Today has been wonderful and so breathtaking. Mike, Courtney, and I climbed Helvellyn, which tops in at 3,114 feet. We have been wanting to climb one of the top five tallest mountains since we talked to a native on our way to the top of Harrison Stickle. Dr. Bob encouraged us to climb Helvellyn and he would have probably joined us if he had been feeling a bit better. We asked if anyone else in our group wanted to go, but they all had plans to explore Ambleside today. So it was the Trailblazing Trio, ready to tackle Helvellyn. Go team!
We got off early, 8:30 AM, and walked into Grasmere. We headed north and took a path a few miles out of town. What my map failed to tell me was that it was a pretty steep path, mainly an incline on pasture. What a way to get your heart pumping! The path led us to Grisedale Tarn.
This tarn is really important to our class because it was the spot where William and Dorothy Wordsworth saw their brother, John, off to Penrith on September 25th, 1804. They would never seen John again as he died in a shipwreck in February 1805. As I was standing looking over the tarn, I couldn't help but think of this scene and could almost see three Wordsworth at the other end of the tarn.
Grisedale Tarn above and below
We ate lunch on the rocks and finally starting seeing the sun make an appearance. Then it was time to move on. We climbed up Dollywagon Pike and stopped for a minute to take in the view and check out our map. As we were doing so, two men in their mid-sixties passed us and starting chatting. They assured us that was in our reach, the path wasn't nearly as uphill as we had had earlier this morning. One of the men also hit on a key component of the Lake District: with such a variety of landscape in a smallish space, there is always something fun and exciting to do! It reminded the Trailblazing Trio of things Wordsworth mentioned in his guide to the lakes. Connections!! We wished the men safe travels and ventured onward.
And boy, was it worth it. We finally made it and this is the view:
Looking east at Red Tarn (large body of water) and in the middle back you can just barely make out Ullswater
Looking west to Thirlmere
It was pretty incredible. Fun fact, Samuel Coleridge, a frequent visitor to the Wordsworth's home, one time voluntarily chose to walk over Helvellyn to get from his home in Keswick to Dove Cottage. Crazy?!?!
Anyways, we took in the view, snapped some photos, and then headed down. We took a different path and it was very rocky. Once we got down roadside, we caught a bus, taking advantage of our last go anywhere pass back to Grasmere.
We rolled back to Dale End around 4:45, just in time for Courtney to pair up with Sam for supper. They made beef sandwiches which tasted good after a long hike. We also had some visitors tonight; a husband and wife who went to the Royal Academy of Music in London with Margie. They were great fun and filled us in on all the facts about Great Britain.
Well, it's time for class so thanks for reading and stay tuned for more updates as my final week winds down.
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