A Day of Superlatives (Lake District, Day 1)

[Note: I am posting this on Tuesday, 10/24, though I wrote it on Monday. My posting for the next week will be sporadic, depending largely on access to the internet at the hostels where we are staying]

Today was our first full day in the Lake District, a free day for students to wander and explore the area around Ambleside. Today was a day of superlatives. I hiked the Scafell Pike, the highest mountain in England, starting the journey in Seathwaite, the “wettest place in England,” with around 140 inches of rain per year. I hiked the 11.5 mile journey with five of the best hiking partners one could hope to experience the day with: Mike Morrison (husband of ACU Oxford’s Study Abroad director, Jacque), Ben Camp, Samuel Ash, Sam O’Quinn, and Levi Cox. The day was glorious and will go down as one of the most memorable hikes I’ve ever experienced (note: my internet service at the hostel is spotty, so I will be uploaded a complete set of pictures from our trip at a later point).

How to explain our experience today? We left our hostel in Ambleside around 8:30 AM and drove about an hour to our drop point. As soon as we got out of the cab it started to rain, letting up for only brief periods throughout the day. I quickly gave up on using my Nikon camera; it was far too wet to have the equipment out, and as we ascended I really needed to use my hands to traverse the steep, slippery terrain. Thus, I have very few personal pictures from the hike. Fortunately, Mike and Sam O’Quinn brought Go-Pros, so when I upload pictures I’ll be including their contributions to our journey. Note to self: I really need to get a Go-Pro. They are compact, waterproof, and perfect for capturing moments in active hiking.

Our ascent up the fells begin with some beautiful fields divided by some amazing dry-stack walls. Sheep were pasturing all over the hills in these fells. Eventually, our ascent took us above a fog line that made long-distance views impossible. The weather worsened. About halfway to the Scafell summit we were being pelted with driving rain and 30-40 mph wind gusts. The rocks were slick. The waterproof raingear worked for the most part, at least for the first half of the journey. As we ascended to the summit a number of climbers were passing us the other way, having given up because of the bad weather close to the peak. We opted to press on. I am glad we did. We reached the summit around 12:45 PM. The wind was blowing so hard I could lean into it and have it hold me upright. There were no glorious views from the summit. We were blanketed in fog. With fridged hands we scarfed down our lunches and began our journey back from where we came.

Being in William Wordsworth country (more on that in my next post), the day’s experience took me back to the opening lines of a Wordsworth poem I read during my undergraduate days, “Lines Composed a Few Miles above Tintern Abbey”:

"Five years have past; five summers, with the length
Of five long winters! and again I hear
These waters, rolling from their mountain-springs
With a soft inland murmur.—Once again
Do I behold these steep and lofty cliffs,
That on a wild secluded scene impress
Thoughts of more deep seclusion; and connect
The landscape with the quiet of the sky."--William Wordsworth, "Tintern Abbey"

The descent was fabulous. There were some dodgy moments on some of the slick rock fields, and my knees are now aching, but we successfully made our way down the mountain, taking an alternative route that ended at a hotel with an amazing pub with a woodburning stove that made the room smell like my grandparents’ house. My waterproof boots eventually gave way to the streams that we had to walk through in our descent, but my feet stayed mostly warm, and the companionship of Mike and the students made the day one I will never forget. Sadly, my Study Abroad cellphone may have bit the dust on this journey. It started malfunctioning near the summit, I think because of the rain. I’m going to some tricks for drying it out to see if I can revive it.

Scafell Pike will be one of the highlights of my semester, not only because of the breathtaking experience of walking among the fells of northern England but because of Mike and the students, my companions on this journey. It feels great to participate in experiences that forge relationships, turning students into friends. In a day of superlatives, that was the greatest part of this journey.