Had rather a delightful run up to find the calendar box a couple of days ago. We looked at the clues and had a think about them. One of them, I really didn't understand (if anyone knows why the random letters were capitalised, it would be very interesting to know)!
We went with common sense and local knowledge, and went to find it.
As the riddle said, it was only the first part and we found another clue which pointed us in a different direction.
At this point, the weather had come in rather fantastically and we couldn't spare the time it was going to take us to get to the actual calendar box, so we took a picture of the "clue" and went back home, ready to go off on another day.
Unfortunately we were in Stockport and Manchester all day yesterday and couldn't get out onto the hills at all, (which was something of a blessing in disguise as it was blowing a hoolie with wind, rain, hail, thunder, lightening, and if some people are to be believed, sleet and a bit of snow as well)!
So this morning was a slightly better day to be out, we got togged up and wandered our way onto the hill. Apologies for being a little vague about this one, but its a great puzzle to work out, and I don't want to give anything about the location away.
The main thing about the trip to the box was that when we started doing these in April/May time, we were walking to them and gently ambling around. Lynnes leg wasn't having any of the "running" lark, so it was all about gently strengthening it up and making sure that we didn't overdo anything.
Gradually, we started running out to the boxes a bit more, and this time there was vastly more running than walking, up hills, down hills, across bogs, everywhere, it was fantastic, and I was very proud!
Exercise, tempered with rest, recovery and the right attitude is an absolute recipe for success.
A lovely morning out in the hills. Thanks Dark Peak Calendar Box people.
Showing posts with label roving calendar box. Show all posts
Showing posts with label roving calendar box. Show all posts
Friday, 7 October 2011
Sunday, 7 August 2011
Dark Peak Roving Calendar box- August
We've been waiting for this to come out for a while, and as soon as it went live on the DP website, Lynne was there, printing it out and yelling at me.
(Which was quite good as I had just settled down for a quick afternoon nap, for want of anything constructive to do).
Excellent, break out the maps, look for the place which looks like the print out. We scoured Dark Peak and White Peak for about 20 mins, but to no avail- so we stopped, had a cup of tea, and then looked again - but with new eyes, and with a slightly different idea of shapes to look for on the map.
Within 5 minutes I had spied the most likely looking place, and with each check back and forth, yes, I reckon that is definitely the place.
That was last Wednesday.
Thursday was work, Friday was a washout, Saturday was out with the Parents.
Aha, Sunday- perfect.
Ok, so the weather wasn't the greatest, but I figured it would be a chance to try out running in a proshell. (yes, its hot and sweaty, no matter what- I really want a Neoshell to try out!). But thankfully the showers were just that, showers. The sun come out, the sun went in. Rain poured, and then didn't. It ran the whole gamut from delightful day to horrible rainstorm. But we persevered.
Up, over, around and down. The rock was very slippery, but as long as you were fully aware of what you were doing and where you were putting your feet etc. It wasn't bad at all. We kept up a fairly steady pace all the way up, which is testament to the training that Lynne is putting herself through at the moment.
After a fair while searching around the area that we thought it would be, we looked at another really obvious place, and mooched around for a bit. After a good 15, 20 minutes we were giving up hope... it HAS to be here, but where?
So we sat down and broke out some Rocky Road and admired the view.
Looking at where we had come from, we worked out how we would get back, and I decided to have one last look about the vicinity. Within 40 seconds.
Aha!
Bingo.
We sat down and wrote in the book, it seems we are the 3rd or 4th lot to find it this month. There was a pack of rolos in there, so we had one each, and left a snickers bar for some deserving soul who may trek there from quite a way away.
We bobbed off home, happy that we found it, 3rd month in a row. All good fun, and certainly increasing my local knowledge.
(Which was quite good as I had just settled down for a quick afternoon nap, for want of anything constructive to do).
Excellent, break out the maps, look for the place which looks like the print out. We scoured Dark Peak and White Peak for about 20 mins, but to no avail- so we stopped, had a cup of tea, and then looked again - but with new eyes, and with a slightly different idea of shapes to look for on the map.
Within 5 minutes I had spied the most likely looking place, and with each check back and forth, yes, I reckon that is definitely the place.
