A Wild Camp in the Loweswater Fells

Date : 27th & 28th June 2014
Route : Day 1 - Loweswater to Starling Dodd. Day 2 - Starling Dodd to Loweswater over Hen Comb
Wainwrights : Burnbank Fell, Blake Fell, Gavel Fell, Great Borne, Starling Dodd, Hen Comb
Distance : 12 miles (19.3km)
Height gained : 3744 feet (1141 meters)
Time Taken : Day 1 = 6 hours. Day 2 = 2 hours

Social Hiking Link : click here

The Route : anticlockwise from the car park by Loweswater

 The long summer nights have pro's and con's in the wild campers calender. Con's are the hot sticky ascents, midges and ridiculously early sunrises. Pro's however are the lighter packs, longer walks and then enjoying late sunsets sat out in warm weather (hopefully!). As my working week finishes at Friday lunch time it also means that I can be in the Lakes for 3pm and still enjoy 7 hours of walking before making camp. That was the plan for this walk. I set off from Loweswater at 3:30pm heading along the tops towards Starling Dodd. I wasn't sure how far I'd get as this was all new terrain for me. 

The start of the walk : Carling Kott straight ahead

 Almost as soon as the path meets Loweswater, a track lead up through the pines eventually emerging on a col between Carling Knott and Burnbank Fell. The path then skirts along the Loweswater side of Burnbank Fell. I kept walking until the the steep gradient up to the summit on my left looked a little less severe. There's no path and so it's a case of picking your way upwards through the grassy tussocks. 

Burnbank Fell through a dirty camera lens

Nice spot to admire Loweswater and Grasmoor beyond

 The summit of Burnbank Fell is a wide grassy expanse. There's good views over to the coast but otherwise nothing too exciting. It was then a pleasant stroll along a grassy path to Blake Fell and then Gavel Fell. 

Burnbank Fell looking towards Blake Fell

Blake Fell summit shelter

Gavel Fell looking south towards Great Borne

Rain streaks over the coast

 From Gavel Fell the scenery becomes progressively more interesting as the Crags of Great Borne are approached and the lovely secluded Floutern Tarn comes into view. A short deviation up onto Floutern Cob provides the best view point. 

Looking towards Great Borne

Floutern Tarn from Floutern Cob

 A steep path follows the wall up to the summit plateau of Great Borne. The lovely Ennerdale Water is not in view from the summit but a 2 minute amble to the western side resolves this issue superbly. 

Great Borne summit looking south to Starling Dodd & Red Pike

Great Borne summit panorama south

Great Borne summit panorama north

Ennerdale Water from Great Borne

Ennerdale Water from Great Borne

 It was now 8pm. There would be no problem reaching Starling Dodd before sundown and despite suggestions of an impending downpour the weather was holding up nicely. On the way up to Starling Dodd summit the sun even came out. 

Heading up Starling Dodd

Starling Dodd summit looking towards Red Pike

Sun lights up Pillar

Looking over Crummock Water towards Grasmoor

About an hour off sunset from Starling Dodd

 It was now time to find a place to make camp. There was still an hour before sunset so I decided to head back towards Great Borne where I'd spotted a nice flat grassy area just above Floutern Tarn. 

Pitched up just above Floutern Tarn

The Trailstar's inaugural pitch

Sun Setting behind the cloud layer

Room with a view

 This was my first time pitching the Trailstar in the fells and I was pleased that it went up nice and easy, thanks mainly to some expert advice from experienced trailstar users on twitter (namely @munro277 and @outdoorsMH). Overall I was really impressed with the room underneath. It was a novelty to be able to cook under this huge shelter with no windshield required. My only mistake was pitching on a slight slope (well it looked slight at the time!) which meant my mat kept slipping off the ground sheet towards the entrance. Just as well the grass was soft & dry so I abandoned the sheet, put the rucksack under the foot end of the mat and Voila!, problem solved (well, improved anyway). I took a bivvy bag with headnet but there were no biting insects so it stayed in the rucksack.

