on we went. As we got to the summit of Gavel Fell you couldn’t see much of anything, the wind was a bit extreme and the rain very wet. Blake Fell looked a long way off(bit of a lie that, as you couldn’t see it, but you get the drift). With ever deteriorating conditions we made our minds up to head back down, I think this was a unanimous decision and the wise one.

40 minutes later there were 9 drowned rats drinking tea and eating sandwiches in the car park. Ive been out on wetter days but just can’t remember when. Shame the day was spoilt but we did manage the summit of Gavel Fell and put all our gear to a stern test. I think everyone had something that failed. Good effort by everyone thanks for giving it a go, would have been easy never to have left the car park

Pete