BB1302: The Doog Done Good

Thursday 10th January 2013

For more about The Doog, click on the photo.  Alternatively, read on but from here onwards we are talking about a different The Doog.

To explain the background, whilst planning today's outing I received an e-mail from "The Doog". I wondered what on earth was going on until I realised that the underlying e-mail address was that of Mike.  Then I really wondered what on earth was going on?

The explanation is simple.  There is a connection.  Mike advised that The Doog was his nickname at school. "I was named after Derek Dougan, who played for Leicester City (my team) when I was a kid. He was tall like me, though slimmer, and headed lots of goals."

Anyway, today's outing was thanks to The Doog who told me about it.  I thought that undertaking the walk had inspired one of his hotel guests to post it on the WalkJogRun website.  It looked like an interesting variation over mostly familiar territory.  Plus, it provided a target average speed for us to beat: 3 m.p.h.

In addition to The Doog, the team for the challenge comprised Stan and myself.  Tony should have been with us but due to an unfortunate lapse of communicational rigour on my part, I missed his response.  Sorry, Tony.

Other commitments led us to undertake an early start, just after sunrise.  Not that any sun was to be seen.  Somewhat to my surprise, the meeting point on Scout Scar was in mist.

We set off at a brisk pace to ensure that The Doog could beat his customer's time. This troubled him somewhat.  I thought that was because of consideration for his guests and not wishing to be seen to outdo them.

Mist clearing over Underbarrow Church

By now, the sun was emerging and, when shining from directly behind us, across the dip to the misty ground in front was the finest Brocken Spectre I have ever seen.  We tried to take the comitibus photo with the three of us projected thereon but the strange thing was that, unlike the one seen on BB603, even when we stood side by side none of us could see more than one Spectre.  In each case it was the projection of himself.  Weird.  Sadly, photos don't fully capture the striking visual effect.

We had a bit of a navigational hiccup crossing over to Low Fold (mea culpa) but thereafter, routefinding was fairly straightforward, although heavy equipment vehicles had made some of the tracks pretty difficult for pedestrians.

Eastward looking panorama

The climb through the woods to Cunswick Scar was interesting for two reasons.

Firstly, the conditions underfoot were the worst of the day, making progress on the sloping, slippery ground particularly difficult.

Secondly, we met a man stood in a pool in his bare feet.  To say he looked like a tramp would be unkind as he was clean and articulate.  He basically had an alternative lifestyle, lived in the open, generally walked wherever he wanted to go, communed with nature and hadn't worn shoes for over ten years.  He seemed a contented soul but not with a lifestyle to which any of us would aspire.

View towards Kendal Fell from Cunswick Scar

Once on the top of the Scar, it was an easy stroll back to the car which we reached soon enough to be home in time for lunch.  We had been averaging the target speed of 3 mph so I had put on a spurt near the end to try and raise it a decimal point but I had left it too late.  We will have to return in summer, hopefully in a less waterlogged state, and see how much quicker would could do the route when firm underfoot.  I can't believe the author of the route had tackled it in such difficult circumstances so I reckon our speed equalling his to be a victory on a conditions-adjusted basis.  

And, of course for Mike, a great comeback to fitness.  The Doog done good.

Don, 10th January 2013

Forty Years On

Forty years on when afar and asunder
Scattered are those who are gathered today
When you look back and forgetfully wonder.....

Only in Ian's case, when you look back you don't forget.

It was typical of this BOOTboy to remember that his first fell walk was on 6th January 1973 and that I was with him on the ascent of Coniston Old Man.  There has been a photo of that event on the BOOTboys Archive page for years.  Ian wasn't in the picture and I had not been sure who had taken it.  Now I know.  The trendily dressed trio are John S in black, his brother-in-law John R behind and an exhausted looking me in that rather fetching sky-blue woolly hat.

Ian thought he would mark the fortieth anniversary of his first fell walk with a photo of his next generation, atop Coniston Old Man a few days ago.  Ian is centre left, his two sons, George and Harry, to his left, and to his right is Martin, another occasional BOOTboy.

Ian's capacity to remember information is legendary.

In the 1970s, a number of us used to play for a team in the Kendal & District Quiz League.  By far the strongest member was Ian who could recall all sorts of useless information like Manchester United's result against West Ham in the semi final of the FA cup in 1964.  And the date, 14th March.

Quite often he would get all his questions right- a straight eight- plus picking up a lot of passes.  He was a major factor in us being one of the dominant teams of the day.

But one strange night, it all went awry and he got everything wrong.  Nul points.  Zilch. The Big "0".  And with the irony typical of the Brits, despite all his previous (and future) heroic achievements, he was from then onwards known as The Big O.

The Big O.  Or should that now be the Big Four O?  Or maybe even the Big Six O?? Rumour has it that it could soon be the Big Six 1.  

Whichever, Ian - we look forward to you rejoining us soon.

 STATISTICS:

BOOTboys routes are put online in gpx format which should work with most mapping software. You can follow our route in detail by downloading bb1302

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