At one point I wanted to cry today but as the day went on + the sun continued to follow me the fun just became brighter too. I was only 5km in and my knee started to hurt, which is too soon and clearly a sign of overworking myself following the big jump yesterday. So I had to carefully manage myself. Although the severity of pain fluctuated I managed to hang on, for which I was grateful. Some of the views I had today made it worthwhile indeed!
The Hike
So I started off in Grinton and began heading towards Greets and Gibbon Hills then High Carl. But then I realised when heading towards Gibbon Hill that I was repeating what I did yesterday and trampling through heather and bracken, at which point I quickly diverted towards Harkerside Moor and partly limped, partly glided, along Low and High Harker Hills. I cut through Harkerside Place Farm, went towards a Swing Bridge to cross the River Swale, then went through Healaugh to climb up Reeth Low Moor. Here I played on Cringley and Calver Hills before going back to Grinton via Reeth in the dark.
Highlights
The biggest highlight must be Calver Hill. The view overlooking Swaledale’s villages of Reeth and Grinton, and beyond, was monumental, absolutely epic. Reeth Low Moor itself was amazing as it wasn’t tricky to navigate plus the views I had of Arkengarthdale, Melbecks Moor and looking westwards along Swaledale was epic. From here the scenes of the moors + commons on the other side of Swaledale were surreal, as were the views when I was at Low and High Harker Hill. It hugely underscored yesterday what I said about great vistas from valley sides, and they were indeed. I have to give a little shout out to River Swale and the Swing Bridge, they were pretty cool.
When I was at all these sites, everything felt calm, in place, at peace, and just right. I got that thrill I feel that makes me persevere through any pain to live for fleeting moments. Plus things were just falling into place, it was beautiful. The colours, the character of the moors, the weather, it was invigorating.
Lessons
You might ask why the hell am I writing a section on lessons from the day? I want to keep evolving so I can do these trips more optimally + efficiently – money, time, and resources. If I am to travel and explore the world overseas, engage with new territories, I need to be better skilled to do it safely + have loads of fun at the same time! So yeah, this is why I do it.
Not all lessons are new though, and quite often you will find they are reminders just taking a new form. Today reinforced the feeling of following my gut, my intuition, always, to guide me through my journey. Yes I still did walk longer than I should have (clocking in 26km!) but it was all worth it and I will remember the moments on Harkerside and Reeth Low Moors vividly and fondly.
FOOD! Ah yes, food. I did a lot of reflecting on food yesterday as now I’m going to start doing longer trips, I need to become better at how I manage my intake, how I source + prepare, and all that jazz. I don’t have any concrete answers, as I think it’s going to be one to explore. For me the balance is between eating healthy, eating enough, and having enough for a trip. A lot of this will be shaped by the activities you do on a day-to-day, so yeah, it will be interesting to see what methods I develop in time!
Oh, and lastly got to mention that I think going forward in the Dales a two peak limit is a sensible rule to have so I don’t overdo it, and another thing is appreciation. When I was at the vivid viewpoints, I was reminded about the importance of appreciation, because too often I walk, walk, and walk, but I need to stop and take in vistas I find wonderful. Yes the journey can be stimulating + challenging, but those moments make it all worthwhile so appreciate them.
To view my photo album from this day visit: https://flic.kr/s/aHsmWQWgW3
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