We have been planning a summit attempt on Pen-y-ghent since the beginning of the year when we received an email from a friend asking us if we would like to join them. The idea was that we would all meet in Horton-in-Ribblesdale in the morning and have a leisurely hike up the fell at our own pace. No racing, no time limits just good old fashioned family and friends time.
I've always being slightly concerned that our youngest wouldn't make the distance as he has only just turned 4, he was the youngest on the trip and to get him to walk 8 miles or so was always going to be a challenge, however we have had him in "training" this year by getting out and about geocaching and planning routes that got steadily longer and steeper.
Our eldest child, Jake is also going to use this walk to go for his first hike away badge at cubs so he was prepared to lead the way and packed his rucksack accordingly.
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| Be prepared! |
48 hours before we were due to set off, our first disaster struck - the weather forecast called for high winds and rain! Never a good mix with kids so to avert a crisis it was agreed we would delay 24 hours and hike on the Sunday as the forecast was better. This proved to be a good decision as despite the sun only occasionally peeking out from the clouds the wind and rain stayed away to make for more favourable walking conditons.
So off we set bright and early and having misjudged the amount of time it would take us to get there we arrived... 1 hour early! As we had the youngest team member with us we figured it would be wise to set off early and get a head start on the others knowing that they would have no problems catching us as you're only as fast as your slowest team member and we weren't in a rush. The idea was for us all to enjoy the trip so we had always anticipated it would take us a few hour to summit. We had the GPS with us and planned to grab the geocaches that were on the route as they made perfect pit stops for little legs to have a rest.
We encountered a couple of seasoned walkers at the start of the path who expressed surprise that we were heading up with Bear and they wished us luck . Within the first 1/2 hour little legs was moaning about wanting to go home. Not a good start to the day.
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| "I want to go home, I'm tired now" |
However the first geocache of the day was a couple of hundred feet away so we went to find that and stopped for him to have his first snack of the day.
My eldest son was with his buddy from school and they wee having a good old yomp all over the place running up and down the path and generally lapping us so we whipped out the walkie talkies to ensure they didn't get too far ahead or stray off the path without yelling the hill down.
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| On the path to Pen-y-ghent |
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| Spot of scrambling |
A couple of more stops up the hill to rest youngest ones legs and we were ready to hit the scramble up the "nose" of the hill. Some of these steps aren't really designed for little legs and with a couple of steep drops that head straight back down we stuck close together and gave a leg up or two to Bear as his little legs couldn't quite make a couple of the steps.
At this point the going was slow, but we were all still plodding on. This bit near the summit is a bit of a bottle neck and we were worried that we were going to start holding up the fellow walkers that were regularly catching us up. We needn't have worried as with no exceptions when they encountered our little man they all stopped to say hello and to give him lots of praise and encouragement. They were so patient, giving us plenty of time to manoeuvre Bear up the slopes and he loved speaking to everyone that stopped to talk, and congratulate him on making the summit.
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| Quick rest stop before the final slog |
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| Heading up up up |
As we looked below us after the final step up we could see our friends below us on their final climb. It had taken us about 3 hours to reach the summit and as we slowly hiked towards the trig point our friends (and their kids) caught us up and we all sat and had lunch together at the trig.
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| Panoramic shot on top of Pen-y-ghent |
After a hearty lunch which we had to share with Bear - he'd eaten most of his on the walk up and he decided ours looked yummy we had the obligatory group shot and set off down via Hull Pot which our little man had been talking about going to see for days.
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| Group Shot at the top! |
So summit conquered and its down the mountain via Hull Pot. Disaster strikes and Bear trips over his own feet and faceplants. A few tears and a couple of cuddles and the promise of some sweets in my pocket and we are back on track to continue the descent.
Now we are all together as a group the kids have seperated into a mini group and are running about jumping over ditches and bogs and generally have a great time together, while the adults have a catch up chat.
As we approach Hull Pot the others decide we will all go have a peek into what is apparently one of the largest open holes in England! We also have a travel tag from Mountain Warehouse whose mission is to get photographed at geocaches so we took him along for a picture (Hull Pot is an Earthcache).
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| Looking into Hull Pot |
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| Mountain Warehouse travel tag visiting |
The final leg was a leisurely stroll back to the starting point and the local pub for a well earned refreshment. Although the older children swore they weren't tired at all, Bear did say his legs were tired but after the initial whine at the start of the hike he had a fun time which he really enjoyed. 8.6 miles in total and the walking boots we've been breaking in all year did the job perfectly.
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| The boys at the trig point |
* Sorry 1 of the boys is shaded out - he doesn't belong to me :)
