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Gentleman's Magazine 1900 part 2 p.357
were tinged with golden sunshine, and by four o'clock I met
the cold breeze which at sunrise drives over Dunmail Raise.
Past Wythburn the wind became stronger. The waters of
Thirlmere dashed in white spouts against its rocky shores;
the fells behind Armboth were clear of mist, but only the
lower slopes of the mighty Helvellyn could be seen. As I
passed into the wider valley, the sunshine seemed to filter
through the clouds, and the last five miles to Keswick,
which was reached before half-past seven, will always be a
pleasing memory. The contrast of mist-hung mountains and
sunny green woods and valleys was most striking.
A different side, as well as aspect, of the country has been
rendered familiar by mountain ascents at night. For our last
- a climb of Scawfell Pike - we left Windermere at seven
o'clock and strolled on to Elterwater, near which we stayed
till after eleven. Then, under light of a pale half-moon, we
plodded into Langdalehead. My brother was suffering from
tender feet, so after picking a way among the rough cobbles
to the foot of Rossett Ghyll, he called a halt till the
light should allow our getting an easier path. Then, taking
off his boots, he went to sleep for an hour and a half. This
place was very quiet, yet it seemed that its very silence
had a basis of sound, for inarticulate whispers and
murmurings rolled up the dale, and more than once I
patrolled the sheepfold, inside and out, to make sure no one
was near. By half-past two we were able to proceed towards
Eskhause. Angle Tarn was passed still in the shadow, and we
only caught the sunshine streaming through a break in the
mist-banks when a long way up the pass. A strong westerly
wind drove grey cloud-masses among the distant northern
mountains. For a moment Helvellyn would break itself clear
of the whirling mist; Skiddaw and Saddleback seemed to revel
in the reek, occasionally throwing up a summit or a shoulder
as though to mark their whereabouts. Not till the shelter at
the pass's head was reached could anything be seen of the
mountains beyond Styehead. Then we turned from a view of
Bowfell, rising supreme through a sunlit patch of mist, to
see Great Gable mounting in grand outlines into the masses
which, as smoke from a volcano, seemed rolling out of
Ennerdale. The fells beyond and around Honister were
visible, but in a few moments the white cloud-tide eclipsed
them. Would this wind-swept stream envelop Scawfell Pike
before we could reach it? As we toiled into view of the
crags this seemed very likely. After a drink from the infant
Esk, we passed into Ill Crag. The path for about a hundred
yards wound among huge blocks of rocks, and striding from
one to another of these we continued the climb.
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