I didn't think the PF would stand for 30km around Cross Fell & Great Dun, so I planned out a route up High Cup Nick, across to Threlkeld Side, then back down to Dufton.
The weather was utter filth, spectacularly disgusting. I carried a thin packable softshell mid layer, a buff, a pair of gloves and maybe 300ml of water. I was wearing a long sleeve base layer, Paramo windproof and racing shorts, Freet shoes and a hat. I estimated the time needed to be around 3 hours, so nothing else was really necessary, except a map and compass.
Trotting up the Pennine Way out of Dufton I encountered a lot of walkers (including some friends who I totally failed to recognise as they were completely enclosed in waterproofs and I was fighting with the wind). Once I hit the shoulder of the path and entered High Cup Nick the wind got worse. Much worse. Much, much worse.
I missed the PW path somewhere (apparently there's an 'out and back' for a viewpoint, and I kept going instead of going back), and ended up much too low down the slope. Thankfully there was a bit of shelter from the wind here, so I just slogged straight up. Some friends following a similar route an hour or so earlier had done exactly the same thing, as I found out later.
Regaining the PW path, it was a gentle trundle round to the head of High Cup Nick, buffeted by the wind all the way. I'd promised Freet I'd send them some 'in use' pictures of the shoes, and this seemed like a good spot so I paused for a couple of minutes to take some photos.
I took a good look at the map at this point and decided on the next stage. The original plan had been to take a bearing straight for the trig west of the tarns, but I'd stupidly left my compass behind. Looking at the contours, as long as I stuck to the edge of the plateau and kept the slope nearby I was in no danger of getting lost, so I decided to rely on feature nav with the proviso that if I felt it was iffy I'd head straight downhill.
A quick clamber up onto the edge of the plateau and the wind got even worse. Coming up on the wind shelter I spotted some figures and, wondering if it was the walking party from our group, popped in to say hi. It wasn't, it was 3 lads with north east accents who were quite surprised to see a wet loony in shorts. I had a quick chat with them, then back out into the shite.
The nav was a bit tricky here, and I decided to drop a contour so I was in no danger of roaming up onto the moor. Progress was difficult against the wind and my distance sense was struggling. At one point I thought I'd reached the trig, but it turned out to be a cairn in the middle of a load of rocks. I was very cold and wet and visibility was dropping At that point I hit 7 on the 'fuck-this-ometer' (6 is 'regroup, more clothes, look at the situation calmly and make changes if needed', 8 means 'cut the run short' and 10 means 'head for low ground, even if it means a taxi back'). I halted in a sheltered spot to put an extra layer on, and headed slightly downhill to where the contours were clearer. After a couple of hundred metres I reached Little Rundale Beck and followed it up to the top. A short leg to my left and I hit the trig. Then keeping to the edge again I ran on to Threlkeld Side. I felt a lot better by this point, since shelter was nearby and I was nicely warm from the extra layer.
Threlkeld Side was niggly in barefoot shoes - lots of gravel and rocks underfoot meant short strides and careful foot placement. Once I got to the bottom I decided on a quick bonus trip up Dufton Pike. That was a real bonus, a fantastic bit of landscape. A very steep grassy slog to the top, then a narrow path with fantastic views on either side leading down to the north west. Then back around the bottom of the pike, and back to Dufton for a cup of tea and a hot shower.
GPS track to follow, but around 20km/700m
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