Day 1 on Hadrian's Wall

Hi there! First, I would like to apologize for not posting sooner. I typed three days worth of notes up (on my phone) and then it froze. So this is try 2.0 and I'm trying to not be frustrated and say too little. Also, forgive the typos and frequent switching between past and present case. Lastly, I'm including only a few pictures at the end because pics are hard to neegotiate on the mobile app.

It was a gorgeous morning when I woke in Carlisle at 6:30. I jumped out of bed and went into the town hoping to find some breakfast and begin walking the wall. But I guess these people like to sleep in because nothing was open. I wandered aimlessly looking into shop windows until I reached Carlisle cathedral. I went in. I've seen grander, but Carlisle was quaint, well-kept, and 1000 years old. And I had it all to myself.

After finally finding breakfast I went to Sainsbury's (like Wal-Mart) and bought kiwis, carrots, bananas, and three rolls for just 2.5 pounds! This is a country where a chip of coffee it's three pounds. Looking back I should have bought more food when I had the chance.

I then began the walk! Hadrian's wall was commissioned by emperor hadrian in AD122 and took ten years to complete. It ran 73 miles across England from Carlisle to Newcastle. Today the trail is 85 miles long and encompasses the two cities. I cut off 15 miles by starting at Carlisle instead of the coast. Not much if the wall remains for the first 20 miles. I walked for many pleasant hours through pastures, down lanes and over bridges. Even through people's yards! But I hardly met a soul. I did, however, meet many sheep. This goaded me into inventing many foolish puns: "I should kidnap ewe and start the Hadrian's Whool company." But such jokes made me feel sheepish and I hurried on to the next stile or whicket gate. Its lambing season. Baby sheep are cute. Shout out to Amy. You'll never guess what I yelled every time I saw a new flock.

My guidebook says that if March ever had a week of nice weather it would be the best month to walk the wall. Well I got that perfect week. As a result there aren't any other trekkers. I have it to myself. The locals say that this time last year there was a foot and a half of snow. But I've been hiking without my shirt on.

My walking poles have already proved themselves to be invaluable. I've also devised a way of tying my camera to the front if my pack for easy access. The best camera is the next that You have ready.

I need to average 16 miles a day to complete the wall in the time that I have allotted. My hope was to camp outside But before I knew it I was in the town of Greenhead. I had walked 21 miles and was pretty tired. So I took a bed in the completely empty 40 bed hostel. I chatted for a while with a very friendly couple in the town of Banks and they filled my water bottles.

Greenhead hostel was cool because it was in a converted church. I had a good pint of beer at the only pub and had a meal. Food was so pricy which is why I wished I'd stocked up at sainsbury's. I went to bed and slept for 11 hours.

The Journey to Hadrian's Wall

Someone great (whose name I cannot at the moment remember) once said in one of his books (the title of which escapes me at the moment), that "all good things come to those who wait." This truism was brought home to me in spades today.

I arrived at the airport in plenty of time for my flight on Lufthansa airlines (one of the best airlines I have ever flown with), and was informed by the man at the check-in desk that they would be calling for volunteers to go tomorrow because the flight was overbooked. "Will there be a voucher?" I inquired.

"Yes," he replied, "a voucher for $800 will be given to you upon your arrival at your destination."

"$800? Is that real hard cash that I can buy food with or pay to go to the zoo with?"

"If you want, sir, they can give you eight $100 bills."

I had a tent and a sleeping bag so I volunteered. But, alas, many other people apparently also thought that a daily wage of $800 was to be coveted, because the supervisor announced that they would be drawing tickets for those who would stay. After about an hour of waiting (in which my stomach ulser from India reared its ugly head) the flight desk person called a list of names. Mine was the last to be called. "Mr. *****, I am 99% sure that you will be going tomorrow, however yours was the last name drawn and there is a slight chance that another passenger will not show up so would you kindly wait to the side until we have boarded?"

Kindly, I waited.

