Saturday 23rd February 2019 February 2019 had been a very strange month weather-wise. The month started with thick, heavy snowfall, as would be expected for the time of year, but this was followed by a fast, rapid thaw. Towards the end of the month, a mini-heatwave had hit the UK, bringing record breaking temperatures (20.6°C in Trawsgoed, Wales) for this time of year! I was hoping to get my first wild-camp of the year on the weekend of the 'heatwave' - my earliest ever camp! My camping rucksack loaded, I decided I would head back to Kendal, and up the valley of Longsleddale to the small hamlet of Sadgill at it's head. My trip here was thwarted a few weeks earlier by a BT engineer who had closed the single track road for telegraph pole maintenance. It was looking promising. I passed the point where I had to turn around last time, and continued on the narrow country road for a further 4 mile to Sadgill. It was a lovely drive up the valley. Blue skies & green fields.

  Thursday 7th February After another filling Full English Breakfast to set me up for the day ahead, I jumped in my car and headed a few miles north following the Kirkstone Pass to the small village of Hartsop. It was actually a bit brighter today, the cloud had lifted & the summits were mainly cloud free. On the northern end of the Kirkstone Pass, I headed to the free car park at the end of Hartsop village, booted up and headed on my way. Following the farm track across the bridge crossing Pasture Beck, my path soon turned off and climbed steeply up through a field to a step stile I could see in the top right corner. On the other side of the stile, the ground became much rougher, and no less steep. The now rocky path continued upwards along side a drystone wall until reaching a ledge on the nose of the ridge up to Hartsop Dodd. On reaching the ledge, the cold wind blowing from the west hit me head on. It was time to dig out my down jacket.The path then continued straight up the