I had a delightful dinner last evening with John and Maggie,
both retired educators, from Cheshire. More relevant to yesterday’s posting,
John is a Wainwright bagger. His goal is to summit all of them before he turns
70. He’s already bagged about a hundred, so he’s just about halfway there.
Here’s the rub. John and Maggie are celebrating his birthday
today, so he’s now down to a handful of years with which to achieve his goal. I
think he’ll make it, though. HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JOHN!!
I received word that my friend, Professor Ron, suffered
minor injuries in a bicycle accident resulting from skidding on a wet roadway.
Ron, you should consider hiring a guide like I did yesterday, and be sure to
tell him to keep your tyres dry.
A weather alert was issued yesterday for strong winds across
Scotland and northern England, with expected gusts of 45 – 50 mph and isolated
60 mph. Warnings included avoiding high ridges expected to receive the most
severe winds, creating risks of difficult movement and being blown away. I had
originally planned my walk to Buttermere to be along a high ridge, but modified
it to follow a mid-level footpath, assuming that the adjacent hillside would
protect me from the wind. The plan worked well for about a mile, but as I moved
deeper into the valley, the crosswind became a headwind and the valley narrowed,
creating a Venturi effect. The headwind became ferocious, making it almost
impossible to walk farther into the valley. Surrendering the mile I had already
gained, I turned around and rejoined the road in a parallel, but wider, valley where there was no Venturi effect. The wind
continued to blow in my face, but headway was possible. The 6½ mile distance
became 8, and no more Wainwrights were bagged by me today.
 |
| Mid-level footpath |
 |
| Facing Venturi Effect in narrowing valley |
 |
| Exit from the valley not taken |
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| Moss Force |
A surprise awaited me at my hotel – a swan swimming in my
washbasin. Fortunately, his feet were dry.
