Wild Places & Sacrifice - Part 2

Some pondering thoughts from yesterdays blog:

“…Self analysis; the prayers of myself and others; and much soul searching continued, often with great anguish and anxiety over just where true values lay, were they in the comfortable, some might say affluent lifestyle of the mainstream? Or should these values be sacrificed for the more spiritual realm of trying to inspire young people (and adults) of the benefits of interacting with our created environment, indeed exploring faith …”

What in our lives have we set importance and value on?

Can our lives become crowded with things of false worth?

Is it time to sacrificially ‘give up’ some things, bringing opportunity to consider new ways for the greater good of ourselves and others?

Wild Places & Sacrifice

A Personal Journey

A lifestyle that involves both working and spending as much time as possible enjoying the outdoors has not always been the case.

I have vivid early memories of long walks in the Cheshire countryside and tramping up and down hills in North Wales with my Mum, Dad & (middle) brother, these were good times which undoubtedly laid a foundation for what was to come. However, predictably, life followed a pathway that will sound all to familiar to most: school, college, work and like many, in the area of the country from which I originated, this led into the local chemical industry. It must be said that these were enjoyable days with few regrets. Science, particularly chemistry held a fascination whether it involved building molecules of interest or working out how to extract in a pure form the material which was deemed to be of use or interest, I had some great mentors & teachers! Long quests in the laboratory to pursue lofty goals provided challenge for the mind and demanded a degree of dexterity. The atmosphere in the early days had a distinctly academic slant which over the years, sadly, evolved quite rapidly into something with a much sharper commercial focus. A developing "career" and changes in business structure ultimately led to a life changing move from what had always been "home" on the banks of the Mersey to what I now regard as the "Beautiful North East of England" and work in the chemical industry had become both lucrative and comfortable.


I fell in love with the North East and despite ten years in Cumbria still enjoy every opportunity to re-visit good friends and familiar places. It was after just a year or so in this new home that I became both impressed and quite motivated by the work of Messrs (Reverend) Rob Bianchi and Captain Alan Rainford (Church Army) in the then recently created West Pelton Activity Centre. This was essentially a Church based youth outreach project which rather than rely on the usual combination of table tennis, pool and darts at the youth club to engage young people employed the media of kayaking, canoeing, rock climbing and caving. To me this was a fresh and innovative approach, the work struck a chord and with their support elements of what they were doing with young people began to be practiced in the Church youth work (Boys' Brigade) I was involved in myself. The benefits were tangible and the sense of adventure that it engendered different to everything I had experienced in this area previously.

Life took on a strange sense of imbalance. Work became increasingly less science and more commercially biased with travel commitments that led to a good twenty countries being visited, many on a regular basis over a 6-7 year period. The material rewards associated with this increased substantially. Weekends, however, revolved around training to master the vagaries of open canoes and kayaks as interest in this area grew. There was much good coaching along with equal measure of trial and error, I was hooked! All this was underpinned by a growing conviction that there must be "more to life" than working to make money for a large chemical producer (I was well aware of the rewards this returned to me). Self analysis; the prayers of myself and others; and much soul searching continued, often with great anguish and anxiety over just where true values lay, were they in the comfortable, some might say affluent lifestyle of the mainstream? Or should these values be sacrificed for the more spiritual realm of trying to inspire young people (and adults) of the benefits of interacting with our created environment, indeed exploring faith, through what was essentially a tiny Christian Charity operating on a shoestring budget from a small corner of North East England?

Eventually, the "call" to a different way of life won, it was time to move on to canoes, mountains and caves. So it was, the chemical industry received my resignation, with no firm plan as to how to transition into this new world - to some what would seem to be the most reckless thing I'd ever done in my life! The rest, as they say, is by and large the history that is summarised in these pages.

The First Week Of March.....

The first week of March has seen the pace of the year pick up markedly, a trend that looks set to continue through into the early Autumn - I like this, there is a very purposeful feel to life at the moment.

Below is a short photo-blog which summarises a week which has featured: more late snow in Cumbria; much travel; Technical Advisor meetings; training; ghyll scrambling with groups in the South Lakes and a visit to Nenthead mines with a group on Sunday.........

 

 

 

Wild Places & Solitude - Part 3

Wild Places & Solitude - Part 2

Yesterday’s blog spoke of solitude and remoteness:

 

“Whenever possible I attempted to grab a day or even a few hours to escape into the fells, invariably on my own and with an un-written agenda of finding solitude.  The sense of remoteness and maybe even more an absence of human activity has always held a lure; an opportunity for reflection, planning and to seek new perspective.”

Is our experience one of a chosen solitude, or have we at times found ourselves in enforced places of isolation?

Is our solitude about being in that place of human absence and physical remoteness or have we known busy days with people around us yet still feel very alone with no-one to turn to?

Is it time now, whatever our circumstances, to spend a while ‘apart’ but without being ‘alone’?

Wild Places & Solitude

Spring and Summer of 2012 were a challenging time of life. The "busyness" of the Centre and the pressure of domestic circumstances presented relatively few opportunities for leisure. Whenever possible I attempted to grab a day or even a few hours to escape into the fells, invariably on my own and with an un-written agenda of finding solitude. The sense of remoteness and maybe even more an absence of human activity has always held a lure; an opportunity for reflection, planning and to seek new perspective. Time and circumstance moved on leading to Lent and Easter 2013 which became a seminal point in life. The Easter journey was both deep and meaningful culminating in a solo micro-expedition in the Lake District Fells in what were still full winter conditions. The sense of solitude and retreat experienced in those few hours was unique. 

John Muir said: "Keep close to Nature's heart... and break clear away, once in a while, and climb a mountain or spend a week in the woods. Wash your spirit clean."



