THE SPINE!!!! (Part 2)

After those first few tough miles climbing Jacobs Ladder and working my way through Kinder Scout, we came to an open moorland that just blew me away it was amazing.  I spoke with the challenger behind me and said it was worth the entry fee just for that view.  Beautiful white snow, just a slight trodden path, a distant and sparse line of runners with Sun fighting through the mist. Amazing! Truly amazing!  I felt like something out of 'Scott of the Antartic' or from a Ranulph Fiennes book.  Then as we pushed on and the time was hitting Sunset it just became another sensation, same views but with a moody pink blue horizon that just melted into the snow.  Class! 

As tough going as it was I loved it.  I knew I was behind schedule but I believed I would come up with a plan to overcome this or hit easier terrain enabling me to move faster.  The snow and ice under foot was slowing me down, not massively but it just made things feel heavier and a greater work load.  I continued to make sure I kept sipping regularly at the water bottles and trying whenever possible to graze on the bits of food I brought but I find that so difficult as just like to get into a pattern and get on with it but as I do more and more of these kind of events I realise how important it is.

I eventually met up with Matthew at my first rendezvous point which was Torside Resevoir, there also happened to be a checkpoint here with an MRT tent providing cups of tea and water bottle refilling.  This was handy as Matthew seemed to have forgetten to bring anything useful for me such as water or food ha ha!  Brilliant cheers mate!!!!  Even though he'd failed at his one real job it was a good boost to see him and have a brief chat.  I soon headed off after a quick cuppa at the checkpoint.

I headed off over the other side of the reservoir and up into the hills.  This became more and more of an ascent, climbing up on to the top again.  This path turned out to be stunning, well troden the width of your feet and shin deep snow either side.  On one side of you rocky moorland, on the other side a sheer drop of a few hundred feet enough to put an edge on things and make you concentrate on your footing.  Wow the view was stunning!

This went on to be a long lonely stretch all the way to my next checkpoint, sharing the trail with only only a few for what seemed an eternity.  Then out of know where, with darkness almost apon us we could see car lights on a main road.  This was a good sign, firstly it was civilisation again which always fills you with hope and whats more it meant a possible checkpoint site.  For me it also meant Rob and Amy, they hopefully had met up wth Mathew and done a handover so they had a bag with clothes and food!  Once I got to it and eventually found them, I wanted to put my waterproof trousers on and headtorch as didn't want to be faffing about with these at a later date in  more inhospitable conditions.  I headed off after actually getting quite cold as it was a very windy cold location, but happy to be back on the move.  Now we were heading for the M62 and The White House pub carpark.  Darkness was here, and a long cold bleak night ahead of us loomed!!!