I can't quite remember how I found out about the Frog. Probably a Facebook post or something similar. The thing that immediately grabbed me was all of it. The route. The idea. The ethos. The idea of being self sufficient on a full day out in the hills and lakes, with only yourself to sort things out.
A loosely planned round during 2016 came to naught, and with little else planned for this year, a Frog seemed the obvious thing to pass some time. I have never gone in for much of forward planning or looking for best routes. Part of the enjoyment for me is trying something new and maintaining a sense of anticipation. Just have a go and see what happens. One of my favourite sayings is 'what is the worst that can happen', eloquently answered by someone I met last year who was recycling the Frog last year with a simple answer - 'Death'. Hopefully things wouldn't get that bad! Actually, going for the round was really only a proper thought three or four days before I went...
Setting off from the Moot Hall at 3.20am was different. I don't think many of those still up had seen a man dressed in a wet-suit and rucksack running up the main street! I was almost disappointed to not get any funny comments! Skiddaw was the same as always. Big, steep, and windy and cloudy on the top (can't remember being up there when it's been clear!), but otherwise uneventful. For some reason I had Carl Side and Ullock Pike down as checkpoints, so these were dutifully ticked off with great views underneath the cloud. Then my first error of the day. Rather than using the path off the end of the ridge, I dropped off the side straight towards Bass Lake on what I thought was a path. It wasn't. The small trod gave way quickly to heather and bilberry bushes over rocks. Lower down the fence next to the forest gave a sort of relief, then straight through the woods to gain the road before rejoining the path down to Bassenthwaite Church and the lake for the first swim. A stiff breeze was creating quite a chop, but luckily the temperature wasn't too bad, and the other side was reached just before 6.40am.
Another quick sort of my bag, and then down the old road towards Thornthwaite and the climb up Barf. I knew these next three hills from regular orienteering events in Whinlatter, and apart from the initial climb, knew the next bit down to the forest centre was going to be the easiest part of the round. The climb up Grisedale seemed to go on for ever, going back into the cloud around the 550m level, and with it came an increasing wind. The following few hills (Hopegill Head, Sand Hill, Crag Hill and Wandope) were all visited in thick clag interspersed with rain, and then my first nav error of the day. Looking again at the map, I must have veered too far north dropping off Wandope and ended up at the col looking at the climb going up Grasmoor. Nothing fitted. No compass (school boy error!). No idea. Luckily my GPS watch has a direction feature, so after hastily changing the settings and 'walking around a bit', managed to work out which way I was going, and then back-tracking to the spur going down to Whiteless Pike. Thankfully I only lost about 10 minutes or so, but it was so close to ending my attempt. Throughout this leg the wind and rain were increasing, and I was having second thoughts about continuing once I had dropped down into the valley. The drop off Whiteless seemed endless before the up and over for Rannerdale, and down to Crummock for swim two.
During the crossing of Rannerdale, the weather started to improve, so any excuses for not carrying
on were now just down to me. Eight and a half hours or so already done - probably back before dark
- might as well carry on...
The small rocky promontory underneath the road went straight into deep water, so no getting in slowly to get used to the water. Fortunately, the temperature was ok, and the wind had died down to leave a relatively flat lake, so the swim across to Low Ling point was no problem. Mellbreak was a killer climb. I decided to go slightly left first, the cut up diagonally across the front of the hill for a direct approach to the summit. Boy is that slope steep!! One advantage of an 'early season' round is the bracken hasn't really got going yet which can impede forward progress considerably. After what seemed like an eon I popped out about 50m from the top, so a quick walk up to the top at 1.00pm then turn straight back on myself and start the descent. Where the path crosses Mosedale I took a slightly uphill line getting tangled in some horrible heather covered rocks before dropping on to the path towards Red Pike. Back into the cloud around the 600m mark, and the wind (and sometimes rain) was back too. Dropping off High Stile it was time for nav error 2, getting dragged to the left as I dropped and down the wrong spur going directly north, only realising when I got underneath the cloud level and was looking at Bleaberry Tarn. With luck I was using copies of the OS 1:25000 which showed a small path traversing the hillside, so followed it back round the front of the hill to gain the correct path. A stop at Comb Beck meant I could refill my drinks and sort out enough bits of food for the last 'run' section.
