Tuesday, 1st April 2014
Off with Gimmer today for Marilyn number 339 for me.
After our recent conquering of Illgill Head I had promised Gimmer I would reserve Seatallan for another joint sortie, it being the pick of the bunch of the remaining seven Lake District Ms I had yet to do.
From the car, it was cool and a chilly mist prevailed. I was wearing two layers and my Paramo jacket, hat and gloves. Fifty minutes later jacket and gloves were in the rucksack and I found myself trying to locate a geocache approaching Greendale Tarn. Bright sunshine inhibited viewing of the GPS, my glasses were misted up and running with sweat, and I was undoubtedly hot and bothered, and Gimmer had disappeared into the distance, so that was a dnf (did not find).
Seatallan is quite a remote peak for The Lakes and despite the fairly short six mile round it had all the feel of Munroing. Our direct ascent from Greendale Tarn was pathless and strenuous, and surrounding peaks had a grandeur which made me wonder at the awesome effort of fellrunners doing the Bob Graham Round traversing most of those that we were looking at - they cover 66 miles, 42 peaks, and ascend 27,000ft. in under 24 hours.
On the summit of Seatallan another geocache appeared to have been removed and I have a sent a photo to the guy who placed it.
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| Early on the ascent |
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| Greendale Tarn |
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| Ascending from Greendale Tarn - Gimmer in view |
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| Zoom to Great Gable |
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| Scafell Pike in cloud on left, Scafell central |
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| Suspected site of missing geocache on summit of Seatallan ================================== |
GIMMER'S PHOTOS
Breath-taking photos, Conrad. Sweet fresh air and warm sunlight - make the lungs and skin glad to be alive.
ReplyDeleteYes, its quite a slog getting up there but worth all the effort when you see the wonderful views from the summit. Its annoying when a cache is missing.
ReplyDeleteThe Crow - Thanks Martha - that sums it all up well.
ReplyDeleteAlanR. Recommended routes seem to take the ascent from the col beyond Greendale Tarn which may be slightly less strenuous but longer, but it was great to get some good exercise with agreeable weather.
It's great to get 'high' - your photographs are excellent!
ReplyDeleteJJ
Looks a good trip. Yes, time to put the thermals away.
ReplyDeleteJohn J and Welshpaddler and Alan R- thanks for your comments,
ReplyDeleteThe geocacher originator replied to my email confirming that my location was correct and the cache has gone.
Placing caches is a worthy action, especially as they have to be maintained ad infinitum, and doing that for ones located on respectably high hills is not to be taken lightly.