Day 11, Monday Aug. 26, Cambridge House, Reeth

Hiked 11 miles, 107 miles down, 85 miles to go

Today was a lovely day for hiking. The morning started out with low fog in the moorlands but it burned off by 10 am. After hiking about 5 miles to the small village of Gunnerside

we stopped for lunch. We had a packed lunch that our B&B has provided for us and we actually sat at a picnic table and ate. The Stedman guide book that we are using had us take a high route over the moorlands. Two other hiking groups, both Brits, stopped at the same place for lunch and said they were going to take a path along the river. We decided to be brave and try a path that we had no waypoint for and no description.

It turned out to be a fairly good choice. It was a longer route which meant that we ended up walking 14 miles today. Most of the way the trail today was much easier on the feet. We walked on a lot of grass in pastures and soft dirt along the river.

There were two times I didn't like the trail. The first was when it went on top of a rock wall. The wall was about six feet off the ground. It was wide enough but it sure seemed like a ways up if one were to fall. The second place was when the path by the river just ended and that was a very steep scramble up a 30 to 40 ft. cliff to the road above the river. Kathy went up first. About half way up I said to Kathy, "I can't do this." She calmly replied, "Nancy, you can do this." I made it to the top but my legs were shaking. Our guide book said the hike today would take 4&1/2 hours. We took 8 hours. We know we are slow hikers but the guide book seems to think hikers go lots faster than we do. We followed the Swaledale Valley (pix above) all day and the views were wonderful. There were many tight squeezes through rock walls and many stiles to step over on all paths we have taken.

Today we talked with several hikers who had gone over the bogs yesterday and all said it was challenging. Their reports confirmed that we made a wise decision to hike the road. Here's a British to American translation of map terms: Beck = Stream, Dale = Valley, Fell = Mountain, Force/Foss = Waterfall, Garth = Enclosure, Ghyll/Gill = Ravine, Hause = Narrow neck of land, Ness = Headland, Pike = Peak, Rigg = Ridge, Scar = Bare Rocky cliff or crag, Tarn = Lake, and Thwaite = Clearing or meadow. Each day I am thankful for such a good hiking partner. We have an agreement that there are no apologies for going slow, stopping to adjust packs, tend to feet, or to eat, drink and rest. We just keep plugging along the way. - Nancy

Day 10, Sunday Aug. 25 Keld Lodge, Keld

Hiked 12 miles, 96 miles down, 96 miles or go Halfway there!

Keld is the halfway point of the Coast 2 Coast trail. We crossed from the county of Cumbria into Yorkshire and into The Yorkshire Dales National Park.

We crossed the Pennines which is the Continental Divide for the North of the UK. Now all streams and rivers flow into the North Sea instead of to the Irish Sea. We've been passed on the trail daily by a British man named Stuart. Yesterday he told us that we seemed to know how to pace ourselves. We took that as a compliment. Today the guide book offered three routes. The easiest was the "low route" but all routes had lots of bogs to slosh though and try to find the trail. The low route was 14.5 miles. The low route only had 7 waypoints in 14.5 miles. The two high routes had more bogs and were 13.5 miles. I looked on Google maps and the road was only listed as 9.9 miles. After missing the trail for a bit yesterday and walking 2 extra miles and losing time we made a strategic decision to walk the road. It turned out to be 10.4 miles of walking. We left at 9 am and had the goal to arrive at 3 pm. that included stops for lunch,

fixing feet, taking pictures. We made it by 2:05 pm. Walking the road was a bit harder on our feet but sometimes we could walk on soft grass or on the pea gravel on the shoulder. We didn't see any trees for about 5 miles. Today was Sunday so there was more traffic than usual. There were quite a few motorcyclists. Lest you think it was an easy hike there were many ups and downs so it was not a leisurely stroll. From the road it's quite apparent to see how boggy the soil is in this area. This confirmed that we had made the correct decision. It seems that however we finish the day the last half mile is always hard going.

