Lake District - Pillar Summit (892m): Started from parking area at Gatesgarth Farm in Buttermere Valley. Ascended south over Scarth Gap Pass into the Ennerdale Valley, dropping to Black Sail Hut. Then continued south ascending up onto Black Sail Pass. At the top of Black Sail pass, turned west to ascend further, passing Looking Stead ( 627m) and on to the summit at Pillar (892m). After the summit, descended off the west slope of Pillar, past White Pike, and down to the Valley floor again. Turned east and walked back to Black Sail Hut, and then returned over Scarth Gap Pass and down to the Buttermere Valley floor and the Garthgate Farm starting point.
Total Time: 8 hours 35 minutes; Total Distance 20.28km; Total Ascent: 2,135m; Average Moving Speed: 2.8km
Training objective: My focus was to use the Harvey Maps Ultramap XT40 1:40000 'Lake District West' map for navigation. In comparison to the rather indistinct terrain for yesterday's walk in the east, the terrain here was much more detailed and it was easy to navigate with contour shapes with the 1:40000 scale. I like the size of the mini XT40, which fits in a breast pocket. One disappointment in the planning process in reviewing the maps was that neither the OS or Harvey maps showed that coming off the west side of Pillar would be a large and extensive scree field. And that at the bottom of that was a largely marshy wooded area with downed logs and limbs. This walk took an hour longer than planned because of the challenging terrain of descending off the summit on a sliding scree, and then slogging through march and downed trees at the bottom. No indication of this on the maps, including the prominent 'Right of Way' green lines for which there was nothing anything like a trail, or even passable terrain. This made for a good reconnaissance, but the lack of detail on the map when the map symbols are available was disappointing.
It was also helpful in building my own mental map of the area with such good visibility. I have been to this general area numerous times, on Great Gable, Scafell Pike, High Seat, etc. and visibility was pretty much 20 to 50 metres maximum. Walking in cloud. With this very good visibility I could put it all together as a mental picture after this walk.
Weather: Reviewed weather forecasts from Met Office 'Specialist Forecast' for Pillar and Black Sail Hut, and tracked MWIS forecast for Lake District and the regular 'Fleeting View' reports. Weather was mostly sunny with good visibility all day. A few clouds building in late. Pretty much to forecast.
Navigation Planning: Used the OS Maps App on my computer to assess and plan the route. Printed and laminated the route map at A4 size for the journey. Carried an OS Explorer OL4 1:25000 map and a Harvey XT40,1:40000 map (large), and also a Harvey Ultramap XT40 Lake District Wet (small).
Safety and Risk: I carried my First Aid Kit, Blizzard Bag blanket, and a 4-6 person emergency shelter, as well as as my Garmin InReach Mini, with a 'Professional' level subscription. There is no cellular reception over large areas on these Fells and the InReach is a valuable emergency asset. I also left a copy of the route plan at home.
Area :
Western Fells
The Western Fells form the southern wall of the Buttermere valley and the northern fence of Wasdale. Between the two lies Ennerdale so that in effect the group is the shape of a single horseshoe, each branch about 10 miles in length.
At the head of Ennerdale stands Great Gable. The southern arc of the group travels due west from Great Gable, the main ridge consisting of Kirk Fell, Pillar, Scoat Fell, Haycock and Caw Fell.
