Jack and the green walk - Photo Gallery

It was still warm when I parked at the Old Dungeon Ghyll but there were signs that the dry spell might end before I finish my walk. I walked behind the hotel to get on to the path leading towards the New Dungeon Ghyll hotel; Raven Crag rises up by the side of the path and it was the first time I have seen climbers on it. The rough path undulates on its way down the valley and it is always one that I would rather walk at the beginning of the day than at the end. As I crossed the footbridge over Dungeon Ghyll there was barely a trickle of water coming down the wide, rugged stream.

The path turning left to follow Stickle Ghyll just before you get into the back yard of the New Hotel almost always takes me by surprise and I have to retrace a few steps. The reconstructed path by the side of the gill has been there for many years but now it looks as though it is undergoing a major re-fit with a large number of heli-bags full of stones waiting to be used. The footbridge over Stickle Ghyll has even less water trickling under it; I can't remember it being so dry in the Lake District in the eight years I have been walking.

The walk up to Stickle Tarn has always been a strenuous one and I was getting very hot and sweating even more than usual in the humid conditions; fortunately a thin layer of cloud was keeping the heat of the sun off me. The path is a real construction site; the old path was one of those I complained about being awkwardly sloped for descent but the new one seems to be a new walker-friendly design. Of course if you don't like reconstructed stone paths you can always climb up the gill as one walker was doing; I think there are not too many times you could do that without getting wet.

The roadworks are being carried out in the lower, steeper half of the path; once you have scrambled up some rock outcrops the gradient eases for a more straightforward plod up the cobbled path. It doesn't last for too long because you come to the final rocky part of the gill on the right hand side; this is where the official path crosses to the other side of gill which isn't always easy when it is full of water. I prefer to keep on the right hand side of the gill; the zig zag scramble up a small ledge across a rock face is much better than the path on the other side even though it has improved since I last tried it.

There is an impressive array of boulders apparently flowing down from Stickle Tarn that are usually too mossy and slippery to walk across but I took the opportunity to scramble over them with it being so dry. The reward for the hard work getting up this far is the sudden view of the impressive front of Pavey Ark that appear just as you get to Stickle Tarn. You can see up the length of Easy Gully but it looks too easy and you can follow the line of Jack's Rake if you know where it is – it looks an unlikely walkers route. It is always good to sit on the dam at the front of the tarn and admire Pavey Ark and contemplate the fun you are about to receive.

It is easier to walk around the left hand edge of Stickle Tarn to get to Jack's Rake; you can see lighter coloured scree below the entrance to Easy Gully where you start from. I thought I could see something on the rock face of Pavey Ark when I was at the dam and there are actually climbers on the vertical-looking rock above. After walking to the far side of the tarn you have to climb a little up a well eroded but not difficult path; the turning on the left before you get to Jack's Rake is for climbers only. It isn't actually that obvious where Jack's Rake is; when you are as close to the rockface as you can get without starting to climb up Easy Gully you can see a lighter coloured rocky ledge going steeply upwards on your left.

The first bit isn't too daunting, just a steep climb up a rocky path until very soon it becomes a small gully. The good part is it looks like you have some protection from the the exposure with a small rock wall on the outside of you; unfortunately the gully is very narrow in places and it is sometimes necessary to climb up onto the top of the wall. It is much steeper too than you might think and you can't help being aware of it as you search for hand and footholds in this first section. I always try to keep in the gully but if you don't get onto the wall early enough it can be quite difficult in places go get up some of the steps.

The tree that was visible from the bottom of the rake doesn't seem to get much closer but the gradient keeps getting steeper; after the initial rock wall there is a wider embankment on the left but it doesn't last for long. The next gully-like section is set at an angle and at some point you have to get out of it; I'm afraid I had to use my knee at this stage as I struggled to get up the final step. As you get to the tree at the top of the angled gully you get a bit of a breather, a fairly level terrace takes you to the next tree and for me the most awkward part of the climb. For once there is a gap on the left as the ground falls away steeply; you have a few steep steps that are straightforward but then you have to move over to the left to get on to a fairly exposed edge.

I was relieved to get up without trouble and I was beginning to enjoy it by then although the going is just as steep and rugged. The next obstacle is a mini cantilever where you can climb straight upwards and clamber over it or step up on to the wall on the left to bypass it. The final rocky channel that you have to climb is also slightly angled; the foot and hand holds are not the best of the day and you will have trouble getting through with a rucksack on your back. The alternative is to climb up onto the top of the wall at its highest and most exposed point but by now the adrenaline will be flowing and you won't be looking down.

