Text and pics contributed by Rachael.
Day 2: Buttermere YH to Ennerdale YH, 13 miles
The day started a little drizzly but that did not stop us having some lovely autumnal views across Buttermere. We followed the north eastern edge of the lake to Gatesgarth farm.
After a brief pause to rescue a phone from the lake, we passed around the top of the lake to join Scarth Gap Pass. There were great views up the Warnscale Valley.
We headed up to Scarth Gap, a well-maintained 1460 ft high pass between Buttermere and Ennerdale.
From Scarth Gap, we left the clear wide path and turned onto a much smaller path up towards Seat and into the cloud. We saw very little for the next hour or so. An occasional break in the cloud provided a brief view down towards the lake and along the ridge.
The route took us from Seat down and up steeply to High Crag and along the ridge to High Stile. There wasn’t much of a view from the top.
As we descended from High Stile, the visibility started to improve and, by the time we reached Red Pike, there was a glimmer of sunshine and a small patch of blue sky.
From Red Pike, we continued along the undulating ridge above Ennerdale, over Little Dodd and Starling Dodd to Great Bourne. By this point, the sun was fully out and there were great views back.
There was just one more little climb up Herdus before we finally dropped into the Ennerdale Valley.
A few muscle strains from stumbles earlier in the day and the final steep grassy descent resulted in a slower pace towards the end.
The sun was beginning to set by the time we reached the valley floor and we had to up the pace to reach the hostel in time for our evening meal.