Canine Caterpillar Claims Caterpallot

Lucky( note: not shivering)  lusts after my pasty

All these pictures of snowy walks in the Lakes and Dales and Scotland and So-On made me think I was missing something, and I really hate Missing Something.  So, in cahoots with LTD, we decided to go up the North Pennines to bag an unbagged Tump going by the name of Caterpallot Hill.

Now Caterpallot Hill is a mere pimple on the chin of Melmerby Fell and a walk could be devised to include Fiend's Fell as well and also include the more abcess-or-boil-like Cuns Fell as well.

All good plans must have some weak spot, though and, in this case, the weak spot was a Very Cold Morning and a warm bed including a small dog who wasn't interested that next door's cat was rampaging around his backyard and much preferred to insinuate himself from his cosy bed into mine.

So we set off late and didn't arrive at Melmerby till noon.

Lucky's impression of a green caterpillar on Caterpallot

We achieved the summit of Caterpallot about an hour later after a bit of a slog along the intake wall. Caterpallot is one of those outliers that line the edge of the Cross Fell ridge and include such fine and ever-so-slightly pointy hills like Dufton Pike. The little gap between the outliers and the Pennine scarp is, in fact the boundary between the Carboniferous Pennine rocks and the older Lake District stuff. So, it's interesting, see?

Caterpallot Hill from the slopes of Cuns Fell

Having bagged the bag, we progressed to lunch. For me, this was a Cornish pasty and a curd tart and for the dog, it was a small piece of Cornish pasty and some curd tart crumbs. Its not good to spoil a dog.

We launched ourselves into the steep tussocks and soft snow of Cuns Fell and made ponderous progress. Legs were heavy. The snow was deep in places (Lucky enjoyed these places) and "soon" (not the inverted commas) we were standing, dripping with sweat and trembling with emotion (actually, not the last bit...) on the summit of Cuns Fell - another fine summit with a little rocky tor on top and a steep drop down one side. It was now getting quite murky and the sun was winding up it's alarm clock, had put the cat out and was sipping some cocoa ready for an early night.

Climbing Cuns Fell

So we forgoed...   forewented.... gave up the idea of going up Melmerby Fell and headed off on a Northwards contouring course for the path coming off Fields Fell back to Melmerby. This was done in short order.



Cuns Fell has a little rocky tor on top

At one point, I did notice a line of footsteps indicating that somebody had descended the fell wearing the same kind of MOD snowshoes that me and Matt had used on Cross Fell last winter. I found this fact pathetically interesting, a bit like finding a shovel in a slightly lighter shade of black than the one in our coalshed.

And  a big drop
 

We did 7 miles. There's no map. I'm not proud of the route, so you're not allowed to see it.

More walkies tomorrow. Hopefully, I will do better. Lucky enjoyed his new jacket by the way and didn't shiver once. Mind you, I did find it quite warm for some reason, although the knipemobile temperature gauge said it was 0.5 C. The snow was wet and thawing a bit, though.