Today, our walk was beautiful. We entered the North York Moors, the last National Park on our route. But, it was a tough day – steep ups and downs all day. As soon as we gained elevation, the path dropped steeply again, and that happened over and over again. My feet are timed barely to make it to the North Sea, and then they will expire. I will have to pamper them for a couple of weeks before they will be useable again.
Joel and I hiked the North York Moors together in 1981, so we were excited to be at this point, once again entering the moors. I can‘t do the math about how many years later it is now – too late in the evening for higher math.
The moors look primal, but they are a man-made landscape. One or two thousand years ago, there were woods covering the landscape. The trees were cut for wood, and sheep grazing kept the vegetation down. Now, the North York Moors are the largest heather moors in England. The heather blooms in August. When Joel and I were last here, it was August (1981) and everything was purple.Signs of human occupation go back thousands of years here. We passed a 4000 year old Bronze Age burial mound, just next to the path.
We were supposed to catch a glimpse of the North Sea today, but low clouds hung over the coast, and I think our first glance now may be on the last day. We have 3 more days of walking.
I never have enough time to write proper posts in the evening. I am sitting by myself in the hotel restaurant. The owner, Wolfgang, from Heidelberg, showed me how to turn the lights off and then he left. I don‘t think I remember what he said to do. Joel is sleeping already and I am jealous. I think I am going to sign off. There are no B&Bs at Clay Bank Top, where we stopped for the day. We were told to call the hotel from the Wain Stones, shown in the last photo below. We needed to climb down and the hotel would pick us up – it is not on the route. Tomorrow, we start the day with a steep climb back up! – Good night!
Updated Stats:
Miles walked: 164.16
Ascents: 23,742 ft.
Descents: 22,577 ft.
Jeff
I am a friend of Joel’s in SF. I wanted to say I have enjoyed following your Long Walk blog. Your pictures are wonderful and stories of your feet hilarious, you may not describe it as such. I understand your issues with keeping up with Joel, I have tried to keep up with his stride hiking the hills of SF but with little success, I would just jog to his walk and could keep pace with him. What a great adventure you guys are having, all of his running buddies have enjoyed seeing the country side you two have trampled across. Enjoy the finish!
Bob
Thanks, Bob! It was a nice finish. We performed the required rituals – putting our boots in the North Sea, throwing our pebble from the Irish Sea into the North Sea, and signing the logbook at the Alfred Wainwright Pub, which makes it all official. But, maybe best, is that we saw 8 or 10 people we met repeatedly on the trail, celebrating their same achievement, and we joined them for a couple of beers overlooking the water.