Fishers, Werthers, Coffee & Watendalth

Last week we were walking in the Lakes. When I say walking, I mean walking, and in all weather.  The first day we found snow at the top of Great Gable.  One of the highlights of that almost six hour walk was when Hudson made coffee on the side of the mountain. The only downside was that we knew weather was coming and some of us didn't have gear that would protect us adequately.  Thanks to two trips to Fishers, now we do.

The second day we walked in the pouring rain to Watendalth. My memory of that was the loose stones and the bridge to the village. There was a lot of zig-zagging to avoid slipping, and we were all a bit stiff and weak in the knees from the day before. 

The third day we went to the top of Robinson.  Although it was raining and misty, the very red soil captured my imagination and reminded me of a walk long ago to the top of Mount Kenya. Patrick passed out the Werther's Originals on the way up, but on the way down we were holding on for dear life to fences, gorse, moss, branches -everything - down the steep path.  It was a pity when we got to the car and discovered we didn't have the keys and had to walk another hour and another 1500 feet to the other car, rain still pummeling us. 

This piece is full of layers, feels rain splattered and weathered, to me.  As I tried to make these thoughts abstract enough to feel successful, I fear I lost some of the enthusiasm I felt as I walked.