Wasdale 2 nights under the Trailstar.May 21

With a bit to do this wknd,time was short so it was 5 pm on Friday when we lifted our sacks up to leave the carpark,Wasdale valley being much quieter than id envisaged 

The Temperature was pleasant as we first walked down the road before turning to walk up the valley carrying Nether beck,i was aware how dry its been so had my eye on two gills further up the valley,sadly we found both were still dry,i had been planning on following the flow uphill as high as possible,but no joy this time 

The views were superb behind us and we never saw a soul, with both the gills we had to carry camp water from the beck to the summit,sadly a steep 300 metres 😒

The Scafells behind us and the large curved top of Seatallan infront of us we had good views from our camp tonight 

The evening light was very nice as we pulled finally upto the summit of Middle fell the slight breeze having a little bite as the temp dropped away 

Trailstar shelter for tonight 

Soon enough shelters were pitched and warm layers added as the water went on for brews and a warm meal

It had been quite a few years since id pitched on this summit,the last time being on a multi day walk with young Alex and we met Matt on the 3rd night i think 

This being a two night trip i had a choice for tea tonight :)

The sky cleared out more as the last of the colour left the sky so i tucked myself up under my quilt,checking on the sky around 10-15 pm showed a crystal clear star filled heaven 

My brother had not yet seen such a clear sky and was really enjoying the night skys stunning display 

Saturday morning started well,with a slight overnight frost,the colours were beautiful as the sun slowly rose behind Gable and her neighbours 

After taking to many pictures and with several new peaks to collect for my brother Jamies Wainwright round we were away for 8 am 

                                                                                                                              L.N.T

Our route took us down past Greendale tarn and out too Buckbarrow ,where we saw our first other walker,from there we turned for the long pull up to Seatallan for another snack .It was still dry everywhere so we topped up with water at Pot of Ashness and then traversed steep ground to bypass Haycock,bags dropped we strolled out to Caw before coming over Haycock and then Scoat fell

We met quite a few folk as we left our packs for the short walk out and back to the lovely peak of Steeple with its great view of Ennerdale water

The weather was a bit strange all day with it seemed pulses of cold temps passing through,when it would drop down to 6c but then an hour or so later creep up to 12c 

The end  was nearly insight now as we followed the ridge down and up over Red Pike then the long descent to Dore head,where i knew we would have to pick up our water for camp 

Water onboard i hunted out the vague steep track that cuts across Yewbarrow to deposit you on the middle of this long fell,so avoiding the steep scramble up with packs and the extra water needed for camp 

With no more ascent to do we hunted round for a place to pitch the shelters and get a brew on 

Everyone will agree that as views go out of your shelter door,the one including the head of Wasdale is up there with some of the best 

The night had been cloudy so no stars tonight and the slow front of the Low brought with it more cloud but still allowed us another nice dawn,as the water boiled for the first coffee of the day 

We were packed and away for 7-15am,leaving only flattened grass as a sign of our camp.as the weather slowly started to close in on us as it crept southwards down the coast 

As many know its a steep descent off Yewbarrow with the weather breaking just as we reached the stoney loose section,waterproofs on we took care as we desended, half an hour later it had passed us but had left some fresh snow on the fells from above around 550m 

So another 9 new Wainwrights and dry barr 30 mins on the way down,made all the better by a visit on the way home to the Sawmill at Netherwasdale....its been done out very well with a shop attached too,we choose to get a bun each to take away...open from 9 am its very much worth a visit before you head home

        

 

A screen shot of the route and a still from the web cam up on Riase so showing a stunning new snow cover that fell just days after our trip....thanks for looking  Safe travels Peter