Coast-to-Coast + aliloop-of-the-lakes, England – June, 2018

I want to encourage in others the ambition to devise with the aid of maps their own cross-country marathons and not be merely followers of other people’s routes.

Alfred Wainwright

check out my gear list for the C2C!

C2C: vote now for tent-naming contest final round!

Pull up a chair. Take a taste. Come join us. Life is so endlessly delicious. - Ruth Reichl With England's

gear list for the C2C

It is good to have an end to journey toward; but it is the journey that matters, in the end. Ernest

C2C: day 1, getting to the start

Everywhere is within walking distance, if you have the time.Steven Wright And so, it begins. But not so fast. It

C2C: day 2, Manchester to St. Bees

You were made to soar, to crash to earth, then to rise and soar again.Alfred Wainwright It's half past nine

C2C: day 3, St. Bees to Ennerdale Water

I haven’t been everywhere, but it’s on my list.Susan Sontag The morning began with the sound of birds and breakfast

C2C: day 4, Ennerdale Water to Wasdale

Nothing is as close to magic as nature.Anastasia Bolinder It’s happened again. I’ve found myself in a pub, talked into

C2C: day 5, Wasdale to Seathwaite

There are two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as

C2C: day 6, climb on and have fun

Mountains have a way of dealing with overconfidence.Hermann Buhl The crag gods tested me, but they must have had a

C2C: day 7, Seatollar to Keswick

Walking: the most ancient exercise and still the best modern exercise.Carrie Latet There are five good reasons to hike in

C2C: day 8, Keswick to below Blencathra

Now I see the secret of making the best person, it is to grow in the open air and to

C2C: day 9, Blencathra to Mosedale Beck, below Clough Head

It always rains on tents. Rainstorms will travel thousands of miles, against prevailing winds for the opportunity to rain on

C2C: day 10, Mosedale Beck to Grisedale Tarn

There are two kinds of climbers, those who climb because their heart sings when they’re in the mountains, and all

C2C: day 11, Grisedale Tarn to Haweswater

May your trails be crooked, winding, lonesome, dangerous, leading to the most amazing view. May your mountains rise into and

C2C: day 12, Haweswater to Orton

I have two doctors, my left leg and my right.G.M. Trevelyan What a sight to see beautiful Orton over the

C2C: day 13, Orton to Ravenseat Farm

You need special shoes for hiking — and a bit of a special soul as well.Terri Guillemets The alicoop is

C2C: day 14, Ravenseat to Reeth

I like being near the top of a mountain. One can’t get lost here.Wislawa Szymborska I broke two cardinal rules

C2C: day 15, Reeth to St. Giles Farm

Travel far enough, you meet yourself.David Mitchell Another stunningly beautiful, bright, sunny day completely out of the norm for this

C2C: day 16, St. Giles Farm to Ingleby Arncliffe

Study nature, love nature, stay close to nature. It will never fail you.Frank Lloyd Wright Today was the day I

C2C: day 17, Ingelby Arncliffe to Blakey Ridge

Me thinks that the moment my legs begin to move, my thoughts begin to flow.Henry David Thoreau Rain fell in

C2C: day 18, Blakey Ridge to Grosmont

Desert, jungle, mountains or coast; I don’t have a preference. If I’m out in the wilderness with everything I need

C2C: day 19, Grosmont to Robin Hood’s Bay

Why do you go away? So that you can come back. So that you can see the place you came

C2C: day 20, epilogue

Returning home is the most difficult part of long-distance hiking; You have grown outside the puzzle and your piece no

more deets on aliloop-of-the-lakes, Northern England

I shall be telling this with a sighSomewhere ages and ages hence:Two roads diverged in a wood, and I —I

Created by the illustrious fell walker Alfred Wainwright, the Coast to Coast is an unofficial and often unsigned path that passes through three contrasting national parks: the Lake District, the Yorkshire Dales, and the North York Moors.

Which pretty well describes my plan of no plan aside from ‘wild camping’ and catching a bus and two trains from Robin Hood’s Bay back to the airport and home mid-June.

My mantra…

To experience the countryside on fair days and never foul is to understand only half its story.

Melissa Harrison

<bang sticks for luck!>