Regular readers may recall the original account of this trip ....

"A night out in the fells had been on the radar for a few days...... After getting back from Church on Easter morning I faffed around for ages and then at about 3 o'clock decided this was the night to go for. In a way, I was quite pleased that last minute supplies were difficult to come by - all the shops were closed because it was Easter Sunday. 

After a major change of plan (I was thinking of going to Warnscale Head) I set off for Mosedale with a loose plan of staying over in Lingy Hut, it was nearly 5 o'clock before I arrived at the head of the valley & started walking. Along the Cumbria Way and up through the old Carrock Mine site was interesting, will need to make a discrete visit back here again one evening (with SRT kit!). After a short distance along the beck there is a pleasant alternative path which cuts the corner off the Cumbria Way ascending across Arm o' Grain directly to Lingy Hut. I called in the hut to check whether anyone else was around & looking like staying over, satisfied that I was likely to get the place to myself I set off north through the snow for High Pike. The summit of High Pike speaks for itself in the photos below, in this winter of superlatives the views were breath taking.

High Pike

The Northern Fells or the Scottish Highlands?

Re-tracing my steps it was back to the hut for something to eat and at least some respite from the numbingly cold wind.

Unfortunately there were no clear skies to be enjoyed and the wind picked up in the early evening curtailing any further plans, so it was early to bed as the temperatures plummeted (minus 5 to minus 6 degC has been mentioned but I have no way of verifying this). It was certainly a cold and draughty night in the hut.

In line with the continuing loose plan I got up at half four and left the hut at five a.m. heading for Carrock Fell summit and a planned rendevous with sunrise. The visibility was no more than average (due to darkness and high level cloud obscuring the moon) so I set off by the light of head torch on a bearing with a calculated time for the leg in my head. The snow had a crisp crunch to it with every footfall, the next hour or so was quite possibly the highlight of the trip - complete solitude in a dark frozen wilderness. The allotted time passed; check the map; new bearing; new distance calculated & on again in the darkness. This leg was aiming almost due east for Mitton Hill, slowly a faint red glow began to appear in the sky ahead. No need for the compass now the rising sun marked the way on. Previous memories of Carrock Fell summit led me to think that there might be a scramble over some boulders to realise the summit cairn, either these memories were inaccurate or the snow was simply that deep and hard frozen that the boulders were buried. The view at the summit is captured below:

I hung around at the cairn for quite a while trying to take in the vastness of the landscape around me & reflecting on the journey through lent and the year to date. It was cold but I could have stayed there for ages.

After a while I re-traced my steps heading west into a brightening day with  breaking cloud and massive views beginning to develop before my eyes.

At the flat ground between the first ring contour and Mitton Hill I broke off the summit plateau to the south west back towards Brandy Gill & the Carrock Mine sett. The snow in this area was especially deep and progress was slow as I repeatedly sunk past knee deep.

A steep descent saw me back at the mine where I ratched about for a short time before re-joining the Cumbrian Way heading back towards the car on the Mosedale valley road.

It was only eight a.m. when I reached the car, the temperature was minus one deg C on the car's thermometer.

This was a really enjoyable micro-trip lasting not much more than twelve hours but containing two summits; an overnight stay in a mountain hut and yet more superb winter conditions."








I read recently words to the effect that many might say walking in the hills, alone, produces a sense of "getting away from it all"  whereas for a minority the same activity gives a sense of "getting closer to it all" - I can say without hesitation that it is the latter which applies to me. I've always felt at home in the mountains and strangely this feeling of being at home is heightened when alone; my best mountain experiences have undoubtedly been when by myself. I'm reminded of Thoreau's words:

"I have a great deal of company in the house, especially in the morning when nobody calls"

There is a sense of perspective that is uniquely gained from journeying, on foot, in high wild places: the physical exertion in reaching a height; the effect of the prevailing weather be it windy, wet, hot or still and cold; the "timelessness" of a mountain that existed before man and will exist long after man are the conditions that crystallise a clarity of vision which for me is elusive at most other times.

 

Changes: A Day Out On The River

Yesterday we spent a day on the river; it was an open canoe trip; with good friends both new and old; on the River Swale in North Yorkshire. The day was grey and cool with the river level a little on the low side but the Pennine scenery of the Dales spoke for itself - as always it was stunning!
 

We got on the river at Gunnerside, very much a favourite location, and paddled down to Grinton a seven or eight mile stretch that I've not done for well over ten years. This part of the River Swale has two or three straightforward grade 2 sections, however, the main technical issues come from the plethora of trees that lie next to or in the water!

There were two very striking aspects to the trip. Firstly, that when travelling and viewing the landscape from the perspective offered by the river just how few fellow human beings you see. This was remarked upon following our outing. Secondly, just what a dynamic and changing environment this river-scape is. There are numerous examples of bank erosion and corresponding deposition which have produced dramatic changes in the river's characteristics. It would appear that the many attempts which are being made to stabilise the situation are destined to be futile. In monitoring the levels of the river prior to the trip we observed a drop from almost 2m above "base" level to just 0.2m above "base" level in less than forty eight hours; big changes which happen quickly!

Symbolically, when thinking on change, this trip marks a watershed in Canoes, Mountains & Caves' year calendar. Although there is still much "behind the scenes" winter work to complete, the last day of February signals the end of the quieter winter season and the start of  a very busy Spring, Summer and early Autumn. Our community programme will continue as the cornerstone of our work through this period but will be added to by: significantly more work with groups of young people; an open canoe expedition in NW Scotland; another Snowdonia Activity Holiday; BCU Training Courses; some "experimental" new outdoor activity initiatives; many freelancing engagements and much activity development work. Its an exciting time!