Friday 13th May: 145 miles and 21,207 ft.

Middleton in Teesdale to Dufton.

A degree of trepidation when I wake this morning. The left knee does not feel perfect but much better than I feared. The knee support did a good job, I will certainly wear it for the rest of the walk.

Today should have some fantastic sights, Low Foece and High Force followed by Cauldron Snout,all waterfalls,and then Higk Cup Nick. This is a maqgnificently shaped valley (America has the Grand Canyon but it is not as good as this!)

Left the campsite at 9.00am and arrived at the start near Low Force at about 9.40. A quick photo of the wonderful bluebells (cannot capture the scent on film yet) and then on the way. After half an hour I get to High Force and more photos. The rain recently has swelled the rivers and the waterfalls. Although the climb is less today the ground is saturated and all those dry areas have become rather more difficult to cross now.

Suddenly a total downpour. For the first time on the walkI have to take cover under some trees. 15 minutes later off again. The tree-lined river walk of the Tees gives way to a wider more desolate area and after Saur Hill Bridge all signs of life, other than Birds and Sheep disappear for several miles.

I go through an area known as Merrygill and amazingly I meet someone. The first person I have met on the Way for three days! He warns me about the rockfalls on the path ahead (not recently but probaly about 10,000 years ago) that form these enormous scree slopes of boulders down to the river. Just as I get to the first few hundred yards it starts to rain again. I am walking near the river as it saves climbing and with the first step on the wet rock I slip, overbalance and inevitably and ignominimously end up on my back in the river Tees. Fortunately only sbout 9 - 12 inches deep and my day-sack on my back protected meform the rocks. Thank goodness my camera, GPS and mobile wer all in my front pockets, They, and my head, were almost the only parts of me that were not submerged. However my trousers, boots, socks and back of my jacket were.

I will spare you the details, but the second person I saw in three days was a young lady just as I was removing most of my wet clothing. She did not say a word when I tried to exchange pleasantries!

After doing whatever I could to remedy the situation so that apart from my wte boots and socks, it was off again a mile up the river to see and photo Cauldron Snout. A dramatic warefall in spate. Again marvellous! The several miles to High Cup Nick near the end of the day's walk pass uneventfully (thank goodness). As I approached the edge of HCN all I could say was "Wow". Photos do not do it justice. Look it up on the internet, it really is spectacular. In this vast expanse and with my first mobile connection in over 10 miles, I called Annie to say I was the only person there and it was fantastic. She pointed out that there happened to be two people there and she was about half a mile away on the other side of the rim.

So company on the walk down into Dufton and we talked about HCN for most of the journey. Arrived id Dufton to meet Molly and Alan who had arrived to spend the last week with us. Talking to the people in a tent next to us, one of them said "I fell into the river as well today".

Spend most of the night thinking are my boots going to be dry by the morning as I had squelched in wet socks and boots for 10 miles and yet still avoided blisters.

Tomorrow Cross Fell - the highest English mountain outside the Lake District.

Anyway 17 miles and another 1.417 ft.