Miles walked today: 10 miles-ish (Gary Garmin, my watch, Nancy’s Fitbit and her phone are all fighting for supremacy in recording the mileage. We split the difference today.)

Total trip miles: 52.3

Elevation gain today: 1,823 ft.

Trip total elevation gain: 7,313 ft.

Accommodation: Old Water View

It was perfect timing to have a rest day in Grasmere yesterday—it rained and was gloomy for much of the morning and early afternoon. Today the weather was cloudy but great for hiking. As I write this, I can hear the wind blowing outside and it is raining! The forecast is for a good day tomorrow, though.

Back to this morning—we left Grasmere without any trouble, although we really studied the map and Gary Garmin before making our turns. Maybe we are getting better in towns. I’ve taken the liberty of naming the Garmin; he’s an invaluable navigator for these wandering (wondering?) women.

Before we got back on the C2C route we are following, we climbed up through a wooded area with bluebells growing underneath. We then had to follow a main road a ways before really heading up hill. We almost missed a turn here but Gary showed us we were a few steps past the turn. Like I said, then we were really headed uphill.

The trail was busy today. Or as one gentleman told me, “Down closer to Patterdale, it was heaving.” There were a lot of people coming from Patterdale. We still haven’t met any other Americans, but one bunch of ladies I talked to said there was a couple from Mississippi ahead of us. Nancy and I decided it probably seems like there are more people on the trail because they are all passing us from behind! We don’t care though. Our motto is “Go at your own pace!” Besides, it gives more chances to talk to people. In Ennerdale Bridge, we met a young woman doing the C2C alone. We didn’t see her on the trail today but she was here at the B&B before us tonight and actually seemed pleased to see and talk to us.

The route today was a steep climb up a rocky, sometimes wet trail. It was amazing to look back and see where we had been. At one point, a low-flying military jet went whizzing down the valley. There were lots of stream crossings and waterfalls. The weather was comfortable on the way up but just before the top, it was time to put the windbreaker back on. We soon were headed down Grisedale Valley towards Patterdale. The trail was even rockier and wetter! The bonus, though, was that there were even more waterfalls and cascades to see. We followed Grisedale Beck (beck means stream) most of the way down to Patterdale. We passed through some farms with sheep on both sides of the trail (well, their farm road) and had views of a now tranquil stream lined with trees and green grass. I remember this area, as it is the spot where I began to fall in love with hiking in England.

Before we got to Patterdale we had the option of continuing on straight or following the guidebook and turning off to do a little more climbing and skirting around. We decided to follow the guidebook and were so glad we did. First, there were more hills covered with bluebells and then the view opened up to the lake. We would not have had that view if we had not turned off!

Tomorrow we really make this trip our own as we are not going over Kidsty Pike, the high point of the C2C. Our memories of that day in 2015 are sufficient for us. We are making it easier by taking the steamer ferry up the lake and then going just ten miles across farmland to Shap.