Badger Adventures Coast to Coast - Day 4 Borrowdale to Grasmere

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Rising from our accommodation this morning I was pleased to see some good quality fruit was on offer for breakfast, we had been staying in a rather basic but very pleasant B+B where apparently the sighting of red squirrels was a frequent occurance. The weather was horrendous so I was not surprised by their no show, I wanted to stay in bed myself having come down with a cold during the night.

It was touch and go whether I would take a day in the van or actually do the days walk, my feet were battered, I was tired, my joints all aches I had blisters and now a cold too; in short I was struggling to function, couple that with one of the hardest days walking we were due and I had a decision to make!

In the end I decided to walk and was very glad I did come the end but first let me tell you that the days experience on the hill was one of the toughest things I have ever experienced in my life. A rock scramble was first up on the agenda I was really scared and felt unsafe at times but Pete and our guide Matt were on hand to help me along. I was really tested though and well out of my comfort zone, this was not a walk but an actual rock scramble up an almost sheer face...or so it seemed to me.

Jess had injured one of her pads the day before on the rocks so was being kept on a tight leash by Pete and the other dog on our Trek Zulu a black Labrador who is simply gorgeous was leading us as usual up front. The weather was absolutely horrendous so our waterproofs went on early and never came off again for the rest of the day.

Once we were up the scramble on top of the hill the wind was relentless whipping our clothes, faces and stinging any bare patch of skin with rain that was streaming in sideways. My boots and all my ‘waterproof’ clothes gave up about mid day and I was truly soaked to the skin, the ground was so boggy in places that I was worried about how deep it was; add that to a number of stream crossings and it was just a totally disgusting day. At this point I was not enjoying it and wanted to go home, I was so far behind everyone else and that made me feel really bad too in a whole lot of ways. Pete was really good at coaxing me on though and trying to pick me up bless him, without him there I never would have achieved and finished the day.

The guide got a little navigationally challenged, meaning we had another river crossing to do it was on this one that I slipped and actually ended up sitting down in a fast flowing stream; I should have been in tears of despair but instead found myself laughing uncontrollably with Pete berating me for taking a bath at a time like this!!

We ended up in the wrong valley so had to go up again to then come down where we needed to be, I think our whole group had had enough by this point as we were being totally battered by the weather, I don’t know how I kept going? Pete’s mother Judy had also had enough by this point, it was her 75th Birthday and as terrible as I felt I also felt for her, what a way to spend it! Exhausted, soaked and the end seemingly never in sight.

Eventually Pete said he could see a road, by this time I couldn’t feel my feet any longer and was just in auto pilot mode, I think Pete got quite worried about me at one point but he kept me going bless him; coaxing me down step by step and giving me words of encouragement to focus on.

By the time we got to the van I was totally done and just wanted a hot drink, to get my wet clothes off and get warm. I wasn’t interested in anything else right now which I think the guys knew as we were taken straight to the hotel where the excellent staff took all our wet stuff to their drying room.

Today was the hardest thing I have ever done bar none, I’m so proud of myself that I managed it and words cannot describe to you how much of a challenge it was for me. I had many breakdowns on the hill with the rain driving in at us and Pete was there to calm me and move me on. I hope the days going forward whilst challenging are not like today! This cold can do one too! As for Jess? As soon as she stops she sleeps, ive never seen her this tired before!!

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