Because we didn't have to think about where to put our feet with each step I had some time for reflection. I was thinking: "What is it that motivates people to do the Coast 2 Coast walk?" What motivated me? I remember reading about the UK Wainwright Trail several years ago in the Smithsonian magazine. Here is a link the article: http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history-archaeology/A-Walk-Across-England.html. When we went backpacking I always joked about the quote in The Silver Chair by C.S. Lewis, "warm beds and hot baths in Harfang tonight." If only I could have those two things at the end of a hiking day! Now I have that. In the book the children are welcomed in to be fattened up and eaten at the Autumn Feast. I don't think any of the proprietors of the B&Bs where we're staying are interested in eating older women.

When my friend Sara couldn't go on this trip Ron said, why don't you wait a year. It was really important to me to go this year. I guess I wanted to fight the idea of retirement and not feeling old. I had a great need to defy the aging process. In the scriptures it talks about keeping your eye on the prize. Until we reach Robin Hoods Bay my eye is on that destination and the prize of arriving there. I visualize throwing the small stone I picked up at St. Bees into the North Sea. We still have a long ways to go. As Ron would say I will "keep on keeping on." - Nancy (Note: Nancy says that the Lodge [pictured below] is literally "out in the middle of nowhere," 1/2 way between 2 towns on the route. The view is from the lodge. - rw)

Day 9 Sat. Aug. 24, Fletcher House Kirkby Stephen

Hiked 12.75 miles, 84 miles down, 108 to go

It rained most of last night so that made for very boggy trails. It was raining when we started out this morning and we missed our first turn.

We ended up walking 2 extra miles in the rain and lost about 75 minutes of hiking time as we were looking at maps and our GPS. We were with a British man who is about 40, and we finally got back the right path. I figured that the mistake would be harder to take at the end to the day when we were very tired.

I was right. Our feet were sore and we were a bit discouraged. We had hiked over lots of bogs and it seemed that half of our hiking time was trying to find a trail where you didn't sink into the mud over your boot tops. The Brits used the term that today was a "slog." That it was. At the end of the day we again lost the trail for a bit but at least we could see the town and knew we were close. We were trying to figure out how to get over stone walls and barbed wire fences when we saw small sign that said "public footpath".

We followed it a bit and saw a woman walking her dog and she got us headed in the right direction to our B&B. Showers and dinner revived us. Our daily schedule is into a routine. We get up and have breakfast at 7:30 or 8. We pack up our suitcases and haul them downstairs where Packhorse, the agency we are using, collects them to take to the next B&B. They provide luggage tags for each day that we stick on our bags so they get the right location. I doctor up my feet to prevent blisters and care for the two blisters that I do have. Kathy has had fewer blister issues. We collect our packed lunches and head out to the trail. We hike and hike. Take some breaks but this depends on the weather. We meet other hikers who pass us on the trail. We are the tortoises of the trail. We try to enjoy the views on the way and take some pictures.

We arrive at our B&B around 4:30 or 5. We drag our suitcases up to our room. We shower, eat dinner, put in GPS coordinates for the next day, send blog updates and a few pictures, talk with our husbands on Skype or Skype phone, think we will read some but fall asleep as soon as we get into bed.

I think for me to finish this hike it mainly takes a lot of grit and determination. In some ways all of the years our family went backpacking prepared me for this hike. Sometimes you just have to keep going. Today was one of those days. By missing the trail we ended up hiking 14.2 miles today. - Nancy

(Apparently today there was some kind of an equestrian competition.)

Day 8 Friday Aug. 23, Scar Side Farm, Orton

Hiked 13.25 miles , 71.25 miles down, 120.75 to go Today a perfect weather day for hiking. It was overcast but not cold. It looked like it could rain most anytime but it only spit a bit mid-day for a few minutes.

Today we hiked mainly though pastures, around stone walls and over the moors. At times we would be at the top of a hill and we could see for miles in all directions and there were no farmsteads, towns, roads - only sheep. It seemed very isolated. We saw fewer hikers today. In the Lake District there were lots of day hikers. In this region the few hikers we saw were all Coast 2 Coast hikers. (The picture below was taken on a high moor during our lunch stop.)

We often laughed about the directions in our guide book.

