5/15/08

Day 3: Stonethwaite to Grasmere (June 26, 2007)

Accommodation: Butharlip Howe Youth Hostel, Grasmere
Distance walked: 9.5 miles

The beauty of the Lake District


How do I feel? Well other than my foot, I feel great. We are in the nice little town of Grasmere, where William Wordsworth lived. It's very touristy and I've bought some postcards to send to people. It's been nice to get the afternoon to walk around and do the touristy thing for a bit. We got coffee and hot chocolate at a fancy little cafe and ate great food (lots of pasta for me) at a fancy looking pub (there's not really any place that isn't fancy in this town) where I talked to a woman who was doing the walk east to west. She is from California and it is her third time doing it. Dedicated I'll say!



On the Way - looking up toward Greenup Gill

Today was fairly straightforward climb up Greenup Gill to Lining Crag and Greenup Edge (Yes, it was very green!) and then down the other side into Grasmere. We got our daily greeting by Mountain Goat before he hopped along past us. Sadly, today was our last day with him as he continued on to Patterdale today without stopping in Grasmere. Soon all of our schedules will become different and we will have to say goodbye to people, but hopefully meet others! So up and up we went. The walk was shorter, but the climb was longer and steeper than the day before, although the path was fairly straight forward. Well, for the most part...Breanne is a good navigator! With her leading the way we made it up and through a part that was a little unclear (good ole' Stedman)...she just kept looking for cairns instead of consulting the book's bad map. The Australians and Mountain Goat actually got lost and were able to get back on the right track because they saw her walking down the path in the valley below! Yay! I passed a few people doing the walk from East to West, it was encouraging to see that indeed, they had made it this far and I can make it too.

East to Westers took this one, as Bre navigated on ahead

Today I was really thirsty the whole day and drank the entire water bottle. I wonder if it has to do with the bloody nose I got last night.... I'm also seeing more sheep than I have ever seen in my life. They are EVERYWHERE. And I'm continually amazed at the stone walls that are all around, even up in the steepest parts. I can't even imagine building those. It's amazing what people can do. Tomorrow: Off to Patterdale!





happy walkers...with stone walls in the background


MORE PICTURES FROM DAY 3!





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