The nature of the climb changes at that point and opens out; after a short climb up Great Gully there is a rock step before the walkers path levels out again. After a short distance you get to the sloping slabs near the top of Pavey Ark; there are a couple of awkward steps you can get up or after a short descent there is an easier (relatively) climb up to the final scramble over the slabs. After that there is just a simple clamber over rock to get to the summit of Pavey Ark; there should be a cairn there but it disappeared some time ago.

From the summit you clamber back down in more or less the same direction as you got up, crossing the remnants of a stone wall to where a small tarn lies in a bit of a hollow. These days you can see the start of a path heading off in the direction of Harrison Stickle and once you climb up the first small rise you can see the full length of the path. The path is fairly level most of the way with a couple of slabs to walk over and some boulders to hop across before it starts to climb gradually towards an obvious rock outcrop. You can carry on along the path and double back up to the summit but a cairn above head height shows the more direct route, an easy clamber over rock to the summit of Harrison Stickle.

There are several cairns on the rough summit plateau, you make up your own mind about which one is the highest one. There was a bit of a breeze by that time and more cloud than I have seen for a while; it look distinctly like there was bad weather on Scafell Pike. From the summit and heading in the direction of the unmistakable Pike o' Stickle, I dropped down to a small col. Instead of turning left towards the distinctive shape of the Pike I carried on in the direction of the shallow rounded summit of Thunacar Knott. There is a vague path and the occasional cairn until you get to a small rise; it turns out to be a rocky tor as you look back when you get past it.

In these conditions there is no problem with seeing the way to the summit but this all-green terrain needs to be navigated by compass in mist. There are no landmarks until you reach the big cairn at the southern end of the summit of Thunacar Knott. There is a small tarn in the shallow depression before you reach the stony summit top with its even larger cairn but not much else to see once you get past that. You can see the small hump of Sergeant Man on the right hand side of the green skyline rising up towards High Raise on the left. There is a path but it is easy to lose it in the grassy shallow depression, it was fine at the time but it can get very wet at times; even the worst of the mud had dried out enough to be able to walk over it without leaving footprints.

After you get past the mud the path becomes visible again and it would take you to High Raise if you didn't notice the faint track going off to the right in the direction of Sergeant Man. As the summit mound of Sergeant Man becomes visible again the path disappears into the grass, at least the swampy sections could be crossed without getting my feet wet. The ground becomes more solid as you get to a bigger path that takes you up the short climb to the rocky man. It was looking decidedly grey in the sky towards Scafell Pike as I set off in the direction of High Raise, a huge green lump of a hill.

I have struggled through swamp and mud several times in this area before, it is much easier with the ground being dry. The summit of High Raise is another oasis of rock in a green desert with one of the most substantial shelter cairns in the Lake District. I had to take a bearing for the next stage of the walk, there is a right of way marked on the map but no path on the ground heading towards Stake Pass. Once I had got past the summit rocks I found the first cairn and a faint path in the grass; it was reassuring to be able to see the small tarn near the top of Stake Pass in the absence of any other landmarks.

After the initial smooth grassy slope the ground and the grass became a little steeper and rougher and the path became harder to follow. I crossed a couple of shallow dry gullies before the path turned downhill following another small stream until it joined Stake Beck. An obvious path descended to Stake Beck but none was obvious on the other side; I walked across the lushest vegetation of the day and was glad again it was so dry. After a short climb upwards I reached the good Stake Pass path and followed it up to the top of the pass.

The top of Stake Pass is usually one of the muddiest places I have been where the stepping stones are barely adequate to keep you from being sucked into the morass. I turned right at the top of the pass in the direction of Angle Tarn; the stepping stones were redundant with the ground being so dry. The breeze had become much stronger and it was obviously going to rain soon, I was hoping that I could get to Rossett Pike or even Bowfell before it started. I was walking on the ridge above Black Crags and the sky looked very grey; all of a sudden it started to rain and I knew I wasn't going to finish the planned route.

In fact I put my jacket on and decided to just get down; I walked back to Stake Pass, down to Mickleden and back to the car. I got wet enough without making it into the cloud on Bowfell; normal service was restored to the Lake District.

Andy Wallace 29th July 2006