Trail Day 2-11 to go

Started the day with a hearty English breakfast at the Butt House (seriously): fried egg, toast, grilled tomato slice, bacon rasher, sausage link, coffe and tea with orange juice. Walked to town to meet the group of hikers we'd befriended yesterday, all from England and Australia. Spent the day together walking the relatively flat and easy trail along Ennerdale water in our first of 3 national parks. We stopped for lunch at the Black Sail Hut Hostel where we brewed coffee and tea and braced ourselves for a steep and treachorous climb up Dale Head. As is common in the Lake District, it began to rain when we were half-way up the mountain and continued to rain the rest of the day. Once up on top, we followed the cairns (piles of rocks) to stay on the trail and found our way to Rigghead Quarry where they still mine slate. We stopped for a rest, to dry off a bit and group up with yet another English walker we'd met the day before. We all stayed together the rest of the way down the mountain, dropping our Australian friends in Sea Cote, our English friends on the road to Stonesthwaite and we marched on to our hostel in Longthwaite. All are in the Borrowdale region.

We had a great hot dinner (potato and carrot soup and red pepper and lentil pie) with fresh peach cobbler and custard for dessert, now it's off to bed. We've completed 31 of our 190 miles and have 9 miles through the mountains again tomorrow. Found some great blister bandages and learned that trekking poles make a huge difference in the ability to navigate the uphills and the downhills. More tomorrow.

Travel to St.Bees

Days 1 & 2 of the trip were spent traveling from Minneapolis to Northern England for the start of the trip. We took off from Minneapolis St. Paul International Airport, had a 2 hour layover in Atlanta where, once we loaded the plane, we had an additional hour or more delay for a mechanical delay.  Once the plane was air-ready, we took off for the overnight flight to Manchester, UK.  After several bad movies, we curled up or stretched out for sleep but several crying babies in the plane made sleep nearly impossible. We cat-napped our way to Manchester. Once in England, we took 2 trains to St. Bees and stayed at a lovely B&B near the beach on the Irish Sea.  We walked around St. Bees and toured an ancient church where we listened to the pipe organ that was ancient and had 2000 pipes. We had Toad in a Hole dinner which is Yorkshire pudding with mashed potatoes, steamed vegetables, local sausage and brown sauce (h&p) along with a local ale that was not memorable.  We went back to the B&B and fell promptly to sleep. Up at 6, we had a substantial breakfast (Kay tried Scottish kippers -eew) and hit the trail at 9.

Torrential rains overnight meant wet and mucky trails with washed out bridges, mud slides and high water everywhere. We met several groups and individuals along the way, some friendly, some not so friendly, and had dinner in Ennerdale with the friendly ones. We've agreed to meet in the morning to tackle day 2 of the walk. More later when we have Internet service (if) and will post picture when we figure out how to do that. Make up your own picture for the giant slugs we've seen on the path and 3 very wet Trekkers. No blisters so far and we'll let you know if we are unable to move tomorrow. 15 miles of 192 done.

Planning for the Wainwright Coast to Coast Path

Coast to Coast map from Sherpa Van website

Here it is - the entire 190 mile path from St. Bee's on the Irish Sea to Robin Hood's Bay on the North Sea through 3 national parks featuring mountains, hills, dales, lakes, swales, flatland and moors. We plan to walk for 13 days, averaging 14-15 miles per day with one layover day in Richmond, a city just past Reeth, for a total of 14 days on the path. 

We worked with an outfitter, the Sherpa Van Project, to reserve our lodging accommodations and move our bags to the next B&B each day. We'll be staying in a variety of hostels, B&Bs, hotels, inns and private residences.

Route - this is the plan, we'll keep you posted with pictures and observations every few nights (when there's an internet connection):

1. Start at St. Bee's, 14 miles to Ennerdale Bridge
2. 9 miles to Longthwaite in Borrowdale
3. 8 miles to Grasmere
4. 16 miles to Patterdale
5. 16 miles to Shap
6. 21 miles to Kirkby Stephen
7. 12 miles to Keld
8. 11 miles to Reeth
9. 11 miles to Richmond
10. Layover day in Richmond
11. 23 miles to Osmotherley
12. 21 miles to Blakey
13. 10 miles to Glaisdale
14. 15 miles to Robin Hood's Bay

Equipment: Besides the aforementioned trekking poles, daypacks (with rain cover) and well-broke waterproof hiking boots, the miracle fabric (wool) socks and turquoise scarf, we've got [tested] waterproof rain gear, quick-dry hiking pants, waterproof gaiters, moisture-wicking shirts and long underwear. And, because they're small and easy to tuck in a pocket, a stocking hat and gloves. Sun glasses? Well, we'll have them along, but may not need them.

