I keep sliding down to the end of my tent as I'm not 100% level and I don't sleep as well as I was hoping for. Alas, I'm packed and walking for 5:30am. I pass by Borrowdale YHA, a hostel my siblings and I stayed in 5 years ago. It is super quiet, tents sit beside the river and no one is awake. I saunter passed the hostel and up the track. Someone is poking their head out their wooden camping pod surveying the damp dawn.
I head through Borrowdale and turn right exiting the village. I follow a river which grows in size and start to ascend. I can see campers on the other side of the river, all starting to wake. Up I go to the top of the mountain as fog and rain rolls in to obscure my view.
I can't see a thing further than 12m ahead of me. Paths divide and multiple and I hope that I'm on the right one. Reaching the peak, I pause and look but only see flowing mist. On the descent, the back of my legs and pack is soaked, all of my belongings are in dry bags so they should be dry. I replaced the rain cover on my pack for a bright yellow one so that should be doing the job. Passing through the outskirts Grasmere, follow the track up to high ground. I pass by Grisdale House and pass a few day hikers and other Coasts > Coasters. The sun comes out and I skirt Patterdale, a peaceful looking village.
I stop for my lunch, enjoying a spot halfway up the hill. Kidsty Pike is next which is also the tallest point on the trail, then it is a long long long way down. I'm glad I'm not going east to west and have to tackle this ascent.
When I finally do reach Haweswater, it is beautiful and still - bliss. I pause to top up my water in a fast flowing stream before final somewhere to camp. I turn off the trail and arrive at a little part of the waters edge which juts out. Some spots have been used by wild campers before and then I see other tents, some already erected, some being put up as I watch. I retreat and detour away from this area to arrive right on the shore line. It is lovely and flat, a soft bed on which to pitch my tent. I listen to the birds in the early evening and walk along a fallen log to peer into the depths of the reservoir. Blotches of rain begin to fall and cause ripples. Retreating to my tent, I enjoy my cous-cous tea and calculate how much food I have left.
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