white rabbit white rabbit

so there we were, minding our own business heading over to brown knoll,when suddenly out of nowhere a mountain hare that we'd clearly disturbed goes shooting off. i've heard about these guys (and gals) and seen the sign with them on but i suspected real sightings of them weren't that often..though im sure more regular visitors on here to edale/kinder will tell me differently. anyway it was a sight to behold but he was off like a shot before i could get my camera out. luckily charlie stayed with me resisting his natural urge to give chase. a real priveledge the whole thing.

anyway, i think i've found a new fairly local playground now around edale and kinder, i abolutely love it. unlike last weeks sorti in the clag, there wasn't a cloud in the sky as we set off at 0630 to largely follow the sklyine fell race route..what a belter it is too! the only downside of the day was raldiss having to retire, feeling unwell, little over 1/2mile into the adventure..better safe than sorry.

first up was the climb up to ringing roger (i so love this shot!)


then over the moors, staying high, before dropping onto the roman road and up to winhill


a sharpish decent (ouch) then a good climb up to lose hill/wards piece


passing curious onlookers keeping an eye on his nibs


a pit stop at lose hill looking over to hollins cross and mam tor


the bleak trig of brown knoll


from there we headed over to a very different kinder to the one we'd traversed only a week ago..this one had visible paths (everywhere!)..how much easier navving was. maybe i'm not as bad at it as i sometimes think. we kept largely to the escarpment edge with its amazing views before ascending grindslow knoll and descending steeply back (double ouch)into edale. just over 21 miles and 4000ft or so. ideal lakeland 50 training but more importantly, an amazing morning out.

kinder

funnily enough we've never been over kinder so yesterday was the day. a 0630 start before the madding crowds arrived and also before the CLAG lifted. visibility up top was down to around 30ft so the treck up and across the kinder scout bog required that compass thingy. the aim to hit a nw line and arrive at kinder downfall. nearly hit it but not quite. to much amusement of my fellow runner 'raldiss' i apparently was heard saying 'that's the way!...well I think it's the way....actually i've got no idea'.
we did do one very small comedy lap round a fenced off enclosed area, arriving back where we started without realising, before getting our act together and heading back south on the pennine way into more familiar, and by then, sunny territory.
a great and inspiring way to spend a morning so i think we'll be back there lots more over easter hopefully when we can see a bit!
(ps is there an obvious path after grindsbook clough all the way to kinder downfall as indicated on the os map? if so, we missed it)

so

what's been happening?
firstly, my knee has just about resolved itself. its a little bit sticky but not painful. that's good :)
secondly, charlie has just had his new look for the 2011 spring/summer season and looks as fit as..well..an ultra collie of course :)


so with a better knee and a new look for charlie, we set back out on our adventures starting with two 20 mile ldwa events, the 3 shires and spring into old hutton

last weekend it was the 3 shires, our most local event, about 2 miles away. we bimbled round with nick ham (thanks for the company!)over very familiar territory (so much so i never referred to the map) and saw will meridith and simon moorehouse (also on the mend) along the way. they really do put on a good event for which everyone is exceptionally grateful.

so to this weekend in its blaze of spring sunshine, glory and the lad's new streamlined look. we were entered for the ldwa spring into old hutton, near kendal, but were equally tempted to go off and do our own thing over higher fells. we went for the former and had a mixed experience i guess. the effort etc jim the organiser and his helpers put into putting an event like this on cant be faulted and again we're really appreciative of it all. like the 3 shires the food was excellent!
i guess i struggled with the route, being largely over undulating fields, farmland and lanes and hundreds of differently styled styals. fiddly i'd call it. and for me not very inspiring.

it had its moments..heading up to lambrigg wind farm and docker fell.


..and perhaps the best dressed trig point i've yet come across, up on the helm


..and ending with a good chat with my friend john king and his dog sally (she chatted with charlie) over soup and sandwiches


so where am i going with all this?
2010 was perhaps my best ever running year with two massive highlights of the c2c and the lakeland 50. so it was always going to be a tall order to match the enjoyment in 2011. injury and two events in and i must say i haven't been inspired as yet.
i guess im now on a journey to rebuild my fitness and i have to be patient for it to return. charlie's boundless energy provides great inspiration in that regard.
but more importantly, ive realised, or maybe i knew all along, that if we're to continue long distance stuff the most important aspect for me is to be inspired by the places we traverse and by and large they mostly come in the form of bloody great hills or mountains