Coast to Coast - Day 2

Ennerdale Water to Stonethwaite - 14 miles

My beauty sleep last night was very rudely interrupted by some youngsters playing very loud music somewhere nearby.... it didnt stop until 3am. The only good thing that came out of it was the view of the stars, it was spectacular

Having an early start is always nice and today was no exception: utter silence, peaceful views and gorgeous weather. Walking the whole length of Ennerdale Water was an AH moment that only lasted for 2 hours having breakfast at the other end put a lovely cap to that moment. The next 4 miles were an easy stroll all the way to the lovely Black Sail hut which I've visited a year ago but under very different circumstances ... aka following an unpleasant food poisoning. This time I was able to enjoy a nice mini lunch before heading off and tackling THE ascent. Only word for that is 'bloody hell' .... lets simply say that this should cover my cardio workout for a couple of months . As the sun was blazing I literally dunked my head in the stream, that was right next to the path, 3 times to cool down, worked like a charm. Once at the top the views opened up and the scenery became breathtaking: Ennerdale, Buttermere and Crummock waters surrounded by all the famous pikes ... just WOW. Getting to Honister, the last working slate mine in England, was a blessing: shade, cold drink and a very large hot sandwich .. very AAHH moment. The rest of the path to Rosthwaite and then Stonethwaite was suprisingly quick and very lovely but finding a campsite right next to the river just superb. I didn't even care about the lack of showers as the mini splash in the river did the trick for me. After today's scorching day I floated in the shallow river for a good 10 minutes sighing loudly and grinning like an idiot . I started chatting to Andrew, my camping neighbour, and he turned out be 'The Camping Biker' a guy who does YouTube videos of his travels, tents and campsites ...a really cool and friendly guy. He even gave me ideas on how to improve my mini tent's efficiency and even provided a slip cord for it - Thank you very much.

I spent the rest of the evening sunbathing, listening to the river and reading .... feeling very content and happy right now .

Tomorrow will be a 17 mile long / 2 peaks challenge and I will have to decide whether I'll walk to Grasmere, Grisedale tarn or all the way to Patterdale will go with the flow and the size of my swollen feet