Happy New Year

Happy New Year to everyone. Now that we are into the new year the hard work begins in preparation for my BG attempt on 17th/18th May 2013. The past year was about gaining experience for the challenge that lies ahead. So on Sunday it was out on another recce over leg 2 and this time the weather conditions were a lot better than the last time I went over the leg in December. Joining me on this occasion were Jackd, Keswicktoast, Keswicksimon & Vespa. It was a nice clear morning setting off from Threlkeld but looking up at Clough Head we knew that once we were on the tops  we would be in low cloud for most of the day. This time on the ascent of Clough Head we decided to skirt around to the left hand side of the fell instead of going up the front way for a change. With Simon doing the navigation for the leg this was going to be a great day out for all of us learning new ways over the route. From the off Vespa aka Roy set a cracking pace upto the Summit, and at first I thought it was me just having an off day struggling with my breathing but when we arrived at the top in under 50 mins I knew the reason why. From this point on we were in low cloud for the rest of the day. On our way up to Great Dodd we were passed by two other people out on a reece over the leg who we were going to bump into on and off over the course of the recce. From here on Keswicktoast aka Lee was putting his navigating skills to the test under the guidance of Simon and between them did an outstanding job in poor visabilty guiding us to where we wanted to be. On quite a few occasions we kept bumping into the other two runners who seemed to be struggling in the poor conditions. With Jack also doing an excellent job of  keeping track of our splits for the leg we were always up on our schedule. After reaching Helvellyn it was onto Nethermost Pike, Dollywaggon Pike then the descent down to Grisedale Tarn where we stopped for a quick drink and somthing to eat before the tough climb upto the summit of Fairfield. On the ascent of Fairfield it was Roy and Lee that were pushing the pace up front, but for me I was starting to feel a little tired in my legs but still managed to dig deep to reach the top. On the descent we learnt a new way down off the top from Simon which we all agreed was a good line. When we reached the top of Seat Sandal the hard work for the day was over, and  a brisk descent in under 16 mins to Dunmail ended another great day out on the fell with a great set of friends.
The day did not end here for me though, after getting a lift back to Threlkeld for my car I called into see well known fell running legend Kenny Stuart for a brew and chat to truly cap off a great day out.