Bowland MicroAdventure 2013 05

Bowland MicroAdventure 2013 05, a set on Flickr.

I caught an afternoon bus to Wray and walked through the scarecrow-populated village to gain the east side of the River Roeburn. First on the lane and then on a footpath I walked south on the rough pastures above the valley via Outhwaite. I had a food break in the warm sunshine and once deployed my tripod for a photo. The first cuckoo of my spring sounded from the Roeburndale woods down on my right, with curlews and lapwings even more vocal along the way. As I drew closer to the open fells I was pleased to hear skylarks, albeit a less constant accompaniment than many years ago.
Passing Harterbeck farm I crossed Pedder Gill on the wooden footbridge above the falls (heard but unseen), and climbed further rough pasture to High Salter. A sense of vast space and distance always arises in me when I embark on the Salter Fell track that traverses many lonely miles from High Salter to Slaidburn. The open moors and sense of remoteness recall drovers' roads in the Eastern Highlands of Scotland. In this quarter of the Forest of Bowland I've yet to meet another human being.
The stone track makes for easy going, and I rapidly climbed to Alderstone Bank, a 404 metres secondary rise only 12 metres lower than the actual summit of the pass, which lies 5 km further, above the heads of Whitendale and Croasdale.
After scouting around among the sculpted rocks for photographs, but being uninspired, I decided to omit White Hill and to make directly up the facing north slope of Wolfhole Crag.
Crossing the infant River Roeburn was a nightmare of tussocks separated by deep quagmire, even in this dry season. Once across, I found a beautiful gushing stream to refill my water bottles. Conscious of possible eggs and nests I cautiously climbed the heathery, boggy, occasionally bouldery slope to the trig point and gritstone outcrops marking Wolfhole Crag's remote top. Gulls wheeled and squawked incessantly, and a pair of geese flew by, impressively close.
The sun sank greyly into cloud to the north, providing no 'golden hour' for photography. In gathering gloom, finishing by the light of my headtorch, I made my way westwards along the plateau-like ridge to the gritstone-capped east summit of Ward's Stone, 'Grey Mare and Foal'. I have yet to see the likeness, or indeed to find our monarch installed regally in the nearby 'Queen's Chair'.
Now in pitch darkness (no moon visible) and with the temperature near freezing, albeit with little wind, I had a reasonably comfortable bivouac until a photographically discouraging grey dawn. However I deeply enjoyed the soft serenity of the hills receding eastward as far as Pendle.
With 15 km and a greenhouse watering session to accomplish before a nine o'clock start at Ultimate Outdoors, I hurried away at 05.15 and, once off the western slopes of Ward's Stone, opted for rapid walking on the shooting track all the way down to Outlet Well on the LIttledale Road.
Many times I've appreciated speedy progress thanks to these tracks, but along with that convenience comes an erosion of wilderness, particularly now that they include a (mercifully strictly private) motorable link across the remotest part of the main Bowland ridge. I find it sad that the shooting estate's clients apparently demand vehicle access to within a few yards of their shoot, and that the physicality and challenge of pursuing their sport in wilderness seemingly does not appeal to them.
These reflections aside, it was reassuring to reach the tarmac and stride the near-deserted roads back, on time, to the morning bustle of Lancaster. After 20 hours of elective solitude I was happy to see people again.
Despite my tripod and other gear, photographically I came back almost empty-handed, apart from those hand-held, stereotypical springtime snapshots. But I enjoyed my micro-adventure nonetheless.
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Gear notes:
I tried five pieces of kit for the first, or nearly first, time:
(1) Haglofs Roc Ice 35 litre rucksack, kindly loaned by Jo Rice. This was a big success, its specific winter fittings lending themselves equally well to carrying a photographic tripod and bivvy gear. I was impressed again and again by the overall design and the little touches that combine to make this very 'user-friendly'. My only gripe was the very firm lower back of the rucksack, which wasn't quite the right shape for me and I had to be careful not to allow any pressure points in that area from bunched-up clothing. Generally, tightening the waist belt and wearing the rucksack closer to my body seemed to help - a more athletic configuration. I'd be interested to try the similar Roc 35, but would then lose the external crampon pocket that elegantly addresses the age-old problem of how to stow crampons securely but accessibly.
(2) Petzl Tikka XP2 head torch. An unqualified success. The economy white narrow beam was suitable most of the time on the rough moorland terrain, although conditions were hardly the most challenging: the weather was clear and there was a wall or fence to follow, requiring little real navigation or route finding. I used full power occasionally at moments of doubt, but would probably have used it more had it not been for the wall or fence. Red was useless for map reading because it made the contour lines disappear, but diffused economy beam wasn't too dazzling when I did consult the map. The best discovery was the ultra-economical red LED: brilliant for cosy lighting in the bivvy bag with everything close at hand. I didn't use the strobe modes, but it's good to know they're there for emergencies. As an early adopter of Petzl headtorches in the days when you had a big, flat battery at the back of your head (and a spare in your rucksack), I almost laughed aloud at the ridiculous lightness, compactness and battery life of this widget!
(3) Icebreaker merino wool base layer. Even though the weather had finally warmed up to normal spring, or even summer, temperatures, I was never too hot walking uphill with just my 150gm baselayer as a t-shirt. It felt snug overnight, and despite my living in it for 20 hours remained (as far as I'm aware) olefactorily presentable when I hit town.
(4) Rab Vapour-Rise jacket. The next layer over my base layer, topped with my work uniform Haglofs microfleece. Though it was counter-intuitive to place the wind resistant Vapour-Rise UNDER the micro-fleece, it worked better this way because the Vapour-Rise wicking lining tended to stick to the micro-fleece, making it awkward to put on and take off. However because I found the Vapour-Rise excellent at regulating body temperature when worn thus next to a merino base layer, this was the configuration that did it full justice. Had I not needed the microfleece for work the following day, I would have opted instead for an insulated jacket, e.g. a belay jacket, as my second warm layer, thus leaving fleece out of the equation altogether. Later in the year, in northern English summer temperatures and at relatively high activity levels, the combination merino base layer / Rab Vapour-Rise / lightweight breathable waterproof would probably cover all daytime eventualities.
(5) Canon EF 40mm f2.8 lens. This has received outstanding reviews for optical performance, despite its relatlively low cost at around £150. I funded it from the anticipated proceeds from sale of a 24-105mm L zoom, because the new wave of Canon prime lenses does, to my eyes, add sharpness and contrast to my photos, and can make a more packable system for outdoor activities. Having for many years used a Rollei 35 film camera on mountain trips, I find 40mm (maybe vying with 35mm) just about the ideal fixed focal length for mountain landscape on a 35mm frame (like that of my Canon 5D Mk II). It's a bonus that not only is this as sharp as the Zeiss Tessar of my old Rollei, but it's also a pancake lens. I couldn't quite claim that the 5D is reduced to a compact camera, but it really becomes quite a small package. It's a bit disconcerting that manual focusing (which I always use on the tripod) is 'by wire' rather than mechanical, but it works fine and one quickly enjoys its smoothness. I do regret not having a depth of field scale on such a relatively wide lens, and being obliged to guesstimate the hyperfocal distance. Build quality seems fine, although the extending barrel does create an opportunity for water to get inside the lens. But considering this is Canon's cheapest full-frame lens, it's overall remarkably solid and reassuring - not plasticky and cheap in feel like some of the entry-level kit lenses. And optically it's everything I wanted: resistant to flare when used into the sun, sharp and contrasty, with no unpleasant surprises towards the extremes of the full frame - something I value because I often place an object or human figure as a tiny but (hopefully!) dramatic centre of interest close to an edge or corner.