Here's an example, "As you reach the top of the small rise look for two isolated trees (one big , one small) on the horizon ahead of you to the left. [Trees?] The path goes just right of these, marked by posts." It seems that whatever the trail, the end of the day ends with an uphill climb. I keep hoping that each day will be a bit easier. Even if the trail is easier I find that I am tired at the end of the day. We are been fortunate about the weather, our accommodations, and our health. So far, so good. (Pictured below is Kathy in front of the ruins of the Shap [a small town] Abbey, built in 1199.)- Nancy

Day 7 Thursday Aug 22, The Crown & Mitre, Bampton Grange

Hiked 12 miles, 58 down, 134 to go

We knew today would be a very long day. It had 4400 ft. of elevation gain and loss. We left the Lake District via a pass on a peak called Kidsty Pike which is the high point of the original Coast 2 Coast Trail at 2572 ft. The weather was spectacular, the views were breathtaking, and the trail was tough. According to my GPS we hiked 14.2 miles today. The trail at the top is called High Street.

A local hiker said the Romans had chariot races up there. I actually find that hard to believe since I descended on all "fives" part of the way down since it was so steep. After we finally made it over the pass we dropped way down to a huge reservoir called Haweswater. But the 3.5 mile hike around it was discouraging as we had to climb up over rock outcroppimgs and by then it was very sunny and hot. Our guide book says, " Be prepared to feel very tired indeed at the end of this day." It is "enough to curse the very name of Wainwright." Today had the biggest descent on the entire trail. I don't know if going up or coming down was worse. I know I dragged myself the last mile to our B&B. A hot shower and good food are reviving me and a good sleep tonight will prepare Kathy and me for our hike tomorrow which is fairly flat.

We are so thankful that we hiked this section after a layover day and on a day with no rain. We met hikers on the trail that had hiked yesterday and they said the conditions were horrible. It sounded as bad as our 2nd hiking day. We would prefer not to repeat a day like that. Even though it was a tough day we are thankful for the good weather, the beauty we saw, that we stayed up-right all day, and also that we arrived safely at our B&B. All guide books say the hike in the Lake District is the hardest on the entire trail. Now that we have finished the hardest part we are hoping for more relaxed hiking days. There will be long hiking days but at least the high passes are fewer. Tomorrow is a 14 mile day but no passes. Yea! - Nancy

Day 6 Wed Aug. 21 Crockabeck Farm, Patterdale

Layover Day (Don & Lynn's Anniversary) - Happy Anniversary to them.

We had a wonderful layover day. It rained heavily in the morning. We were very glad we were not hiking today. It has showered off and on for the rest of the day.

I slept in, ate breakfast, took a morning nap, ate half our sack lunch,

read, saw the yarn shop next door where Kathy bought beautiful yarn. It has been a very restful stop. The stone house which is the B&B was built in the 1700s. Thanks to the owner of the B&B I even have clean clothes. I think I will be ready for the hike out of the Lake District in the morning. It is one more hike up to a pass and then down. - Nancy

Day 5 Tues. Aug. 20 Crockabeck Farm, Patterdale

Hiked 8.5 miles, 46 miles down, 146 to go Soon after we woke up this morning we heard the sound of cattle,

looked out our window in our B&B and saw a herd of milk cows walking down the road. They were heading somewhere to be milked. We got a late start today and didn't get on the trail until 10 am. We headed up a trail that had been a bridle trail at one time. In the Lake District the Coast 2 Coast goes from one valley to the next so that means hiking over a pass to get to the next village. Today it was up, up, up again to a high pass and then a steep descent to Patterdale. The views back to Grasmere were beautiful and indicated how high we were above where we had started. The weather was again great for hiking - overcast, but no rain.

When we arrived in Patterdale about 3:45 we were hungry and also didn't want to hike the half mile to our B&B and then have to hike back into town for dinner so we stopped at the White Lion Pub and had a good meal. Our B&B at Crockabeck Farm is perfect.

It has a large bedroom with two beds, a large private lounge area that has a small kitchen in it. We asked about a place to hang clothes after hand washing them and the owner said she'd wash and dry a load for a very reasonable fee. We are having a layover day here tomorrow and the forecast is for rain so we ordered the packed lunch they prepare for hikers. Even though we aren't hiking we can hunker down here and have a wonderful rest day. When we arrived at this B&B I thought maybe we could just stay here until September and pretend we did the rest of the hike. A layover day tomorrow is a welcome change from hiking. All in all everything is going well. - Nancy