That was last Wednesday.
Thursday was work, Friday was a washout, Saturday was out with the Parents.
Aha, Sunday- perfect.
Ok, so the weather wasn't the greatest, but I figured it would be a chance to try out running in a proshell. (yes, its hot and sweaty, no matter what- I really want a Neoshell to try out!). But thankfully the showers were just that, showers. The sun come out, the sun went in. Rain poured, and then didn't. It ran the whole gamut from delightful day to horrible rainstorm. But we persevered.
Up, over, around and down. The rock was very slippery, but as long as you were fully aware of what you were doing and where you were putting your feet etc. It wasn't bad at all. We kept up a fairly steady pace all the way up, which is testament to the training that Lynne is putting herself through at the moment.
After a fair while searching around the area that we thought it would be, we looked at another really obvious place, and mooched around for a bit. After a good 15, 20 minutes we were giving up hope... it HAS to be here, but where?
So we sat down and broke out some Rocky Road and admired the view.
Looking at where we had come from, we worked out how we would get back, and I decided to have one last look about the vicinity. Within 40 seconds.
Aha!
Bingo.
We sat down and wrote in the book, it seems we are the 3rd or 4th lot to find it this month. There was a pack of rolos in there, so we had one each, and left a snickers bar for some deserving soul who may trek there from quite a way away.
We bobbed off home, happy that we found it, 3rd month in a row. All good fun, and certainly increasing my local knowledge.
Friday, 8 July 2011
Dark Peak Roving Calendar box- July
Delightful morning out on the hills looking for the Roving Calendar box. I'm not going to reveal the exact location of the box with photos or a GPS track, because that would spoil the fun.
Also, its pretty easy to find this month, if a little more out of the way than in June, it is a truely spectacular area.
After a walk in, with Lynne testing out her new Mountain Equipment Diamir Jacket (I'm sure that I can sit down and write a review of it at some point soon), as the rain came in. The forecast had predicted 70-80% chance of rain, heavy rain, all the way through the day. This turned out to be pretty much untrue and we only had 2 squally showers as we went out onto the hill.
The midges were everywhere near the car, so a fast escape had to be made, but once away from the woods, and as the rain came down, thankfully they died away.
I was testing out an oft held theory that if you have a jacket which is losing its water repellancy, or at least, is losing the beading effect as the rain hits it, don't spend money on re-proofing it right away- heat it. The classic thing is to put the jacket in a tumble drier on low to get heat going right the way through, redistributing the DWR. I had 2 minor problems with this. The first being I don't own a tumble drier, the second being I was doing this to a Mountain Hardwear Dragon Jacket. Not all of the seams on this jacket are stitched, the hood is heat sealed, for example. Put one of those garments in a tumble drier and all of a sudden you have component parts of the jacket instead of a single item...
Always check if you can tumble dry your stuff BEFORE you put it in there.
If, like me, you are restricted one way or the other, the second avenue of re-DWR-ing your garment is to use your trusty hairdrier. (or your girlfriends). Turn it on, and use it as if you were using it to dry the fabric- like you were drying your hair.
I was once asked what setting you should use on the hairdrier- and to be honest, I had no idea they HAD settings, so, not too hot, and not too cold.
During the process, make sure you do not heat the item up so much that you melt it, burn it or otherwise damage it. If you do, its your own stupid fault. Take care. Chances are its an expensive bit of kit (the garment, not the hairdrier) so take care and be mindful when you are doing it.
Anyhow, where was I.
Yes, I was testing this out. I heated up the jacket yesterday, and I have to say that the process seems to have restored the DWR quite effectively. The Dragon Jacket isn't meant to be Water proof- its got Windstopper in it and has a couple of bits of point taping in it, but after the treatment, the rain was beading off the skin of the jacket rather admirably. I'm very happy with the result and will have to suggest it to other people even more emphatically than before!
So we went on up over the moor, a bit of heather bashing, bouncing over the peat, and looking at some rather intriguing rock formations. When we got to the Calendar box location it was pretty easy to find. There were a couple of Custard Cremes in there, so we swapped 2 of them for a geobar, wrote in the book and left it in the same condition as we had found it. I think we were about the 3rd or 4th people to find it this month.
