Swines Back Bivvy Camp

Route

We parked in Upper Booth Car Park which somehow manages to get a wifi signal so you can pay by phone using the RingGo app and location code 51703. You can also use a card on the machine.

Its a quick walk along the Pennine Way and then you have a choice of walking up the stone steps of Jacobs Ladder, or following the Packhorse route which is a little less steep but slightly longer. The two routes come together at the beehive cairn and the climb upwards continues onto the Kinder Plateau. Follow the signs for Edale Cross and continue past it, dropping down to find a good, strong and clear source of water at Stony Ford on Oaken Clough. Heading back to the cross, this time turning northwards and up the steep but short ascent to Swines Back.

The wind was baltic, and we had to find a camp spot quickly as we were running out of daylight. My preferred slots were too exposed but we managed to find a sheltered spot next to a peat hag. The Lanshan was double pegged and had one side set lower to try to combat the inevitable flappiness caused by the wind. I put the 3 x 3 tarp over a couple of trekking poles against the side of the hag. The shelter was very welcome and it is surprising how much warmer you feel out of the wind. I sat on my airbed propped against the hag with a wool blanket over my legs. The 80mm alcohol burner had to be moved under the tarp as it was too windy. Dinner was a delicious bangin spag bol, cooked from scratch and very welcome!

I didn't use a sleeping bag and was comfortably warm inside the bivvy bag apart from one foot, which I later found out wasn't covered by the blanket and exposed to the wind as the bivvy bag was outside the tarp. When it started raining (quite heavily), I fell asleep very quickly as I found it really comforting.

In the Lanshan, it wasn't as nice as the flapping kept Shane awake for most of the night.

I made a pancake mix and cooked bacon and pancakes in the morning, with some maple syrup. Bangin!

Weather

As mentioned, the wind was very strong. Evening temperatures were 7 degrees C, and the wind was gusting at 20mph. During the night this increased to 35mph which brought the windchill down to well below zero. The rain was very heavy during the night and we were surprised to see how the acumulated water on the route down.

Equipment

New equipment this week included an Osprey Archeon Chest rig, a waterproof multi compartment bag that held the electronics really well. 

I have enjoyed cooking meals from scratch but the 30mm and even 50mm burners dont last long enough. My solution was to buy some 80mm screw top aluminium tins and carbon wadding and manufacture my own. This worked really well, but the strong wind meant that a lot of fuel was used.

The star of the show this week was the 80% merino wool blanket. This provides a warm, fireproof cover, and kept me warm inside the bivvy, even without a sleeping bag. 

Summary

Some challenging weather conditions on the top of Kinder, and even though Jacobs Ladder is a fairly steady path upwards, we were both tired and ready for a rest when we got onto Swines Back. The wind was almost knocking us off our feet in the morning and the wind chill was well below freezing. We were lucky that the rain came when we were sheltered and didnt cause any issues on the upward and downward treks.