Camping at Wasdale Lake

Yesterday, we got back from camping at Wasdale Lake in the Lake District. By the time you read this, the photos should be uploaded to Flicker. The family went on one hike (about 4 miles) and then that afternoon I went on another. I've made Google Earth maps of the hikes for download (Hike with Family and my Hike up Scafell Pike). These were not done with some fancy GPS device in my pack or anything, just me drawing a line in Google Earth and then saving the file. They are only as accurate as I could make out the trail from Google Earth and draw with a steady hand. I just figured out how to do this, so if there is a "better" way, let me know.

The weather was perfect. It rained just a little bit the first night we were there. Neither night was cold enough to be bothersome (a light jacket outside the tent was all that was needed). The mornings were bright and sunny enough to require sunscreen. We got some cloud cover each afternoon, but nothing major.

Everyone enjoyed the camping (or so they tell me). The kids found other children at the campsite to play with, and had a great time playing tag and football. It was a very family friendly campsite, and I think we will return at some point. One of the parents asked how we knew to pick this site, as they felt it was the best site of the three run by the national trust. More remote, less crowded, and beautiful surroundings. More remote is what I liked.

The family hike was frustrating for me. Little Girl didn't really want to go, and that made it hard since she would decide to just sit down and not move. She wanted to stay at the campsite and play with the other children. She didn't understand that during the day, no one is at the campsite. They are all out doing something. Amanda and I wore our packs with light loads just to try them out and test ourselves. My goal was to make it to the tarn (small mountain lake), about a mile further on from our turn around point. I think the boy and I could have made it. Amanda was wearing out, and the girl was being stubborn.

So, because I still felt like taking a hike after we got back, I made the trek up Scafell Pike, the highest point in England at 978 m. I put myself on a time limit (for Amanda's sake) and made it up in 2 hours and down in 1.5 hours. I'd like to go again and spend more time at the top (the view is fantastic). This was a steep and very strenuous hike. Like climbing stadium stairs that go for 2 miles. Today, my legs hurt.

The other interesting thing from camping at almost 55 degrees North, was that I never saw it get dark. Officially, sunset was at about 9:30, and sunrise was at 4:40. I was up past 10:00, and it was still light. I woke up a few times during the night, and could see the tent glowing with some light. At 3:30 one morning I woke up and stepped out of the tent to look around. I could see a very distinct dusk-like glow in the North. The sky was clear, but you could only see bright planets. The sun was below the horizon, but there was still enough light to read by. I don't think it ever got dark enough for the stars to come out, but maybe I just wasn't awake at the right time.

We ate well enough. They didn't allow any open fires, so we cooked everything on a small camping stove. We made smores for desert, sort of. The marshmallows here don't brown right. They start to melt, and then you have to scorch them a bit to get some color. They seem to have a sugar coating that goes from white to black almost instantly. After some practice, we were able to get acceptable results. Also, we weren't able to find any graham crackers. We got some biscuits that were close, and used those with acceptable results. One of the other children came over while we were cooking our marshmallows and clearly thought we were nuts.

It was a good first go. Amanda and the kids did say they would do it again. I had a great time overall and look forward to doing it again.