Issue #30 The Misc. Adventures Digest

Summiting England's highest peak with a 6 year old...

Jun 16, 2023

Hello, we hope you’re enjoying the sunny weather? We sort of are, although it’s not good weather for working outdoors and things are starting to look a bit dry and bleak in places, I’m sure we’re not the only ones hoping for some rain soon. This week’s Digest is an account of our hike up Scafell Pike with Benji last weekend; a tale of perseverance and pleasant surprises. There’s no Nature Happenings this week, this will be coming out as a separate newsletter from now on the first of which will be next week, so look out for that!

We are not really ones for peak bagging, or conquering summits. We have no desire to be the highest, or the fastest, or to have travelled the furthest. We do love being in the mountains, but we go for the experience, the journey and encounters with Nature along the way. I would even cautiously go as far to say that the drive to conquer peaks has done damage to our collective relationship with Nature, turning ancient geology into a commodity.

And yet, the Scafell massif casts an ominous and alluring presence in this part of the Lakes. It is omnipresent as we go about our daily chores; on the school run, on the 20 minute drive to the nearest shop, on the journey to the start of any of our favourite places. The thought of Scafell Pike being the highest mountain in England has captured Benji’s imagination ever since we moved here, and we have talked of climbing it often. It’s been a running joke in the house. Benji will sometimes ask me what we’re doing at the weekend and I will say “climb Scafell Pike?” at which point he will look at me with terror in his eyes, not quite sure if I’m serious or not.

In recent months though, as his legs have got stronger, and other smaller mountains have been included on our hikes, the idea of summiting Scafell Pike has gone from one of trepidation, to possibility, to inevitable as Benji finally scrawled “HiKe SCAFFEL PiKe” on the list of planned adventures we have taped to our bookcase at home. Not known for its potential to afford a sense of solitude, we wanted to tick it off the list before the summer holidays started and Benji, who is rapidly approaching seven wanted to make his summit bid whilst still six. Who knew the pressures of time and age could weigh so heavily on one so young?

And so, with good weather forecast, bank holidays and half terms behind us, Saturday June 10th would be the day. Keen to give ourselves a chance of avoiding the worst crowds, we set the alarm for 3:45am, ate a quick breakfast of sorts and made our way in the beautiful blue early morning light to Wasdale Head.

I’m going to admit to being crestfallen at seeing so many cars and vans already in the car park. I hid my mild sense of panic as best as possible; hiking for me is not supposed to be a social event but this was going to be different. Despite being in the shadow of the mountains, the air was sticky and the gusty wind warm. With some trepidation - would Benji be able to make it? Should we be doing this on the hottest day of the year so far? How busy was it going to get? - we shouldered our packs and set off, climbing steadily up the mountain.

The trail was not as busy as you would have guessed from the car park and the gently trickling Lingmell beck provided pleasant company for the start of the walk so we soon forgot our worries.

The pitched stone path was pretty easy going, but steep in places and unrelentingly upward in trajectory. It was prettier than expected, with steep craggy walls towering above, illuminated by the slowly rising sun. Parsley fern, small patches of wild thyme and bilberry lined the path edge. I wondered how many others would notice these details on their quest to the summit. As we marched steadily up, a few groups were already making their way back down, many of whom gave Benji much welcome words of encouragement, with one group of lads shouting loud cheers and handing out high fives, much to his delight. In fact, although we found the route up quite easy, it was definitely a challenge for Benji, physically and mentally; well timed kindness and encouragement from strangers really made a big difference to his morale and contributed to his success. Maybe hiking with lots of people isn’t always a bad thing…

On the way up, still in the shadow of the mountains

Higher and higher, the path changed from pitched stone steps to gravel and rock, and then finally to the boulder strewn plateau, the summit cairn still hidden out of view. Some of the groups that had set off at the same time as us were now heading back down, but some were still behind us, our pace pretty good considering one of us was six and we had stopped lots of times for snacks.

As always, regular snack stops were key to our success…

Those that passed us on their way down gave more welcome words of reassurance, “keep going little buddy, nearly there!”. By then the sun was beating down with ferocity, but our objective was close at hand and the views magnificent. It’s a wonderful place from which to see how the landscape fits together, and to imagine the colossal elemental forces that carved out each valley.

The summit cairn appeared and we made a final push to the top. It was quite emotional at the summit; Benji was clearly very proud of himself, not sure whether to laugh or cry. And we were proud too. He has probably walked further, and for longer, but never for this long continuously upwards. It was definitely tough for him, but he pushed through and most importantly, had fun along the way.

The way back down was pretty hard. The sticky hot air and blazing sun sapped our energy. By then a steady stream of people were making their way up the trail, huffing and panting, looking slightly less prepared than those that had set off earlier. Lots of people had congratulatory words for Benji, with plenty more cheers and high fives. Even one high ten. We held the thought of a refreshing swim in the lake in our minds, and picked up the pace, stopping just briefly to dip our feet in the cooling waters of lingmell beck at Benji’s request.

Finally, we made it back to the van, hot and hungry. It took us just short of 6 hours in total, including stops, which I don’t think is too bad for a 6 year old. I don’t think me or Emma would have chosen to climb Scafell Pike if it wasn’t for Benji, but actually we’re both glad we did and had a much nicer time than expected. Now when we see the mountain that watches over us daily, we feel a new connection to the landscape.

I told Benji I was writing about our hike, but that I wasn’t sure what to say about how he felt when he got to the top.

“What’s a word for really, really, really happy?” He asked.

“Ecstatic?” I replied.

“Yeah, put that.”

Some random thoughts:

The route from Wasdale Head is easy to follow, but it’s also easy to see how the unprepared could come unstuck on the plateau in bad weather and end up on steep ground on the way back down. We didn’t need them, but used a map and compass and had made notes of useful bearings to help us find our way back down from the summit in case of poor visibility and we’d recommend anyone else going into the hills does the same.

We got up early, and started hiking at 5am. But if we did it again I think we’d go even earlier, setting off in the dark to catch the sunrise from the summit.

Never underestimate what kids are capable of. In their own abilities, and in their capacity to change the way you think about things.

Well, that’s all for this week. If you have any questions about hiking with kids or tips on having a nice time in the mountains then please do just give us a shout. Likewise, if you have tips to share or stories to tell then we’d love to hear from you.

Misc Adventures Digest

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