 Thankfully the weather stayed dry overnight and the wind was minimal. I was up at 5am to catch the sunrise. A bank of cloud was moving slowly northwards, lapping over Grasmoor. It must have been a spectacular sight from up there.

Sunrise over Grasmoor ...

... and over the Trailstar

 I was packed up and away by 6am. It was a steep descent besides Red Gill over which I spied another wild camper just packing up besides Floutern Tarn. Although I didn't know it at the time, this was @hillwalker66 who had camped in a lovely spot just by the water. 

Floutern Tarn under Great Borne in the morning sun

The cloud bank moves over Grasmoor summit

 My route then followed the wall up to Hen Combe where the views are a little restricted as it is sandwiched between the higher fells of Mellbreak and Gavel Fell over valleys to the east and west.

Hen Comb summit panorama west

Hen Comb summit panorama east

Glimpses of Buttermere from Hen Comb

Grasmoor over Mellbreak

The way back to Loweswater from Hen Comb

Mellbreaks less often seen side

Loweswater from Little Dodd

Darling Fell and Low Fell

 So another 6 Wainwright's ticked off and the Christenening of the Trailstar. Will hope to be out again for another wildcamp in a few weeks. Not sure where yet but most likely some of the northern fells. 

Wainwright Count = 142/214

 

Kit List  
 
Shelter : Mountain Laurel Designs Trailstar (570g) 
Pegs : 5 x 9 inch Easton, 5 x 6 inch titanium scewers, 1 x MSR blizzard stake (doubles as a trowel) 
Mat : Exped Synmat UL 7LW (595g)   
Bivy Bag : Mountain Laurel Designs Superlight Bivvy (200g)
Sleeping Bag : Rab Alpine 400 (970g)  
Pillow : Backpackinglight - Backpacking Pillow (62g) stuffed with Montane Prism 2 jacket.  

Stove : High Gear Blaze titanium stove (48g)  + Primus 100g Gas Cart 
Pans : Evernew Solo-set (pot & mug 250g)  

Rucksack : Osprey Talon 44 (1.09kg) 

Fluid : Deuter Streamer 2lt Bladder (185g) + Sawyer Squeeze filter (84g)  

Food : Fuizion Chicken Dansak, Buttered Bread, Supernoodles,various sugary snacks, coffee, cup-a-soup.  

Bits & Bobs : headtorch and spare batteries, Iphone + Anker 5800mHh battery, tent light,  victorinox knife, map & compass, basic first aid kit and Petzl e-lite, long handles titanium spoon, various fold dry bags, flint & steel.  

Camera : Panasonic LX7 & lowepro case. 

Clothes : Base layer = Rohan Ultra Silver long sleeve T (95g) & leggings (80g) (used in sleeping bag instead of a liner), Ron Hill wicking T-Shirt, Mountain Equipment Ultratherm jacket (275g), The North Face Meridian Shorts, Montane aero cap, ME beany, TNF 'E Tip' gloves, sunglasses, Buff, Bridgedale socks.  Thermal = Montane prism 2 jacket (423g) - doubles as a pillow when packed into its own pocket. Shell = ME Firefox jacket (320g) & trousers (295g). 

Trail Shoes : Meindl Respond GTX (820g pair)
Poles : Black Diamond Trail Compact (488g pair)

Loaded rucksack weight = approx 8kgs (excluding water)

The Tarptent Scarp 1 Tent - An Opinion

This is not really a review as such. It is just my opinion of the Tarptent Scarp 1 based on my wild camping experience in the Lake District over the past 2 years in a variety of typical weather conditions for the region. I can't compare it to any other tents yet, as this is my first one.