Slightly worried about the next swim as I was getting fairly tired, I found a couple (Archie and Cat) on the beach skimming stones who I asked to stay until I got to the other side to check I made it ok. As I chatted to them before setting off, it turned out it was Cats' birthday, and after a quick rendition of 'Happy Birthday', saw me wobbling my way in to Buttermere at 3.45pm. The wind was still 'stiff', and the water was 'bouncy', but the crossing only took about 15 minutes, and after sorting the bag, started on the last 'monster' climb of the day - Robinson. The traverse across to Dale Head was fine before dropping down to Dalehead Tarn (I was almost tempted to swim across just for completeness!), then turn north for the final hills and home. High Spy (again back in the cloud) was hit without a problem at 18.30ish, and then time for nav error number 3. Hitting the cairn between High Spy and Maiden Moor, I stupidly thought I had travelled further along the ridge than I had and got confused before attempting to drop off to the East via Blea Crag. Luckily a gap in the clouds gave a glimpse of Grange in the valley below, so after a quick traverse back to the main ridge and the path, things were back on track. I always forget how steep and rocky Cat Bells, but once done, the final swim was the only hurdle before finishing.
I had arranged for a friend to act as 'boat support' for the final swim. With my current level of 'knackeredness', if anything went wrong at this stage, it would be both quick and serious, so having an insurance option there was most welcome. It was actually quite nice to have someone to talk to during my resting 'floats' across Derwent! The three islands and four swims were uneventful (but long), and the shore of Calfclose Bay was eventually reached for the last 2km back to the Moot Hall. A quick couple of pictures, before a visit to the local pizza takeaway, eaten in the car once changed, and then the drive home.
Yes - the weather could have been kinder, and I could have had some views to look at instead of cloud and rain all day, but in some ways it all added to make it feel even more special.
For those still reading (and interested), I used an Orca RS1 Swimrun wetsuit worn for the whole round. Fortunately, the day was cool and overcast (ok - mainly cloudy and rainy!), so overheating wasn't an issue, although it was a little sweaty for the first run. The rain on every leg was useful on rinsing everything down! I ran in Salomon SLAB shoes (kept on the feet for the swimming bits). For the swims I just shoved my sac into a pull-buoy bag to keep it drier. For food I used a mixture of gels, energy drink, water, and a couple of flap-jacks. The beauty of using a swimrun suit was no extra layers were needed in the rain/wind (though I did carry some just in case). For route-finding I just had copies of the OS 1:25000 printed on waterproof paper and should have had a compass!!!
So... a really long day, but also one of the best! I love the fact the route is less pre-defined than a BG (with differing options off Skiddaw, around Whinlatter and the climb up on to Mellbreak), and that there is a big emphasis on self-reliance.
Note: The GPS trace from the route went AWOL somewhere between the watch and the computer, so no proper timings... (sorry! - most of the timings are approximate!!)
Start: 3:20
Skiddaw: 4.50
Bass - start of swim: 6.10
Barf: 7.00
Lord's Seat: 7.15
Ullister: 7.30
Grisedale Pike: 9.10
Hopegill Head: 9.30
Sand Hill: 9.40
Carl Side: 10.10
Wandope: 10.25
Whiteless Pike: 10.55
Low Bank: 11.30
Crummock - start of swim: 12.00
Melbreak: 13.10
Red Pike: 14.40
High Stile: 15.00
Horseclose Bay: 15.40
Robinson: 17:00
Dale Head: 17:45
High Spy: 18:30
Catbells: 19:25
Derwent Water - start of swim(s): 20.00
Moot Hall: 21:10:37