Langdale Pikes
Our weekend in the Lake District was highlighted by a great walk in the Langdale area. The route included a long uphill slog along a stream to an old reservoir called Stickle Tarn, then the option of a famous scramble up the face of Pavey Ark, overlooking the tarn, then on to one of the Langdale Pikes. The scramble requires using hands and feet, and there are many places were a fall would be very bad.
The weather was warm and mostly overcast, with an annoying haze the detracted from the view and made for dark photographs.
Our route started at the bottom of Stickle Ghyll
We started up the engineered path alongside the Ghyll, the going was relentlessly uphill, like climbing stairs for a mile. At a small scramble near the head of the Ghyll, Mary Ellen looked sceptical about the route.
Short scramble on the Ghyll
Stickle Ghyll leads to Stickle Tarn, an unused resovour. The options to continue were a steep walk up to the top of a hill called Harrison Stickle, or a scramble up a rock face called Pavey Ark. The route up Pavey Arck is called Jack's Rake, and is visible in the picture of Pavey Ark as a faint line from the lower right to the upper left. The route is a natural drainage feature, and requires using hands and feet to climb.
Pavey Ark--Jack's Rake runs across the face from lower right to upper left
I suggested that Mary Ellen could take the walking route and I would take the scramble--it was her idea to stay together, and we set off around the tarn to Jack's Rake. Next... up we go.