I bought the Scarp 1 about 2 years ago after researching backpacking tents on the Internet. My requirements were; lightweight (under 2kgs), able to withstand the high winds and adverse weather conditions found on UK mountain tops (ideally in all 4 seasons), plenty of room for 1, a good sized porch, quick and easy to pitch & preferably fly first, bathtub floor & I didn't want an all mesh inner which is popular with many US tents. I had narrowed the selection down to the following tents, all of which I'm sure would have made excellent choices but had the following niggly issues (according to reviews) when compared to the Scarp 1; Hilleburg Akto (expensive, low head height, heavyish for the size, condensation issues), the Terra Nova laser competition 1 (very light but pricey and a bit fiddly to pitch tight, smallish, 3 season), Wild Country Zephyros 1 (slightly small internally, heavyish, 3 season), Vaude power lizard (very spacious & light but apparent condensation issues & can be fiddly to pitch tight, 3 season). The Scarp 1 seemed to tick all the boxes including the additional benefits of having 2 porches and being a true 4 season shelter with the option of using additional cross over poles to make it self-supporting and capable of withstanding snow. The only concerns were that I would need to seam seal it myself and that I would need to have it imported from the US cottage manufacturer Tarptent, of which I new very little.

After some deliberation I placed my order and about 2 months later my new Scarp 1 arrived, complete with an import duty fee of around £35. Despite this, it was still cheaper than all the other candidates bar one. Having studied the pitching video on the tarptent website I set it up in the garden and sealed the seams using McNett silicone sealer thinned with a little white spirit as described in this Gossamer Gear article. I was now ready to take it out to the fells and perhaps a little ambitiously, chose the summit of Scafell as my inaugural wild camp. That trip is described here, and a selection of other wild camps since then are listed here.    

Two years later I can confidently say that I have no regrets at all in buying this tent. It has exceeded my expectations and provided a great introduction to wild camping. That does not necessarily mean it will be right for others. It's certainly not the lightest tent at 1.4kgs including 6 stakes (cross poles add a further 340 grams) but for me the extra weight is more than compensated for by the usable space and wind stability. The following points are worth mentioning though, particularly if you are considering ordering one for yourself.

• The 2 porches are a godsend. I stash my rucksack and boots in one porch and all my food and cooking gear in the other, which also serves as the door. If the wind changes direction, I can easily swap sides.  
• Pitch the tent 'end on' to the wind and situated so that the doors open onto the sheltered side.
• The cross poles are really not needed unless heavy snowfall is expected. They don't seem to add any obvious additional wind resistance except that they can help keep the fly from blowing onto the inner, but so can the use of trekking poles - see next point. If not using the cross poles then tie the straps to each other to stop them flapping against the fly sheet. I know of some Scarp users who felt confident enough to remove the straps entirely so that they can no longer use the cross poles and yet have still used it in all 4 seasons with no problems.
• If the wind is blowing strongly, you can use a trekking pole and some guy line to 'lift' the fly on the windward side (see picture below). This stops the fly from blowing onto the inner. I have also since added a small loop of shock cord to the tent attachment point so as to avoid a sudden gust tearing it off (which happened to me on High Stile). You can use this set up at either end or just the windward side depending how strong the gusts are.
• When pitched with hoop guys and pole lifters this tent is rock solid in the wind. I have been in it in some wild weather without any drama.
• The tent does not include guy lines for the hoop attachment points but thankfully the excellent backpackinglight.co.uk sell a cord & cleat bundle which is great value and will do the job nicely. I find using the hoop guys adds considerably to tent stability, especially if the wind changes direction and comes from the side.
• With this tent there is the option of an 'all mesh' inner. For UK hill top conditions I wouldn't advise this. It would be too draughty. Go for the 1/2 solid 1/2 mesh option unless you only plan on camping on balmy summer nights in midge inhabited areas.
• The tent pitches inner and outer as one, which is great in poor weather. You can use it as a single skin shelter and leave the inner at home if you wish. 
• I use a Tyvek groundsheet to protect the floor from abrasion. I bought this from Tarptent along with the Scarp. It weighs about 70 grams. You can also get Tyvek from backpackinglight.co.uk who sell a single size just big enough to cover the floor footprint and double size which will extend out to cover the porches. I have also heard of other using Wickes secondary glazing film but cannot comment on its strength & durability. The Tyvek has been fine. 

