Ahhhhhh, day two of the Cumbrian Way. Or, "Toe Day".
We ate a big breakfast and walked to the meeting place. Many jokes about my knee! We had invited Stephen for dinner that night because we were such a small group and he had no one to eat with, so we were happy about that...had a great start to the day! Pam planned on toast, bacon, eggs and beans. Yum! Something to look forward to after a loooong walk.
The start of the walk is level and pleasant, but then you have to climb over the trackless High Pike, 2600 feet. There is no real path, and since our guidebook was the reverse of the direction we were going, we got lost twice. I know, how did we get lost when there were no trees...well, we did! The pike is long, and there are old miner's paths and such. Oh! Pam, Stephen and I all had lightweight hiking umbrellas. Great idea. I love my rain hat, but with the umbrella I could unzip my jacket. I had a new Gore-tex jacket which was too heavy and bulky. I bought a lighter one when I returned. I'll use the old one for golf. We had to walk back down about 200 feet then back up the same 200 feet-twice-so our climb was 3000 feet. Bugger. It rained all the way up, and we had to be careful of abandoned mine shafts, but we did make it to the top...finally. Not a bad climb, just long.
There is a shepherd's bothy on the down side, which is where we had lunch-in pouring, pelting rain. Nice to be in a dry spot for lunch. The way down High Pike is very, very steep, narrow and rocky, I stepped in a boggy area and got my shoes and socks wet, and my shoe toes were a bit narrow. I knew I'd done something to my right big toe because it felt like someone was jabbing a knife point into the quick with every step I took. Couldn't stop, so I gritted my teeth and went on. We walked for 12 more miles. Why yes, I am tough! Once we were down from High Pike the way was mostly level, with a small grade, but with the rain, the toe and the cold, I had a drop in blood sugar. Not good.
We came to an old hostel and had to make a very steep climb, and I didn't think I would make it to the top. When I did get up there, I explained that my blood sugar had dropped, and everyone(lovely people)scrounged extra chocolate and some beef jerky. Then we kept walking.
I thought it would never end. I was in agony.... really, and I don't complain. Every step was horrible. The last three miles were all on a down grade...so my toe was pushed back into the quick hard with every step. Still want to do the walk?
When we got into Keswick, the guide had his car there, and I asked him to run me back to the cottage. We got there, I took my shoes off, and my right big toe was swollen double size...and purple. Runner's toe. I had jarred the nail loose so every time I stepped I jammed the nail back into the quick. Yes, it did hurt like frikkin' hell! I took a bath while Pam made dinner, we had a lovely meal with Stephen(he brought dessert)and I decided not to walk the next day because there would be a big downhill section. I could not put my toe under covers for three weeks.
The toe is healing, as is the knee, but I was so angry that I had to miss a day of the walk. I could not walk on the toe, nor could I fit the foot into shoes! I had to rest.
The walk is desolate and beautiful. You just don't realize that there can be such an isolated valley in the UK.
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