I HATE October weather
It's done nothing but rain for one and a half days now. Not particularly heavy rain; just constant, mindless, depressing drizzle pouring out of a grey sky. I went shopping this morning and after forty minutes outside (walking to and from the shop, which is a mile away) I was soaking wet, even wearing a waterproof coat. I decided yesterday that my existing waterproof had gone past the end of its useful life in terms of a mountain jacket: I've only had it for four months, but there's a lot of wear on the lightweight fabric and it's not easy to revive HyVent garments. Water still beads in light rain, but the fabric is overwhelmed by anything heavier. In winter, that's a major safety hazard.
So I bought myself a new jacket yesterday, a Gore-Tex one by Mountain Equipment. It was expensive at £140, but I see this as an investment. If I buy a good-quality jacket now, it will last years with proper care. Far more economical than buying a new lightweight HyVent one every four or five months. I am now far happier about the prospect of foul weather next time I hit the hills, which will hopefully be next week.
The plan is that, straight after my class on Tuesday morning, I will catch a bus to the station and begin the long train journey to Windermere. The direct link from Manchester to Windermere won't be running next week, so I will have to change at Preston and Oxenholme Lake District. This puts the total journey time at over seven hours ... meaning I won't reach Windermere until after eight. I will then get a taxi for the remaining ten miles or so to the OldDG campsite in Great Langdale. I've never put up my tent in the dark before ... should be fun!
I will then have my day off, Wednesday, to do some hillwalking. There are so many possibilities for a memorable mountain day in Langdale that I haven't decided what to do yet. I am wavering between the Bowfell range and the Langdale Pikes. Bowfell has more of a "big mountain" feel about it, and is more suitable for bad weather; but I'm really keen to get into harder scrambling, and you can't beat the Pikes for hands-on-rock routes.
The following morning I have to get a taxi back to Windermere, and catch the 10:40 train to get back to Norwich by about 17:10. I only miss one seminar and one lecture--I know what I'm doing in both of them, and can easily catch up--and the whole trip will cost roughly £80. Assuming it's good weather, that's good value for money in my opinion.
And then, of course, it's back to the dull old world of Computer Science for another few weeks, until the next Fell Club expedition!
It's done nothing but rain for one and a half days now. Not particularly heavy rain; just constant, mindless, depressing drizzle pouring out of a grey sky. I went shopping this morning and after forty minutes outside (walking to and from the shop, which is a mile away) I was soaking wet, even wearing a waterproof coat. I decided yesterday that my existing waterproof had gone past the end of its useful life in terms of a mountain jacket: I've only had it for four months, but there's a lot of wear on the lightweight fabric and it's not easy to revive HyVent garments. Water still beads in light rain, but the fabric is overwhelmed by anything heavier. In winter, that's a major safety hazard.
So I bought myself a new jacket yesterday, a Gore-Tex one by Mountain Equipment. It was expensive at £140, but I see this as an investment. If I buy a good-quality jacket now, it will last years with proper care. Far more economical than buying a new lightweight HyVent one every four or five months. I am now far happier about the prospect of foul weather next time I hit the hills, which will hopefully be next week.
The plan is that, straight after my class on Tuesday morning, I will catch a bus to the station and begin the long train journey to Windermere. The direct link from Manchester to Windermere won't be running next week, so I will have to change at Preston and Oxenholme Lake District. This puts the total journey time at over seven hours ... meaning I won't reach Windermere until after eight. I will then get a taxi for the remaining ten miles or so to the OldDG campsite in Great Langdale. I've never put up my tent in the dark before ... should be fun!
I will then have my day off, Wednesday, to do some hillwalking. There are so many possibilities for a memorable mountain day in Langdale that I haven't decided what to do yet. I am wavering between the Bowfell range and the Langdale Pikes. Bowfell has more of a "big mountain" feel about it, and is more suitable for bad weather; but I'm really keen to get into harder scrambling, and you can't beat the Pikes for hands-on-rock routes.
The following morning I have to get a taxi back to Windermere, and catch the 10:40 train to get back to Norwich by about 17:10. I only miss one seminar and one lecture--I know what I'm doing in both of them, and can easily catch up--and the whole trip will cost roughly £80. Assuming it's good weather, that's good value for money in my opinion.
And then, of course, it's back to the dull old world of Computer Science for another few weeks, until the next Fell Club expedition!
3 Comments:
Reading all the place names you mention, I realize why they call the northeastern part of the US "New England"... I think we have at least one of each of the place names you mentioned within a fifty mile radius of our house.
:-)
And I agree on springing for the quality gear. The cheap stuff just has to be replaced all the sooner. Not worth the effort if you use it all the time.
It's often a surprise to me when I glance at the New England page on an atlas and see names like Norfolk, Cambridge, Boston, sprinkled liberally all over the landscape in places where I least expect them. I think the early American settlers must have done it to confuse future generations!
The core issue with my waterproof wasn't so much that it was cheap, really ... it's made by The North Face, which is a brand I've always trusted, and for the past two expeditions it's performed very well. The big problem is that it's a very lightweight jacket, and it's just worn out. It's like my brother's digital camera: a good model, but it packed in after only a year because he takes up to about fifty pictures a day. :-)
Hmm. Yes, The North Face is usually pretty decent, if a bit expensive. Most of our gear is a mix of Marmot, Columbia, The North Face, Sierra Designs, and... well,as you can tell, we're not exactly brand-loyal. But I think Marmot is the company that's gotten most of our money over the last few years.
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