Overall I have no hesitation in recommending this tent for UK wild camping. Do your research though. There may be more suitable alternatives for you. It also comes in a very spacious 2 man version (Scarp 2) which I have also read very favourable reviews. I have added a few links below which I found useful when researching the tent.

• The tarptent scarp 1 manual : included pitching guide and basic seam sealing instructions.
• Blogpackinglight's in depth review and modification suggestions. Robin is a guru in tent-craft and his numerous articles are well worth a read. 
• Hillplodder's Pimp My Tent article where Mathew King talks about his likes and dislikes of the Scarp 1.
• Philip Werners review on his Section Hiker blog.

First pitch in the Garden - note the cross pole straps tied to each other

Without the inner it becomes a huge single skin shelter for 1, and perfectly usable for 2

Using the cross-poles on Scafell

 

Using the extra hoop guys on Sail

 

A winter dawn on Sail

Using a single trekking pole as a lifter during a windy camp on Hindscarth

A great spot on Grasmoor

Looking pretty under a full moon

 
A video showing the scarp being pitched in perfect conditions on Grasmoor summit in the English lake District.


 
... and a somewhat more 'tongue-in-cheek' video of it being pitched less than perfectly in windy conditions on Hindscarth, also in the English Lake District. Enjoy !!

An Ennerdale Hike & Wild Camp

Date : 14th & 15th April 2014
Wainwrights : Grike, Crag Fell, Lank Rigg, Caw Fell, Haycock
Wild Camp : Caw Fell
Distance : 17.1 miles (27.5km)
Height gained : 4494 feet (1370 meters)

Social Hiking map & media : click here

The Route : Anticlockwise from the car park top left

 This was an unplanned walk. By some divine favourable alignment of the planets (or just plain good luck), I had 2 days to myself at short notice and a cracking weather forecast. A quick perusal of my Wainwright count highlighted 5 fells in the far western region which needed my attention. Further scrutiny of the area on my beloved lake district raised relief map suggested a possible route to link them all together and a final examination on the OS map sealed the deal. And so early on Monday morning I headed off to the Ennerdale valley, parked near Crag Farm House and set off along the most direct route to Grike up the steep Ben Gill path.

Ben Gill : the path ascends between the trees before zig-zagging right, then back left

Views to Ennerdale Water

Looking back to the car

 This is also the path up to Crag Fell but about 2/3 along the way a stile in the fence gives access to the grassy slopes of Grike. There is no obvious path and so it is simply a case of wandering steadily upwards over a featureless terrain of tussocks until finally emerging onto the broad summit plateau where a large pile of stones and a wind shelter indicate the highest point. Being the most westerly of the Wainwrights,  Grike benefits from largely uninterrupted views out to the Irish Sea whilst also offering tempting views of the larger fells further inland.

Grike summit views to the coast

Crag Hill from Grike

Grike summit panorama East

Grike summit panorama West

 A direct path then links Grike to Crag Fell, which from this side appears to be another featureless grassy mound but when viewed from Ennerdale Water, is an impressively steep rocky bulk dominating the southern shore of the Lake. Once on the summit, the 'craggy' part of Crag Fell becomes more apparent and then a stunning view opens up revealing the full length of Ennerdale Water with Great Borne and the High Stile ridge as the backdrop. A real jaw dropping panorama worthy of rucksack removal, a seated position and 20 minutes of quiet reflection. 

 

Ennerdale Water from Crag Fell

Great Borne

 Having quietly reflected, I reluctantly left Crag Fell with a mental note to wild camp there sometime. The next fell on the radar was Lank Rigg. From here, it seemed a long way off, and its shallow grassy mound of a profile without a rock in sight wasn't terribly inspiring.

