Wednesday 19th April 2006
After raining all night the weather for this walk turned out to be exceptional with clear views and bright sunshine almost all day once the early hill fog had cleared. Making the most of the good weather I did an exceptional walk taking in some brilliant walking and excellent scenery. Leaving Ennerdale Youth Hostel I walked up the forest road for a mile to a signpost marked "Pillar" that directed me onto a path that crosses the river and climbs diagonally up the fellside. After a water-logged start, the path crossed a forest-track and entered an area that had recently been felled revealing an excellent path that ascended the fellside with the Pillar Rock in clear view far above me. On reaching the edge of the plantation I crossed a stile and climbed steeply up a hill beside the stream into Pillar Rock Cove. With the sun shining I toiled away climbing the hill until eventually I arrived at Robinson's Cairn with the Pillar Rock dominating my view.
After a rest I joined the path that comes from the High Level Route crossing the top of Pillar Rock Cove, up a scree slope, and along the Shamrock Terrace. At the top of the terrace the full awe-inspiring terror of the Pillar Rock confronted me. From this close-up view it was obvious that I would never be able to climb onto the top, but that didn't stop me from trying. I didn't get very far before prudence got the better of me and I scrambled back down. Retreating to a safe distance I began the considerably easier scramble up to the top of Pillar with my dignity almost still intact. Finally on the summit I admired the exceptional landscape all around me that the good weather had revealed. All my effort was worth it.
Eventually I started to descend along the top of the ridge, taking my time as I admired the view, staying on top of the ridge all the way, even as I passed over the top of Looking Stead. Soon I arrived at the Black Sail Pass with Kirk Fell in front of me. The last time I was there the weather had been lousy and I had made a direct assault on the Kirkfell Crags following the boundary posts. This time I thought I would try and discover what the proper route was, which appears to be a very steep ascent up scree, I think I prefer the direct scramble! Emerging above the screes I climbed up to the summit following the boundary posts. When near the summit I veered off south in order to get a better view of Wasdale. With a good vantage point found I dropped onto the grass and had my lunch, in the sunshine, with the stunning scene ahead of me.
After lunch I headed up to the summit and then made a course for the secondary summit where I reflected that both previous times I'd been on Kirk Fell the weather had not been very good. It was almost weird to be up there in clear weather and to be able to see one summit from the other. After making my own way across to the other summit I descended to Beck Head where I had a decision to make whether to go straight up or do something different. Well, my original plan had been to walk around the climbers traverse and up between the Napes, so surprisingly that is what I did. In the end I think I started my ascent too early and found myself climbing straight up the White Napes instead of through Little Hell Gate. Undaunted I scrambled around and up to the top of White Napes before climbing up to the top of Great Gable itself. 
After a good look around from various vantage points including from the Westmorland Cairn I descended to the Windy Gap and up to Green Gable. With time advancing I dashed across to Base Brown and with another Wainwright bagged I started dropping down to the valley floor on the steep eastern slopes of Base Brown. After struggling for a while I saw a scree run to my right so headed towards it, and made like Dorehead Screes sliding down to the bottom of the run. It was fun, even if it does damage the scree in the long run (see Dorehead Screes). Arriving at the fell-wall I followed the fence across the fell to Sourmilk Gill where I took the excellent path down to Seathwaite. The final stage of the walk involved walking along the valley to the Borrowdale Youth Hostel. This was another good walk, but more than that, it was a very memorable walk with brilliant weather and excellent views. I hoped the weather would be just as good for the next day as I went over Scafell Pike.
After a good look around from various vantage points including from the Westmorland Cairn I descended to the Windy Gap and up to Green Gable. With time advancing I dashed across to Base Brown and with another Wainwright bagged I started dropping down to the valley floor on the steep eastern slopes of Base Brown. After struggling for a while I saw a scree run to my right so headed towards it, and made like Dorehead Screes sliding down to the bottom of the run. It was fun, even if it does damage the scree in the long run (see Dorehead Screes). Arriving at the fell-wall I followed the fence across the fell to Sourmilk Gill where I took the excellent path down to Seathwaite. The final stage of the walk involved walking along the valley to the Borrowdale Youth Hostel. This was another good walk, but more than that, it was a very memorable walk with brilliant weather and excellent views. I hoped the weather would be just as good for the next day as I went over Scafell Pike.
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