Out of Country, in the Country

[JonMarsh]

Well, I guess that title is confusing, but this is just a reminder that since the 29th I'm out of the USA, and in the British countryside where network access is an iffy thing- many hotels or B&B's only have reasonably reliable WiFi in their breakfast room or lounge.

Yesterday June 4 was a good workout, about 1600 ft elevation gain, and quite a bit of ground covered, too! Today looks to be more of the same, but about 1900 ft elevation gain. well, you know what they say, anything that doesn't kill you makes you stronger.

This was taken from the top of the ridge we were one yesterday before heading into the valley where the slate mine is.

[---k---]

Lets all go to his house and steal his gear!

Glad to see you're getting some good down time in. Enjoy it. We'll be here when you get back.

[JonMarsh]

Coast to Coast: Survivor Edition

Lets all go to his house and steal his gear!

Glad to see you're getting some good down time in. Enjoy it. We'll be here when you get back.

Hah! Good luck with that - a lot of the good stuff is over at GF's!


Thanks! It's quite a change of pace, even though sometimes we wonder if we've bit of a little more than we we planned!

Early this morning, one gal dropped out, before we left, light headed and very out of sorts, thought to be dehydration. (Some of these folks seem to be real newbies on a hike trip of intermediate difficulty- not even knowing how to setup their day pack).

Then one guy took a spill in an early part of the elevation climb- leader wasn't certain if he had cracked or just bruised ribs, but at any rate the more difficult part today was certainly beyond him, so another call to Mountain Rescue was in order, resulting in an Avery Aloutte showin up in about 30 minutes, while I was sent forward to notify the forward party to halt and hold in place...

In the end, we made it all the way through, walking to the village we were staying at, though late of course. Our "fallen comrades" rejoined us at the Red Lion in Grasmere where we're spending the night.

I'm hearing that tomorrow is even steeper... Oh goodie goodie! This is more like boot camp than vacation! :W

:roll:

Film at 11 if I can stay awake through dinner!

[JonW]

Hey John,

Wow. It sounds like you signed up for the weeding out, elimination round, boot camp, extreme version of the excursion. 8O I'm not a medical doctor, but my suspicion is that these people were not drinking enough of the local beverages. That must be the problem. So take two of these and call me in the morning. And keep having fun out there.

[BobEllis]

My (now ex) girlfriend's response to a hilly hike was "What's so fun about that? It was like 4 hours on a Stairmaster." Sounds like you've got a real keeper. Enjoy the trip Jon.

[JonMarsh]

My (now ex) girlfriend's response to a hilly hike was "What's so fun about that? It was like 4 hours on a Stairmaster." Sounds like you've got a real keeper. Enjoy the trip Jon.

Yup. She's more hard core than I am... :W

Because we all got split up, GF ended up leading a couple of the gals through a dicey section of steep climb where the trail was not marked... What with the main leader getting the de-hydration case taken care of in town, and the local guide staying with the guy who felled, and the assistant leader joining the lead element on the ridge where we could finally get enough bars to call mountain rescue, we were a bit strung out, in a manner of speaking.


From yesterday- it's an optical illusion that it's sitting on the ridge- in flight to land in the valley...

[JonW]

Because we all got split up, GF ended up leading a couple of the gals through a dicey section of steep climb where the trail was not marked... What with the main leader getting the de-hydration case taken care of in town, and the local guide staying with the guy who felled, and the assistant leader joining the lead element on the ridge where we could finally get enough bars to call mountain rescue, we were a bit strung out, in a manner of speaking.

Safety note to self: Do not go hiking with Jon. 8O :P

[Hank]

I'm with you, JonW. I'll stick with SCUBA diving.

[Carl V]

I'm hearing that tomorrow is even steeper... Oh goodie goodie! This is more like boot camp than vacation!

last fall we did Kilimanjaro...
ugh day after day of stair master climbing in very unattractive terrain.
With lotsa rain.

[JonMarsh]

last fall we did Kilimanjaro...
ugh day after day of stair master climbing in very unattractive terrain.
With lotsa rain.

I hear you... GF has done Kilimanjaro, too, as have one or both of the leaders.

The gal who's the leader said last year was rather miserable- pouring rain the first three days, and needless to say that raised the difficultly level substantially. I would have been totally out of my comfort zone under those conditions. For what we did yesterday, which had some dicey bits on the side of a steep hill, that would have been very un-nice! Dehydration gal rejoined the climb, but the other guy who took a spill is living on beer and codeine and traveling with the pack van. I got a bunch of pictures on the DP3 Merrill, which looks to be a great hiking camera as regards the quality vs weight ratio, but no time in the evening to do any "developing"- Derek, our local guide, who is also part of the Mountain Rescue organization locally, gave a PPT presentation on that organization and their role in the 2009 flood in Cumbria.



Today we've got a "light" day, taking a boat ride to the other side of the lake, then hiking back 7 miles, then tomorrow is a layabout day! Whoopee!

[JonMarsh]

Making progress, but not much wifi availability-

Hiking down into the valley where we've been staying at Glenridding on the shore of Lake Ullswater...



a lot of scenic countryside on the way, of course.




Here's the dock, where yesterday we took a boat ride out to Howtown, for a 7 mile walk back along the lake shore- last year, due to heavy rain, this dock was completely underwater, and they had to take a taxi to the hike start instead!



Walking back in late afternoon along the lakeshore- for a while, we thought a chance of rain, but it didn't materialize- the weather has been absolutely exceptional by North England standards!

