Bivouac on Grit Fell: a 'microadventure'

_MG_4515, a photo by reach.richardgibbens on Flickr.

An overnight 'microadventure' (term coined by Alastair Humphreys http://www.alastairhumphreys.com/microadventures-3/year-microadventure/ ) between two ordinary working days. I cycled from Lancaster to Jubilee Tower (at dusk thanks to a later-than-planned departure), so found myself ascending from the Tower to Grit Fell summit in complete darkness and mostly in mist. There were detours round the soggiest sections, thanks to my 80 lumen headtorch that could pick out a way far enough ahead - though the fog became the real limiting factor. It was necessary to proceed with caution, especially given the spate of bog entrapments attended over recent months by http://bowlandpenninemrt.org.uk/home.htm , but I reached the summit dryshod. The fog lifted only once, at 3 a.m., to reveal a magical moonscape with veils of mist draped across the highest Bowland fell, Ward's Stone. The photo was taken with the mist down again at 6.30 a.m., in the first light of dawn and with the help of flash, just before I packed up and descended to Lancaster for a 9 a.m. start at work. The whole 'microadventure' felt like a much longer and more intense experience than its actual duration of around 12 hours.
My most-appreciated kit on this jaunt:

• Petzl Tikka XP-2 head torch. I used three of its five modes: full power to plan the line through each boggy flush, economy for easier ground, and red for close-range organisation in the bivvy, which is easy on the eyes and preserves night vision.
• Salomon XP-Ultra GTX trail running shoes. It's asking a lot of a lightweight shoe to be stable and waterproof on such a boggy, tussocky night hike, but my socks remained dry enough to bivvy in.
• Osprey Talon 44 litre rucksack. Just the right size for my clothing, food, water and bivvy gear. The Medium/Large size fits me like a glove, and the relatively narrow, uncluttered shape didn't impede agility for delicate bog-hopping.