AFTERTHOUGHTS
The high level walking on this route was what I had hoped to accomplish and I felt like I succeeded. It is certainly a longer and more challenging alternative to the lower level Cumbria Way. When doing this walk again, which I hope to do, I would make one major change. That is, break the second day up into two days. That way, I would have extra time at Coniston to include Wetherlam in the high level loop and enjoy another evening in the village. The third day, I would include a loop through Little Langdale and perhaps walking by Loughrigg Tarn before stopping at High Close.
My equipment stayed intact and served me well. Physically, there were a couple of days when I arrived at my lodging exhausted, and there was a foot blister which a Compeed patch took care of. Mentally, I had a couple of height issues on the sharp ridges but, in the end, that was good for me psychologically to know that I could cope with the vertigo. Actually, all went amazingly well.
But what about the basics, the land costs of a walk like this? Average cost of the B&Bs was £33.55, the hostels with breakfast was £21.90. These costs were about 10% more than on my C2C walk in 2009. Food and drink, basically pub meals with one pint of ale, averaged £14.20, about the same as in 2009. That’s not bad! So, all in all, a very healthy way to have a super vacation with stimulating experiences.