Hiking the Cumbria Way - Lake District
The Cumbria Way is a 76 mile walk through the heart of the Lake District, starting in Ulverston and finishing in Carlisle. It takes in some of the best scenery the Lake District has to offer including Coniston Water, Langstrath Valley, Derwent Water, and Glenderaterra Valley (and lots more!).
I did the walk over 5 days in early July 2018, staying at campsites along the way (apart from in Keswick, where I spent the night in a guest house).
I thoroughly recommend the walk to anyone but, if you are thinking of doing it, just be aware that it is not as well sign-posted as other long walks in the UK (e.g The West Highland Way). In poor weather / visibility there are a few sections when a map and compass would be essential. I also found it to be much less busy than other walks I have done. There were many sections when I did not see any other walkers for several hours at a time. I liked this aspect of the walk but it is something to be aware of.
Music (all from the Youtube Audio library)
Day 1: Wishful Thinking by Dan Lebowitz
& Retreat by Jason Farnham
Day 2: Waterfall by Aakash Ghandi
Day 3: Secret Conversations by The 126ers
Day 4: Moving On by Wayne Jones
Day 5: Pink Horizon by Chris Haugen
Kit list:
Tent: Nigor Wikiup 3 (with halfsize inner) - 1.7kg
Backpack: Montane Grand Tour 55 (1.4kg)
-Sleeping bag: Mountain Equipment Helium quilt (500g)
-Sleeping pad: Thermorest Neo Air X Lite (340g) and foam pad (170g)
Dry bag (45litres, to waterproof all contents inside the backpack).
Dry bag (10 litre) - extra water protection for my sleeping quilt. Both drybags are
Karrimor branded. Cheap but very good. And they help compress my quilt by
squeezing the air out of it.
Clothes:
Salomon XA pro 3D shoes
Injinji Outdoor 2.0 socks (2 pairs) - wear one pair / wash the other / repeat
Two synthetic long sleeve tops: Montane Sonic (130g each)
Montane Terra trousers (340g)
Windproof top: Decathlon running windproof top (120g
Microfleece sweater: Jack Wolfskin Gecko (230g)
Insulated layer: Montane Fireball jacket (350g)
Waterproof trousers: Decathlon own brand (180g)
Waterproof jacket: Rab Spark (320g)
Fleece Hat (40g) Buff Microfleece
Fleece gloves (50g) Lowe Alpine Powerstretch grippy gloves
Waterproof mitts (100g) - Mountain Equipment Mountain Mitts
Windproof headband (20g) - Montane Rock Band
Buff x2 (30g each)
Sunglasses
Cap (Outdoor Research Sun Runner)
Sleeping clothes (only used for in camp / sleeping):
Fleece Leggings from Decathlon (170g)
Merino Wool long -sleeve t-shirt (150g)
Merino Wool socks
Visor(to cover eyes)
Silicone ear plugs
Inflatable pillow - Sea to Summit Aero s100g) - very comfortable!
Additional items:
First Aid kit (Lifesystems Nano, with additional footcare items added, eg. Compeed Blister plasters, Badger Balm foot balm, and Leukotape. Also added Dioralyte, to aid with hydration) - 150g
-Swiss Army Knife - Hiker version. 70g
Main Headlamp: Fenix HL23 + 3 AA batteries - 100g
Additional Petzl Elite headlamp (for use only inside the tent) -30g
Water Filter: Sawyer Mini, which attaches well to Riverock water bottles.
2 500ml Riverock bottles
Chlorine Dioxide tablets x 30 (Lifesystems) - water purification tablets in case of having to take from a suspect water source
MP3 player
Smartphone
Camera: Panasonic Lumix DMC TZ60
Tripod: Manfrotto Pixi
Map
Guidebook
Compass
Safety Whistle
Suncream
Spork
Sea to Summit x bowl (Collapsible) - 80g
Midge net (Lifesystems) - 40gm.
I didn't carry any cooking equipment due to the availability of hot meals along the route, and I don't mind eating cold / dried food in the tent. I carried about 2000 calories worth of food at all times, to see me through areas where food wasn't available. This mostly took the form of nuts (Macadamia and Cashew) and dark chocolate bars).
In total, throughout the trip my backpack averaged about 8kg, without water.
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