Be careful what you ask for! I have mentioned several times how much I enjoyed the isolated freedom of being alone on the moors. Well nature arranged that for me today in a not so pleasant way, at least at first. First I have to start with the weather, because, well, this is England, and the weather is central to everything. It rained all night pretty steadily (I felt really bad for Arnie and Gary who were camping out in the pasture behind the hotel!). The forecast predicted that the clouds would clear up in the late morning and the rest of the day would be more or less pleasant, with part sun. Looking out the window before breakfast I could see it was gray and foggy and my immediate thought was “full rain gear”. I bumped into Gary at breakfast, he had come in to talk to someone, and he mentioned that it was raining and windy and foggy- generally miserable outside. I stepped outside and he was correct. It was horrible! It was still early, about 8am and I was already done with breakfast and ready to get on the road while most were just sitting down to eat. I thought about delaying for a few hours to see if the weather would improve but decided my plan for the day was to get out, start descending and try to quickly emerge from the thick batch of clouds that had clearly enveloped the pass. Who knows how long the stubborn clouds were going to linger?

This is what it looked like when I started, right after I turned east out of the head wind.

After poking my nose out the door to check the weather, I pulled out a new piece of equipment I had not needed up to this point, my fleece neck gaiter. I have found that if I can keep my neck warm I can keep my whole body warm.  This morning I was going to need all of the help I could muster. I was in full rain gear- jacket, pants, and poncho- and with the neck gaiter in place I was ready to tackle the elements. They were more than ready to tackle me, too! I stepped out of the hotel, a lonely figure that early in the morning, especially in that kind of weather, and turned left on the road. And ran full into a horrible headwind blowing through the pass bringing with it a driving, determined unpleasant drizzle. In addition I could barely see 20 feet in front of me. It was absolutely miserable. I had both hoods up, my jacket and rain poncho, but had to hold them closed with one of my hands as the wind simply wanted to blow them off my head. I alternated hands so I could warm them up occasionally, as they soon became cold from the wind and rain hitting them. My poncho was flapping all over the place in the stiff breeze but still managed to keep my upper torso dry. My glasses spotted quickly with rain and I was soon looking at the world through a dot matrix of water. I walked with my head down, slightly bowed over, to try to minimize the impact of the wind, but it did not work too well. I had to walk north into the wind for about 30-40 minutes. A few cars went by, probably wondering what that crazy person was doing out walking in such weather, but I never even acknowledged them as they passed me in the fog. I was in my own fog- a fog of misery. I was really hoping that when I made the turn east, things would get better. I was thinking that as the morning advanced things would get better. I was sure that once I dropped lower and out of the pass, things would get better. I did not want to consider the possibility that things could get worse….

Things starting to clear up and some of the surrounding landscape becomes visible.

After what seemed like hours I finally reached the point to turn east. It did get better-marginally. With the wind no longer in my face I did not have to hold my hoods in place and additionally I got a bit of shielding from the rain. My boots were getting wet but the water had not yet penetrated through to my socks so things were OK there. I walked along the road paying attention to what was in front of me- when I spotted headlights I stepped off the road because I was not sure if they could see me well or not. The fog was shrouding everything. After a little over an hour the driving drizzle turned into a constant spitting type of rain. I was more out of the wind now, and things were bearable. Thanks to my neck gaiter I was not cold, which meant I was in a good frame of mind. Also the fog was starting to lift and I was starting to see 50, 100, 150 feet in front of me. Finally I was also off the road and on the track through the park which was much more comfortable walking.

Getting yet more clearer!

As I dropped lower and time passed the conditions got better and better, enough so that I got my camera out to take some pictures. (When I walked out of the Lion’s Inn I was thinking to myself that there would be no photography today!) 

What was really spectacular was walking along and watching the fog move around in small waves and slowly lift. As it shifted, piece by piece, the moorish landscape came into view, the fog parting like a curtain to reveal the depth and color of the terrain. And even though it was gloomy the colors were still brilliant and vivid, having that extra sharp look that the environment picks up after a cleansing rain. I no longer noticed the rain, what was left of it was minimal and it was only by the sound of the drops hitting the back of my hood that I knew there was some precipitation still around. Looking all around me, there was no one anywhere (of course not, who else would be nuts enough to be out?). It was thoroughly enjoyable to walk along, warm, if not quite dry, in a slowly unfolding beautiful landscape. I felt like Mother Nature was putting on a show just for me. I paused a moment to look back towards the ridge where I had just climbed down and could see the cloud still engulfing the area. I suspected the other walkers had not started yet and they were missing a great performance!

Now able to see the surrounding valleys.

As the morning went on, more and more of the world came back into focus. After about two hours, looking off to the left I could see the cultivated valley that met up with the borders of the park. I could also see the across the valley that was to my right. Theoretically I should have been able to see the North Sea, but that never appeared. The route was clear so I had no navigation issues- I simply had to follow a well defined dirt track all the way to the first village, Glaisdale, so the walking was easy and I made good time. While I was savoring the experience nevertheless I was striding along at my normal 20 minute mile pace, not meandering as I had done yesterday. It did look like the day was clearing but there were still a lot of dark clouds to my rear and I wanted them well behind me. I did make good time, roaming into Glaisdale, about nine miles into the trek after three hours.

What I saw when I turned around and looked back to where I had started a few hours ago.

I decided I had earned a reward and was going to stop at the local tea room for a sweet and hot drink. As I approached the entrance I big sign said “closed on Tuesday and Wednesday”. Bummer! Knowing that there was also a pub in the village (and those were the only two options) I headed for it, easy enough since it was directly on the route. Arriving there I saw a sign “open at noon” - I was early. They had some benches out front so I sat down and looked ahead at my day. Discovering that my destination was only a 45 minute walk from where I was I decided to sit and wait for the pub to open and get something to eat and linger for a while. Promptly at noon they opened and another couple who had wondered up from the train station and I went in. I ordered some soup, declined a beer, and sat down to wait while chatting with the other patrons, who were also doing the Coast to Coast, although they had taken the train in for this particular leg.

The sky once I got into Glaisdale. Weird, but welcome! This shows why the weather is such an interesting and absorbing topic of conversation in England!

As I sat there eating my soup, Kim, Clare, and Helen arrived, ordered beers and joined me. We spent a nice hour and a half chatting. They were actually staying at that hotel so were done for the day. Also during the course of our conversation Gary and Arnie, the guys camping had showed up. When I asked, they told me most people waited until around 10am to leave the Lion’s Inn. It had stopped raining but remained windy and foggy when they departed. Finally I decided to move on to my B&B about a mile and a half further along the trail. Clare and Helen decided to hike three miles forward and take the bus back so that in the morning they could shorten their route. So the three of us headed off down the trail while Kim held down the fort in the pub. Now clean and dry I am looking out my window to still blue sky with some clouds and relaxing after an exhilarating day. One more to go.

New color I found today on the moor, despite the weather!