We then took a little detour on the way back to the car, heading up the high point behind the location, and although the cloud base was low, there was a fantastic view right the way across Dark Peak, so far that I don't actually know what I was seeing- probably right down over White Peak as well.
On the way down we also saw a raptor of some sort- low over the bog- it certainly wasn't a Buzzard, it wasn't a Kestrel- and it wasn't a Sparrowhawk. It was Brown-ish with wings shorter than a Buzzard.
My immediate thought was Marsh Harrier, but on closer inspection, they tend to nest down South nearer Norfolk way. I wonder if it was a Hen Harrier, but I thought they were much more Grey/white.
If you're about over Bleaklow, keep a look out, as they may well be around.
Also, its pretty easy to find this month, if a little more out of the way than in June, it is a truely spectacular area.
After a walk in, with Lynne testing out her new Mountain Equipment Diamir Jacket (I'm sure that I can sit down and write a review of it at some point soon), as the rain came in. The forecast had predicted 70-80% chance of rain, heavy rain, all the way through the day. This turned out to be pretty much untrue and we only had 2 squally showers as we went out onto the hill.
The midges were everywhere near the car, so a fast escape had to be made, but once away from the woods, and as the rain came down, thankfully they died away.
I was testing out an oft held theory that if you have a jacket which is losing its water repellancy, or at least, is losing the beading effect as the rain hits it, don't spend money on re-proofing it right away- heat it. The classic thing is to put the jacket in a tumble drier on low to get heat going right the way through, redistributing the DWR. I had 2 minor problems with this. The first being I don't own a tumble drier, the second being I was doing this to a Mountain Hardwear Dragon Jacket. Not all of the seams on this jacket are stitched, the hood is heat sealed, for example. Put one of those garments in a tumble drier and all of a sudden you have component parts of the jacket instead of a single item...
Always check if you can tumble dry your stuff BEFORE you put it in there.
If, like me, you are restricted one way or the other, the second avenue of re-DWR-ing your garment is to use your trusty hairdrier. (or your girlfriends). Turn it on, and use it as if you were using it to dry the fabric- like you were drying your hair.
I was once asked what setting you should use on the hairdrier- and to be honest, I had no idea they HAD settings, so, not too hot, and not too cold.
During the process, make sure you do not heat the item up so much that you melt it, burn it or otherwise damage it. If you do, its your own stupid fault. Take care. Chances are its an expensive bit of kit (the garment, not the hairdrier) so take care and be mindful when you are doing it.
Anyhow, where was I.
Yes, I was testing this out. I heated up the jacket yesterday, and I have to say that the process seems to have restored the DWR quite effectively. The Dragon Jacket isn't meant to be Water proof- its got Windstopper in it and has a couple of bits of point taping in it, but after the treatment, the rain was beading off the skin of the jacket rather admirably. I'm very happy with the result and will have to suggest it to other people even more emphatically than before!
So we went on up over the moor, a bit of heather bashing, bouncing over the peat, and looking at some rather intriguing rock formations. When we got to the Calendar box location it was pretty easy to find. There were a couple of Custard Cremes in there, so we swapped 2 of them for a geobar, wrote in the book and left it in the same condition as we had found it. I think we were about the 3rd or 4th people to find it this month.
We then took a little detour on the way back to the car, heading up the high point behind the location, and although the cloud base was low, there was a fantastic view right the way across Dark Peak, so far that I don't actually know what I was seeing- probably right down over White Peak as well.
On the way down we also saw a raptor of some sort- low over the bog- it certainly wasn't a Buzzard, it wasn't a Kestrel- and it wasn't a Sparrowhawk. It was Brown-ish with wings shorter than a Buzzard.
My immediate thought was Marsh Harrier, but on closer inspection, they tend to nest down South nearer Norfolk way. I wonder if it was a Hen Harrier, but I thought they were much more Grey/white.
If you're about over Bleaklow, keep a look out, as they may well be around.
Saturday, 18 June 2011
Dark Peaks Roving Calendar box
A day off today, and just an hour recovery training yesterday (on the turbo), but we still managed to get out for a short walk this morning.
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?!
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?!
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