Vole Explosion

HIT THE NORTH

Tuesday 13^th September 2022

Middleton-in-Teesdale to High Cup Nick

I’m definitely in The North now. Past the mid-point of the PW and onto Harvey’s ‘Pennine Way North’ map. From here it gets wilder and more remote, with fewer amenities. Consequently, I may have to become more feral. On the plus side, I’ve seen the last of the rain and the weather will be fine for the second half of the hike.

The sky was clear last night and I had my first cold night of the trip. This morning’s shower is a lukewarm dribble – the only crap shower of the trip. I’ve shed a lot of weight and lost my belly despite all the junk food and beer.

While buying food in town I also buy Ibuprofen and this makes a big difference to the pain in my leg. By mid-morning it has reduced to a point where I hardly notice it at all. I am now making good progress on a gorgeous sunny day, following the River Tees through the ravishingly beautiful Upper Teesdale.

I reach the impressive waterfalls of Low Force and High Force, stopping at the latter for a rest until day-trippers start arriving. I see a few Goosanders on the river.

I find a nice spot by the river to eat my lunch of convenience store junk food. I also have a large bottle of beer that I bought last night to drink at the campsite before we had decided to go to the pub. I was saving it for tonight’s wild camp but decide to make it a lunchtime beer instead, just to keep my pack weight down – no other reason. A couple of times this morning it almost became a breakfast beer. Despite the warm weather it’s still cold from the tent last night and from being insulated in my backpack.

After lunch the walk continues with some interesting boulder scrambling by the river before arriving at Cauldron Snout, the third waterfall of the day. The trail then goes up the side of the waterfall, climbing up more boulders. No one can say the PW lacks variety.

Leaving the waterfalls behind, the rest of the day becomes an unpleasant route march – first a long, boring uphill slog on a stony dirt track, then a long, boring descent across boggy moorland. A huge contrast to this morning’s sublime riverside stroll. My feet start to ache more and more, and I slow right down. It also gets hotter.

I decide to wild camp at High Cup Nick. The last couple of miles seem to take forever but the final approach across an open, sheep-dotted plain is quite spectacular. There is at least one other tent already here, but the area is so large that I don’t even have to camp within sight of them.

After eating I get straight into my tent as the temperature drops dramatically as soon as the sun goes down behind the ridge.

16 miles; 25.5 km; 10 hours