Hiking Scafell Pike

Greetings from Barcelona!

Hello all. Claudia and I arrived safely in Barcelona earlier this afternoon and have spent the evening touring the area a bit with Claudia's parents (some tapas, Sagrada Familia, and gorgeous walks through the city). Tonight, we'll probably be heading out to the Ramblas and will soon have pictures and stories. For now, I'm taking some time, while Claudia gets gussied up for tonight, to write about my hiking adventure last weekend (December 15th). I was able to convince a couple of mates (Jim and Tim; hereafter, TNJ) at work to head out to the tallest mountain in all of England, Scafell Pike, for a bit of a ramble.

For those of you reading who may not be familiar (i.e., roughly everyone reading this), Scafell Pike is located in the Lake District and rises roughly 1000 meters above sea level. So Scafell Pike is by no means an enormous mountain in the global circuit of high peaks, but since the base of the mountain is near sea level (unlike many large mountains) and the terrain can be steep and rocky, this was a very good challenge for a one-day hike. TNJ and myself got a good start at the mountain shortly after 9:30am. Without including non-negligible detours that were taken, we hiked roughly five miles to the top of the mountain. The entire hike was done over very clear conditions in areas where there was no cover by trees. This made the hike quite windy and picturesque (see photos of our ascent). Near the summit the terrain became challenging to the point where we were climbing at what seemed to be a 45 degree grade in somewhat icy conditions. In fact the final quarter mile or so was covered with a thin glazing of very slippery and solid snow, which we climbed using small rocks that protruded from the snow-buried terrain. But in the end, we perservered and made it to the top with just enough time to get back before sun down (at 3:30pm here in northern England!!!).

Though this hike was not the most challenging physical trial, the experience was enough to get me thinking of undertaking more ambitious future climbs. Around here the big talk about hiking seems to be the "Three Peaks Challenge," which is a challenge to hikers to venture to the tops of the highest peaks in Wales, England, and Scotland all in one day. While I may not be up for such an ambitous adventure at this stage, my current goal is to complete each respective hike separately in the near future and to soon make it out to the Alps for some additional hiking adventures.