Crag Fell summit panorama North - Lank Rigg highest fell centre

 It was indeed a long slog from Crag Fell over Whoap to Lank Rigg although the otherwise dreary walk was made considerably more interesting by the activity of the Forestry Commission. Clearly there had been a large expanse of trees (probably non-native pine) between Crag Fell and Whoap which had recently been felled, creating a scene of strange desolation. I would imagine this is part of the project to re-wild some areas of Ennerdale which is something I strongly approve of. It must have been a strange & unnatural sight to see a huge glade of mature trees in this area and although I obviously stumbled across this region in a state of transition I would hope that the area will look fully naturalised again in a few years.

 

Felling on the flanks of Whoap

Grike (left) & Crag Fell (right) showing the extent of felling across both hills

 Lank Rigg summit is apparently a place of buried treasure, there being a tradition of leaving coins under one of the cairn stones near the trig point. A quick inspection of the most appealing candidates was unrewarding so I wandered over to the 'other summit' further west and found a nice spot sheltered from the cold easterly to have lunch. I hadn't seen another person since leaving the car and had just skylarks and the occasional sheep for company.

Lank Rigg summit : Iron Crags & Caw Fell in foreground, Pillar to Haycock ridge in background

A flying saucer hovers over the Irish Sea

 My next destination was Caw Fell. The direct route was tempting but would involve traversing an unseen valley/stream on a pathless route over likely marshy ground and losing considerable height in the process. The alternative was to retread my tracks back to Whoap and then join the slowly rising ridge up to Iron Crags and then Caw Fell, which was longer but on a good path and without significant height loss. I opted for the latter.

 It was certainly a long walk but once on Iron Crags the views open up over the whole ridge from Caw Fell to Pillar. Stunning scenery, and really quite amazing that despite the popularity of fell walking in the lakes, I seemingly had this whole area to myself. 

The Pillar to Haycock ridge from Iron Crags

Pillar & Steeple in dappled sunlight

Caw Fell from Iron Crags

 From Iron Crags, it is a steady uphill stroll onto the long summit plateau of Caw Fell. At first it is not obvious where the highest point is but a few cairns and a wind shelter soon come into view westwards and so over I wandered, and then further on to another large cairn complete with antenna like ironmongery which seemed like it might be higher. This was the best spot for coastal views but looking back, the other cairn was obviously higher. I presume cairn hopping is also a familiar past-time for fellow peek baggers keen to stand aloft the true summit of any fell.  

 

The coastal view from Caw Fell

Lank Rigg from Caw Fell - and wondering whether I should have taken the direct route?

The view East from Caw Fell : Haycock centre right / Seatallan far right

 I had originally planned to camp on Haycock summit but a glance along the ridge to its seemingly rocky bulk, a downwards glance at the soft grass of Caw Fell, followed by a 'self diagnostic' of stamina and a time check computed that I should start looking for a camp spot. This decision was further reinforced by the inviting dry stone wall running along Caw Fell which would provide adequate shelter from the biting easterly wind. A wander along the wall in the direction of Haycock soon revealed a nice flat stone-free spot with views of the Scafell's. Perfect !

The tent door view of the Scafell's

 Tent pitched, tea (or 'dinner' if one is of a certain upbringing) on the boil and I settled down to watch the lengthening shadows creep up the Scafell's followed by a glorious sunset over the Irish Sea and then a full moon emerged over Scafell Pike. This is really what wild camping is all about. It's difficult to put into words but arranging the following adjectives into a meaningful sentence gives some idea, at least for me; inspiring, majestic, isolated, exposed, privileged. And then depending on the weather; tranquil, reflective, anxious, intimidating, frightening but always (for any American readers) Awesome!

A time lapse video of the moon rising / sunset can be seen here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I7nrsUaDWcM

Moon rise over Scafell Pike

 I slept well after watching 'Crash' on the phone followed by a therapeutic amount of single malt whiskey. It never became fully dark due to the full moon but increasing light levels in the early morning indicated it was time to get up and get some breakfast on. It was a bitterly cold morning with frost on the tent so I wasted no time in packing up and getting moving so as to warm up. I had been walking for just 10 minutes when the sun rose over Scoat Fell, painting the landscape in that familiar orange glow.

