After a while of debating with other Glossopdale members about the location of the Calendar box this month, a place had been reckoned upon, and it was just up to someone to go out and check it.
We'd been thinking about it for a while, and didn't have the time, but this morning was just begging to be had for time in the fresh air. I'd been looking at a photography book as well, so was keen to get out and practice bits and pieces on the moors.It was always going to be a slow one, it being a rest day after all, and Lynne is nursing a tight ITB, and a kind of bad knee, so we wandered up onto the hill, up through bog and moor- just wearing inov8s today. I had my baregrips on as I'm trying to get my feet used to the fact that they are going to be running around the place in little more than a sock with studs on it- and they need to toughen up. Or at least, not complain so much when I land on sharp stones. So walking in them seems to be a good way to wake them up- and get a bit more propioception into my day.
We wandered over the way and came across some amazing boulders, I am certainly going back there with a bouldering mat in the coming months, a lot of random little problems, and big problems, on a quick drying hillside, in an area that is pretty solitary. Looks beautiful.
As we got up to the height we needed to be at, the weather closed in quite dramatically, so we found a nice group of boulders under which we settled down until the worst of it was past. From our vantage point we could see a number of other walkers who were not quite so fortunate to find shelter, or perhaps, who needed to keep to a schedule, and they had to wander on through the maelstrom.
As the worst of it went by- we could see curtains of rain making their way up to us, and then around and passed us, so on we wended, through bog and boulder and Lynne spotted a couple of grouse.
It wasn't just a couple of grouse, it was a family of them, 2 adults and 5 chicks- so we stopped and took a load of photos. They were so well camoflaged that all you need do was look away for a fraction of a second and all of a sudden there was just heather... until they moved again. Very impressed with the camoflage!
After taking innumerable photos, we carried on until the place where the Roving Calendar box was meant to be. At this point, we were pretty sure that we had figured out the clue, and were bang on the money, it simply had to be in this little gully. It just needed to be found. So we dropped into the gully, saw a cairn and started looking around below it, and there were a plethora of excellent places to hide what is essentially a box with a couple of bits of paper and some other stuff in it. After about 20 mins we were about to give up, wandering back up the gully- and I thought... hang on, what about directly under the cairn? Surely thats too easy.
Yes, it was that easy.
Directly under the cairn was the box, with a twix in it which we shared, and well needed it was too. It had taken much longer than we originally expected- mainly because of the stopping for photos and rain.
The walk off was much more direct, though it did include a bit of bog bashing, Lynnes knee was beginning to hurt, and it was getting later than we had planned- stuff to do in the afternoon donchaknow.And so we have found the Roving Calendar box for the first time- could not have done it without the knowledge and background usefulness of other club members.... now, I have heard rumour of a hidden whisky case somewhere in them there hills....
Anyone care to give us a clue?!
No comments:
Post a Comment