Was I sleep walking?

I am battling on writing my new opus which relates anecdotes under various headings, one of which  is  “Epics”. This will include happenings that were particularly arduous, or unexpectedly eventful.

Part of the process involves me trawling back through an outdoor activities diary I kept for several years. I was surprised by reading details of a walk I did in 1991 which, by my standards, was monumental - perhaps even “epic”, but the strange thing is I have no recollection of this undertaking. At the risk of boasting here is the detail verbatim from my diary:

I had Ann and Jill follow me to a point on the minor road North West of Dockray, up from Ullswater where I left my car, and was then transported back to Kentmere where I was dropped off and started my walk.

I think I must have got away early, perhaps about 7:00 a.m. Again I am writing this from memory five years or so later. I had a good day, and ticked off the following peaks over 2,500ft. The Knowe, Harter Fell (two summits?), High Street, The Knott, Kidsty Pike, High Raise, then back over High Street to Thornthwaite Beacon, Stony Cove Pike, and down to Kirkstone. Then Red Screes, Dove Crag (2603), Hart Crag, Greatrigg Man, Fairfield, Dollywagon Pike, Nethermost Pike, and Helvellyn. I missed out Catstycam, Lower Man and Brown Cove Crags, but went on to Kepple Cove, Raise, Stybarrow Dodd, Watson's Dodd, and Great Dodd to land me back at my car.

I plotted this route with Memory Map just straight lining and it measures 27 miles with 13,562 feet of ascent. Taking into account the twists and turns of the paths the mileage would be quite a bit more. The ascent figure is staggering, and makes me wonder about Memory Map's accuracy.

Cabin Fever

The pre-op assessment took place last Tuesday and I am now awaiting an appointment. In the meantime I have not been able to go out on the bike because of inclement weather, and I am envious of my fellow outdoor bloggers who are up to all sorts of interesting escapades.

I have been pressing on with the new book which is a collection of reminiscences under various headings.

The Headings so far are:

Youth

Fear

Getting  Lost

Trespassing

Encounters

Heroes

Epics

Memorable Happenings

So far: 15,000 words and 60 pages (with photos)

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Whilst watching television during the evening I have been making a list of frequently used clichés and the like which irritate me - if anybody wants to make suggestions I will consider them for addition to the list.

The word “amazing”

Well oiled machine

Feeding frenzy

Massive (heart attack) - it would seem that the media reckons nobody has an ordinary heart attack - it is always “massive”

Journey - Here I mean celbs who may be talking about a film they have made, or a spell in rehab, or the trauma of a recent divorce etc., where they relate to having been on a ”journey” preceded by the appropriate adjective -”wonderful, “lonely”, “amazing” etc.

Age old

Unique micro climate - wherever anybody lives they always say that they have one of these.


I hope the title of this post doesn't qualify for the list.