Sunrise over Scoat Fell - Haycock on the right

 The walk towards Haycock is a gradual transition onto more rocky terrain. A slight diversion off the main path up onto Little Gowder Crag is well worth the effort for the views down to Ennerdale Water.    

Ennerdale Water from Little Gowder Crag

Little Gowder Crag

Scoat Fell & Steeple from Haycock

Haycock summit

 After bagging Haycock, the highest Wainwright of my planned route, it was time to head back. I had momentarily considered going on a little further to Scoat Fell & Steeple but being a little pressed for time, and having previously climbed them, I took the main path down over Tewitt Howe to the Ennerdale valley before walking the length of Ennerdale Water back to the car.

Ennerdale Water from Tewitt How

The High Stile ridge from Tewitt How

Ennerdale Water from the Lingmell plantation

Crossing the River Liza at the head of Ennerdale Water

Crag Fell

Looking back towards Pillar

The little path along the south shore

The view from the weir at the far west of Ennerdale Water

 Perhaps it was the unexpected and hastily arranged nature of this walk which made it so enjoyable but the perfect weather was also a considerable bonus. And so the Wainwright count now stands at 128 and the next planned venture back to Lakes is early May. Here's hoping my luck with the weather holds.

Kit List  

Tent : Tarptent Scarp 1 (1.36kg)  
Pegs : 6 x 6 inch Easton, 4 x 6 inch titanium V pegs, 2 x aluminium scewers, 1 x MSR blizzard stake (doubles as a trowel)
Mat : Exped Synmat UL 7LW (595g) 
Sleeping Bag : Rab Alpine 400 (970g)
Pillow : Backpackinglight - Backpacking Pillow (62g) stuffed with Montane Prism 2 jacket.  
Stove : High Gear Blaze titanium stove (48g)  + Primus 100g Gas Cart 
Pans : Evernew Solo-set (pot & mug 250g)  

Rucksack : Osprey Talon 44 (1.09kg) 

Fluid : 1 litre Sigg Bottles (147g empty) + Deuter Streamer 2lt Bladder (185g) + Sawyer Squeeze filter (84g)  

Food : Fuizion Chicken Tikka Masala, Buttered Bread, Supernoodles,various sugary snacks, coffee, cup-a-soup.

Bits & Bobs : headtorch and spare batteries, Iphone + Anker 5800mHh battery, tent light,  victorinox knife, map & compass, basic first aid kit and Petzl e-lite, long handles titanium spoon, various fold dry bags, flint & steel.
 
Camera : Panasonic LX7 & lowepro case.
 
Clothes : Base layer = Rohan Ultra Silver long sleeve T (95g) & leggings (80g) (used in sleeping bag instead of a liner), Ron Hill wicking T-Shirt, ME Astron Hooded jacket (400g), Sprayway Challenger softshell trousers, Montane aero cap, ME beany, TNF 'E Tip' gloves, sunglasses, Buff, Bridgedale socks. 
Thermal = Montane prism 2 jacket (423g) - doubles as a pillow when packed into its own pocket.
Shell = ME Firefox jacket (320g) & trousers (295g).
Spare gloves (Buffalo Mitts & Extremities tuff bags) & socks (sealskinz)
 
Boots : Solomon Quest 4D  
Poles : Black Diamond Trail Compact (488g pair)  

Loaded rucksack weight = aprox 11kgs (excluding water)
 

Kit of the Day

I don't really do reviews but I will highlight the Montane Prism 2 as a great thermal jacket. I didn't need to use it at all for day 1 but it was used extensively in the cold morning on day 2. The instant it go's on I feel warmer and more secure. It is sized to fit over a fleece or soft shell, is fully wind proof and has a great hood. Also it packs into its own pocket and forms a perfect pillow which I use at night stuffed into the 62g backpacking pillow case from backpackinglight.co.uk