July 1, 2003
We covered a lot of territory, but it wasn't done all on foot.
Laurie and Richard decided to use the Sherpa Van to have their packs taken to the next town. In the morning I was questioning whether I should do it or not. The hike was to be 16 miles, the weather was suppose to be bad and there was a good chance for us getting lost. I decided to carry it. We started out and it wasn't raining, but the sky was gray. We started about 7:30. We probably should have left earlier. We got on the right trail up to one summit. There were several paths to take from there. The books told us to be careful because it is easy to take the wrong one, especially in bad weather. The fog had moved in and we really couldn't see landmarks in the distance. We made a decision and followed a path. It was awhile before we realized it was the wrong one. I was hoping that we could find a way from the trail once we found out where we were. We got down to a road and knocked on one house but nobody was home. We continued down the road and found a young fellow working on a truck. We were a long way from where we were suppose to be. Laurie read that there was another trail that could be used in bad weather, but it added 3 more miles. I think that was the one we were on. We took the road into Howton and went to the Howton Hotel. I saw a couple in the parking lot with backpacks and maps. I thought they might be able to help us. They had done the coast to coast a few years ago. They let me look at the map, but since I didn't have one, I didn't want to try to find our way over the mountain. The couple told us that there was a ferry to Pooley Bridge which really wasn't where we were going. We hoped that we could find a way. So we decided to take the ferry. The weather turned to rain by then and we would have had a long way to walk. A ferry came and we hopped on. When we went to pay, we found out that we were on the wrong ferry. We should have known better because it wasn't the correct time. I think we just wanted to get in because we were cold. Shortly after, the correct ferry came. It was only a 20 minute ride. We had hot drinks on the ride which helped to warm us up.
We got off in Pooley Bridge and found the information center. We asked for bus information to get us to Shap. To get there we had to take two buses. One bus was going to come in a half an hour to Penrith. From Penrith the bus would leave for Shap about a half an hour after we arrived at Penrith. We were very luck that the timing worked out.
When we arrived in Shap we went to the Crown Inn. Laurie and Richard's pack were suppose to be there and there was suppose to be a bunkhouse at the inn. The packs made it OK, but when we asked about the inn we found out that there wasn't a bunkhouse available. The people just bought the place and the bunkhouse hadn't been used in awhile and it was filled with stuff. The other bunkhouse had closed so we didn't have too many options. We asked about the rooms at the inn. They had only one room, but it really wasn't ready and it was 22 pounds. It included breakfast, but we still didn't want to pay that much. I asked if we could see the bunkhouse anyways. We went to go look at it and we decided that it was acceptable to us. A few things needed to be moved and it would be fine. It was dry and it was a bed. The owners didn't realize how little our needs were. We had our sleeping bags for the beds and we could use our stoves to cook. We had a bathroom outside to use, so we were all set.
After settling in we decided to take a walk. I felt like we were cheated today so I wanted to walk some more. The rain seemed to stop. We walked to Shap Abbey, which was 1 1/4 miles away. The Abbey was mostly in ruins, but it was neat to see. By this time the rain started again and it was coming down hard. We were soaked by the time we got back to the bunkhouse. I heated up water for coffee, tea, and hot chocolate.
I sat down to write my notes. I heard voices outside the bunkhouse. It was Pete. He is one of the guys who was at the hostel last night. I was glad to see the guys had made the hike OK. Pete said he called about the bunkhouse and was told that it was closed. They also told him that three Americans came in and were staying there so he said he would stay there also. They only charged us 5 pounds.
We sat in the pub and had something to drink. It was a little warmer in there than the bunkhouse. We then went back to the bunkhouse and cooked our dinner. Pete asked if we wanted to go to the pub with the other guys, but we opted not to. We are just going to go to bed.
July 2, 2003
I woke up to the sun shinning in the doorway. It gave me hopeful ideas about the weather.
We said goodbye to our bunkmate, Pete, and headed off. The original trail for today was to be 21 miles. We all agreed that we didn't want to do 21 miles so we planned to stop in Orton, which was only 8 miles.
Between using the map, book, and binoculars we were able to get to Orton. The weather was not sunny or rainy, and it was clear enough to see in the distance for landmarks.
We got to Orton about 11:30. There was only camping and B & Bs available. We really didn't want to stop hiking that early. We looked at our options and we were going to go just a mile more and camp. If we hiked too far that means tomorrow would be very short. Once we started walking we thought maybe we could take a bus to Kirby Stevens. There is a youth hostel there and if it rained it would be a better place.
We went back to the store and asked about buses. They said that they didn't have buses to Kirby Stevens, but if we walked to Newbiggin-on-lune we could catch a bus. The walk there would be about seven more miles. We decided to do that. We thought it would be a good idea to get to Kirby Stevens because we would have been behind a day to get to the end, if we didn't.
We followed the road. It was out in no where and I was worried that I made the wrong decision for the correct road. We flagged down a car to ask if this was the correct road. An elderly man pulled over and was very helpful. He reassured us that we were on the correct road and told us that there was a path to cut through.
We made it through the path and on the road. When we looked up the road we saw four guys that we met the other night. We walked with them a bit. They turned off to follow the trail and we continued
