Langdale scramble

Peaks: Pavey Ark, Harrison Stickle
Area: Langdale, Lake District
A bit of a disaster in the Saunders Mountain Marathon this year, but you can't win them all. After a good night's sleep in Baysbrown campsite, a beautiful morning boded well for the Klets - a great opportunity given the tough nature of the course (the elite solo class). However, I realised there was a problem as soon as I set off. I felt tired and heavy legged almost immediately and was exhausted, with an upset stomach, by the time I reached the plateau and first checkpoint. By the time I'd jogged the 2k to the next checkpoint, I was almost relieved to struggle to find it. I was clearly under the weather, and later found that M had been evacuated from cub camp with a stomach bug at the same time. I decided to abandon early, as anything else would have prolonged the inevitable and at least this way I could get home early. The weather was so perfect, however, that I had to extend the day slightly. So I walked down to a perfectly still Stickle Tarn (there's a photo of me swimming in this in 1989) and slogged up the scree to Jack's Rake. This is one of the most obvious scrambling lines in the UK, but I couldn't remember doing it before. It was better than I'd expected - a narrow gangway with the odd steeper section, all quite enjoyable. I wandered up to the top of Pavey Ark, then over to Harrison Stickle. Great views, but this gentle ramble confirmed the wisdom of my decision to abandon - as did the descent to Dungeon Ghyll and 'jog' back to the HQ at Chapel Stile. Felt exhausted throughout. Just terrible timing and a real disappointment, as I felt I was well prepared for the Klets and was looking forward to it.