Weather: It's a bit wet in the Lake District, averaging 78 inches of rainfall a year. And, the whole of the island is kept cool and temperate by the oceans, average temperatures are in the 50s and 60s in September. The landscape varies from mountains to moorland bogs, so we're prepared for cool, wet walking. In the event it's warmer and drier than usual, we trained in the heat on the North Shore, so hopefully, we're ready for most any weather.

Bemidji Touring

Kay, Betsy, Kelly in Bemidji, MN

The week after our North Shore hike, we passed through Grand Rapids where we logged several miles on the Mesabi Trail on our way to Bemidji for a meeting. In Bemidji we took the opportunity to walk a few miles on the beautiful paved path around Lake Bemidji were we stopped to have our picture taken with Paul Bunyan.

North Shore Training Hike

Kelly, Kay, Betsy at Raven Rock Overlook in Tettegouche State Park

One month prior to departure, we spent a weekend on the North Shore of Lake Superior and did back-to-back hikes through varied terrain. Day 1, we hiked about 15 miles in Tettegouche State Park following the Superior Hiking Trail from the trailhead to Blue Jay overlook, stopping for lunch at the Raven Rock Overlook, then following the ATV trail back toward the trailhead. Unfortunately, the link between the ATV trail and the trailhead was filled with waist-high grass. A tad averse to Lyme disease, we decided to hike back down the ATV trail to Highway 61 and walk the shoulder of the highway back to the trailhead. It was a great hike through the rocks and pines on the Superior Hiking Trail; the wide open ATV trail was easy walking, but with 95º heat with high humidity, we missed the tree cover and were grateful for periodic breezes off the lake. To end the hike, we climbed down to the mouth of the Baptism River and soaked our feet in the cool water. 

Kelly, Betsy, Kay at Betty's Cabins

 We stayed near Silver Bay in a classic North Shore resort; we chose cabin 2 as it featured indoor plumbing (cabin 4 has an outhouse)! Owner Betty Hofschulte is a wonderful host with an encyclopedic knowledge of the area. On day 2, we packed up and headed north to Temperance River State Park just north of Schroeder. The Temperance River is a geological wonder and we enjoyed following it as we climbed toward Carlton Peak, a 3.2 mile climb with a 900' rise in elevation. Not sure if it was the heat or the humidity, but it took us much longer than we anticipated. Atop Carlton Peak, we ate lunch and enjoyed the view, visited with some folks from Grand Marais, then tackled the descent. With about 300 yards to go, a torrential downpour swept through - complete with hail. The air was much cooler after that. 

Watch for the trademark turquoise scarves throughout our travels. Here we are at Betty's Cabins practicing the art of draping an infinity scarf.  Trekking lessons learned so far:

• Yes, trekking poles are a worthwhile investment for balance, stability and to transfer some of the workload from legs to arms. Bonus: you can swat your walking companions when they get smart. And, if you're really tricky, you can balance on them and swing both legs out in front for a giant step.
• No matter how well your hiking shoes are broken in, and what kind of miracle fabric socks you wear, when it's 95º and 85% humidity, you'll get blisters. Tape 'em and keep walking.
• A day pack with a lightweight alloy frame and mesh back panel for ventilation is also worth the investment. When adjusted to fit correctly, the pack adds no noticeable burden to the hike - even with a full 3 liter water bladder.
• There is no such thing as sweatproof sunscreen.

Kay, Betsy, Kelly

Welcome to the adventures of the trekking trio! We are preparing to hike the Wainwright Coast to Coast path across northern England this fall and invite you to follow our adventure; we'll post entries as often as we have internet access during the trip. We plan to complete the path in 13 days of walking, with a layover day in Richmond, for a total of 14 days on trail. We worked with an outfitter, Sherpa Van Project, for lodging and baggage transport.

Meet the trekkers:

Kay Lovett

Kay, our ringleader, lives in southeastern Minnesota where she raises chickens and logs miles with her golden retrievers.

Betsy Johnson

Betsy lives in northeastern Minnesota where she logs miles on ski and logging trails.

Kelly Kunkel

Kelly lives in south central Minnesota where she logs miles with her hunting dog on the prairie.