[sdl2112]

Beautiful countryside...and you still find the time to entertain us...:T Reminds me I haven't been on a vacation in a long time :roll:

[JonMarsh]

Beautiful countryside...and you still find the time to entertain us...:T Reminds me I haven't been on a vacation in a long time :roll:

You ought to do something about that! Soon, perhaps?


Mostly rolling terrain today, not the most interesting, but relaxing to walk through...





Some VERY quaint looking bits in the country- stuff in the country side looks MUCH older than in similar areas I've been in in Germany.




Staying at a B&B tonight in Kirby Stephens, which doesn't appear to be a hot bed of DIY Speaker building, but at a population around 1900 is much larger than anywhere we've been since Carlisle!

Bruised rib guy left the group today, getting a taxi to a town where he can get a train to Glasgow and flight back to USA. One of the "Gazelles" (fast 40 something year old hikers in the group) twisted her ankle late this afternoon; impact uncertain; she may be OK after a day of recuperation. Tomorrow is supposed to be a long day -

Kirkby Stephen to Keld (12 miles). We will begin the 1,570-foot climb to Nine Standards Rigg, large cairns dating back to at least pre-18th century. Two important milestones are reached in this section of the walk: the Yorkshire Dales National Park is entered and the watershed of the Pennines is crossed at the highest point of the fell – 2,178 feet. A long and possibly boggy decent will take us to the remote and very picturesque village of Keld, where we will spend the night.

[oneplustwo]

Nice photos Jon. Seems like tough conditions to keep details in the shadowy areas while not totally blowing out the brighter areas. If I know you well enough, I'd guess you're shooting RAW and tweaking in post-processing using either aperture or lightroom? I think I also remember you saying you were shooting with a Sigma. I've never used a camera with one of those cool Foveon sensors but I think I remember reading that they're really good with dynamic range which could help with said-scenarios.

Slightly off-topic... but speaking of Sigma, I had some B&H photo credit which I just spent today on the new-ish Sigma 35mm 1.4. A wide prime was missing from my collection and this should fit the bill quite nicely.

[cjd]

I soooo want to add that Sigma to its big brothers (50mm and 85mm 1.4) - but I call a wide prime a bit differently: I also have a nice 14mm/2.8 (manual only) - currently a 5DII.

I'm also thinking a visit to the countryside of the big island is in my future - would love to get up to Kilmarnock and visit the family castle (it's a rather nice park these days I think - Dean Castle.) But man that looks peaceful.

[oneplustwo]

@cjd: I have a Canon 50mm 1.8, 85mm 1.8, 135 2.0L, 100mm 2.8 macro (that I'm selling) but hear there might be an update to the Sigma 85 1.4 which I would consider upgrading to assuming the reviews are as glowing as they have been for the 35. Tamron's 24-70 2.8 stabilized lens is tempting as well though I tend to prefer primes these days. The versatility of that workhorse lens is compelling though.

Then again... the sigma DP3 is also tempting. I got myself the Canon G15 but I just can't bring myself to use it much. The Sigma could potentially fit the bill with SLR image quality in a pocketable camera. I'm sure Jon will have an opinion that might help. =)

[cjd]

My pocket camera is an Olympus XZ-1 (f1.8 ) I have a 24-70 and 70-200 both 2.8 - tempted by IS on the 70-200 but hadn't noted the tamron stabilized. I don't need to spend more money! I'm an old 4x5 user so primes still have a place. Vacationing though... My lens collection is too heavy for carry-on OR checked baggage.

[oneplustwo]

I had the XZ-1 for a while but couldn't get fond of it. I thought the color rendition was weird. Probably user error. And I think I'm spoiled by full frame (5DII) IQ so everything from the XZ (and now the G15) just doesn't compare. I had the old 24-70 for a number of years and eventually went with the 24-105 4.0 IS. I miss the 2.8 but the extra long end and the IS suited my shooting style better. Now that the Tamron is out WITH IS, I might consider swapping for that one.

And BTW, I have the 70-200 2.8 IS and it's probably my favorite lens. Big and heavy, but makes me look like I know what I'm doing. Mine is the Mark I and I've been tempted by the Mark II but I can't justify the spend given how good the one I have already is. Also, I think it's worth now than what I paid for it ~8 years ago. So that makes me feel a little better about my "investment."

[JonMarsh]

Nice photos Jon. Seems like tough conditions to keep details in the shadowy areas while not totally blowing out the brighter areas. If I know you well enough, I'd guess you're shooting RAW and tweaking in post-processing using either aperture or lightroom? I think I also remember you saying you were shooting with a Sigma. I've never used a camera with one of those cool Foveon sensors but I think I remember reading that they're really good with dynamic range which could help with said-scenarios.

Slightly off-topic... but speaking of Sigma, I had some B&H photo credit which I just spent today on the new-ish Sigma 35mm 1.4. A wide prime was missing from my collection and this should fit the bill quite nicely.

That Sigma is a great lens from the reviews I've seen from guys I trust- I'd like one for my Pentax K5.

I only shoot RAW, on both the DP3 Sigma and my medium format Pentax. The Sigma camera is quirky, only really works well with low ISO settings, but due to having full RGB at every sensor site, the per pixel sharpness is amazing- looks like a normal digital image that's been down converted in half in each direction. The fixed lens is very sharp even at the edges and has excellent bokeh. As lightweight as it is, they're very good hiking cameras.

Unfortunately, photo-bucket aggressively compresses, so you're not even seeing what my small sRGB jpegs look like before I upload them. It's like a really low bit rate MP3.