It is an odd feeling, not knowing if in 15 minutes you will be headed to Europe or to the McDonald's in the food court.

I watched the desk people have a lengthy whispered conversation. I even heard "Mr. *****" bandied around with a lot of German words. Finally I was called to the desk.

"Am I going to Europe today?"

"Yes, Mr. *****, but in a little better class than you had expected."

And here I am. $800 would have been nice, but a three-course meal with real silverware, unlimited Jack Daniel's, a chair that turns into a bed, and Anthony Dvorak through noise-cancelling sennheisers is pretty good too. And all I had to do was wait a little.

I don't have any clue how to use any if this stuff though. I'm taking all my cues from the rich German businessman beside me. I mirror his every action. "Whoa! That's where the tray comes from! What? I have my own toothbrush in this little compartment here? The lady is taking my jacked and hanging it up? It's a crumpled up Patagonia backpacking jacket for crying out loud." Pretty fun. Oh and dad, Lufthansa's special wine of the month is the Columbia Crest Two Vines Shiraz. They have good taste.

I had a layover in Frankfurt and then flew to London. After a very friendly (and lengthy) conversation with the border official I exited the airport and had very little trouble finding the Underground. I too the Picadilly line to Green Park and transferred to the Victoria line. I got off at Euston, got my train ticket and now I am speeding across beautiful english countryside. It is absolute corner of a day. And everything has gone so smoothly! Except that I had to pay 30p to go to the bathroom.

At 7:15 I arrived in Carlisle. The streets were dark and mostly empty. It took me the longest time to find the street signs but eventually, after walking a mile in the wrong direction, I found Carlisle city hostel. Time to sleep.

Lena Lake

When we left for Lena Lake at 6:30 we expected to be part of a mass exodus of holiday hikers. But when we reached the parking lot we were pleasantly surprised to see that there weren't any other cars.

 

The hike to the first lake is a very gradual, three mile climb. We reached the lower lake, which was half frozen, at 10:30. It has obviously suffered from a lack of snowfall because there is about 20 feet of shore line that usually is submersed.

 

It wasn't until after we had explored and eaten our lunches that other hikers began to arrive. We discovered that we had beaten the crowd because we passed 25 hikers as we descended. It was very warm for the end of December.

 

Mailbox peak: What not to do when hiking

If you started in Seattle and drove for a day it would be difficult to find a more strenuous hike than Mailbox Peak. Located 5 miles outside of the town of North Bend, it is a 6 mile out and back with 4,000 feet of elevation gain. You don’t know what that means until you’ve done it. I’ve hiked mailbox in August and March and I wanted to see what it would be like in November.

 

I had a late start and didn’t begin the ascent until 2 PM. As I passed group after group coming down— each flushed and fulfilled-looking—I grew more and more nervous. No one else was going up. The last group of hikers asked if I had a flashlight. “Oh yes,” I replied jauntily as if I were perfectly confident and did this all the time.

 

I reached the summit just as the sun was setting (not that it was visible because I was inside a cloud.) Immediately I began the descent. About the time that I was slipping on ice and tripping on roots I remembered that I hadn’t changed my flashlight battery in three years. In good conditions it take two hours to climb down, but in the pitch dark it was almost impossible to move from blaze to blaze. In a matter of minutes I had lost the trail.

 

If I had a brain at all I would have immediately turned around and found the last blaze, but I blundered on, sure that I would find the next one soon enough. I crashed through thickets and tripped over branches until I finally had to admit to myself that I was completely lost. Pulling out my compass I wandered southwest for about two hours.

 

It is amazing how quickly a person can lose their wits when they are lost in the woods. I felt completely demoralized and had to force myself to continue. Every part of me wanted to sit down and wait the night out. I guess this is how Frodo and Sam felt.

 

Just when I was deciding to spend the night under a log I came across a trail. Not the right one, but it was going down. I followed it for an hour and it eventually spit me out at a road. From there I was able to find the car and drive, wet, muddy and ashamed back home.

 

Hiking is fun but please be safe!