UNDER PREPARED AND UNDER EQUIPPED Part 1 of 3

SNAKE PASS Fri 9th March

After another long week, and another trip to the Dr for blood samples to be taken.

I will expand upon this when I get the results of these and the other tests in a later post.

(I am attempting to keep up with Sloman in ailments. An unobtainable goal I know).

It was time to get in the car and head to the Snake Pass for the TGO reunion.

I had decided to head up early, so I could dump my gear and get a minimum of 4 or 5 hours in the hills, and not spend the last one in complete darkness as I did last year.

So I headed up the the M1, and over via Chesterfield because it has very cheap petrol.

Actually almost everywhere is cheaper than Cambridge, since officially we have the most expensive fuel in the country.

I arrived at the Snake at about 1.30, and got myself settled in, then headed off in a random direction.

Always good to head out with no maps, no gps, a very lightweight waterproof (carried), a phone and some music. The sort of equipment that is woefully insufficient if everything goes wrong. 
So I also took a Space Blanket.

Decisions decisions, I headed up the road and down to the river opposite.

The tops where beginning to cloud over, but there were still snippets of sun in the valley.

Actually it was very pleasanrt walking along by the stream, which is why I decided to cross it and then walk on the other side. to the point where it was too wide to cross back and there was no bank.

Never fear, I scrambled up a some nasty wet rocks and then ascended amidst moss and heather and twigs and awkward drops to rocks and went straight up.

Several minutes later, scratched and wet and out of breath I got to the path I could have got to earlier if I had taken the easy option.

However, my philosphy was never use a path you don't have to.

I walked along the first path a short way.
There were people coming along and I headed left straight up over the heather.

Not because they were coming, but because it was there.

When I got half way up, I was neither up nor down.
And it was a bit BROWN

As I got to the top after a lot of heather bashing and a bit Peat of Haggling (see how I did that?)

There was an ENORMOUS GORILLA

Well, I can see it anyway!

I just love some of the rock formations and weathering here.
The geology is excellent, and there will be more tomorow.

I decided at this point having got to the top, to run along for a bit.
So I did.


It was at this point that I felt all dreadful and rough.
This has been an intermittent theme recently and is NOT heart related, but does appear to be gastric. 
It is under investigation and I am hoping it will go away.
The problem began after I was ill and after 2 weeks of antibiotics.


It could be and I am hoping it is just hot air.            I am full of that.


But moving on.


A ran a bit and walked a bit, and ran a bit and walked a bit.
I still felt like crap, but whatever!


Somewhere along this bit a man in blue appeared out of the haze.
It was Bill H. I have a photo of him somewhere later on, but not today.

We stopped for a chat and after a while headed off in different directions.
This being the sensible thing to do since we had started out in different directions.

I carried on along the top initially intending to go to the downfall, but then decided after some considerable distance that I was getting bored and would descend down to the river and follow that back.
So I turned right and went down through the roughty tufty stuff until I came to the new fence that appears to have been built half way up along the entire length. I assume to keep the sheep in or out or somewhere.

Amazingly I appeared to have chosen the only place to descend that had a stile even though I had no idea it was there.

 I carried on down to the bottom where I finally crossd the stream and started to walk back to the Snake.
I was still feeling a bit rough.

The views back from the path were BROWN!

For some reason I was now feeling much better so decided to run back along.
Not necessarily a good thing, because the path was rather wet and slippery.

As I got back near to the track that leads up to the road, I noticed a nice new track that was marked with posts with white tops and green marks on the trees.
So I followed it up into the woods where it lead to a .......................................



Dead End!


I could not be bothered to go back, so I crashed on through the undergrowth gathering itchy, scratchy things and finally got to the bridge on the wrong side of the fence.
Had a bit of a meander around and then went up to the road.

A normal sensible chap would have gone back now, what with it beginning to get dark again, and I therefore went across the road and up onto Allport Moor.

I had got over my gastric/cardiac? issue for now and was feeling good, so I decided to do a bit more heather bashing and headed up to the top.

I like it up here it is desolate and unspoilt.

In fact just perfect for Wind Turbines!

It was getting even darker by now as I came back round to the small bothy.
This is looking a bit damp inside now.
Ok shelter from a storm, but you wouldn't want to sleep in it. A bit damp and smelly.

Eventually I ran back along the narrow and rather slippy track and finally down to the Snake.
I had been out for about 5½ hours and I realised I had not stopped for a pee.
I was a tad dehydrated.

By the time I got down, the Snake was filling up

So I went and had a bath, being rather sweaty & smelly, and then it was time to be sociable!

Cuddle Up - The Beach Boys

One of the most beautiful songs ever written!

I have NO idea what the You Tube video clip is about though!