Participants: Dave (Shooting Stick) Leishman, Mike (Mad)
and Verena (Muesli) Petzold, Eric (Polevault) and Val (Mrs. Polevault) Scott.
Unlike
recent years 2011's meet was a two-day, three-night affair, for Mike &
Verena Petzold, Eric & Val Scott, and David Leishman, once more at the
Fountain Hotel, Hawes. It only took
place thanks to the prompting of Mad Mike, keen to see the continuation of this
'historic' annual METHS event subsequent to Ian Mason's sad demise. We hope it continues for many years to come,
as a constant tribute to Axeman as founding president.
Day
1 took us to Sedburgh from where we walked up into the Howgill Fells, though
Polevault almost didn't make it, deciding, as we set off, to test out his
polevault falling position, as he crashed to the ground, on the tarred road -
he seemed to have trodden on a meandering bootlace. All was well. On a blustery, coolish but mainly sunny day
with squally showers forecast, though we dodged all but one, we headed straight
up from the town to Winder and then cut across norh-east over Arant Haw to
Calders, at 665m the highest point reached by all save Shooting-Stick, who
paced off north-west to The Calf, at 675m, the highest point in the Howgills. The return route was pretty much the same, except
we skirted round the east side of Winder before the descent. Visibility was fantastic, with a superb view
of Morecambe Bay. Harry congrats to
Muesli, who was in great hiking form after her recent setbacks.
Day
2 looked not so promising, and we decided to split the day's outing into two,
in the morning going up Lovely Seat (675m), with its commode-like stone seating-cum-cairn,
in the dry from the Buttertubs road, after which, and with a sandwich lunch
inside them, the Scotts departed. The
remaining three moved on to Thwaite as the rain set in persistently, and, in
true intrepid METHS fashion, donned what each of us considered appropriate in
the circumstances, including an umbrella, and sallied forth to repeat last
year's none-too-clement hike over Great Shunner Fell, at 716m, bringing us down
to Hardraw and The Green Dragon, thoroughly soaked through.
Our
evening meal at the Fountain was graced by Kathy Mason and family, over from
Skipton, who hope to join us next year for the full meet