Tackling Helvellyn...

Our goal was to summit Helvellyn, the third highest peak in England at 3,117 feet (950 meters).

Once at the top of Dollywaggon Pike, we saw that the trail continued up and up some more. As you can see, it was steep but at least no hand scrambling was needed.

As we neared the top, we finally saw Striding Edge, the daunting ridge that can be taken as an alternative route down to Patterdale.

It was cold and windy at the top...

...and the fog came rolling in incredibly fast.

After summitting, we had lunch on a bench behind a stone wall, which helped protect us from the wind.

Later we stopped for a snack along the tarn.

Luckily the fog didn’t follow us down the mountain, so the weather got better as we descended. 

Carlin couldn’t resist taking a moment to lay down when we reached the first waterfall on the way down. Overall, we both enjoyed the hike a lot.

After discovering that there were no buses running from Grasmere, Jimmy had a first time experience on his way to Keswick to go to an adventure store to buy fell running shoes: he hitchhiked. He then caught a bus to get closer to Helvellyn. His starting point was different than ours and he eventually reached the summit behind us. He thoroughly enjoyed his 13-mile (21-kilometer) run, especially that he didn’t see another person for over two hours. He eventually met me at a pub near our B&B and then we met Carlin and Kent for dinner at their hotel.