Fast hike / slow fell run up and down Latrigg, the fell that I see from my kitchen window and garden. Latrigg’s not the Himalayas nor even the Alps: at 368 m. altitude it’s too low to be even a “Wainwright” but it’s so close to home here and I’ve climbed it so often that it’s the hill with which I have a particular relationship.
I see Latrigg first thing in the morning here when I open the curtains and it’s the last thing I see at dusk. So important to “conquer” it and maybe running it again today is an appropriate celebration of today as the first day of Winter, at least as the meteorologists define it.
Today’s run was a bit slower than my usual time because I was trying a new camera but even so was less than an hour up and down from the signpost at the start of Spooneygreen Lane, 85 m. altitude.
Great to be running hills again and to have a camera to document it with, including celebratory jumps at the top and a gate vault on the way down, though generally I’m being very protective of my knees.
The thermometer in my garden was reading +3°C when I returned, but (despite the wonderful views) there was a bitter wind above the tree line, so it was essential to keep moving. I’ll remember gloves next time.
My new Olympus “Tough” TG-6 is useful, particularly where other cameras wouldn’t come back from. The f2 lens can be sharp and the optical zoom range is useful. The screen isn’t as bright as a phone so isn’t bright enough outdoors. The TG-6 tends to over-expose by anything up to a stop but there isn’t enough headroom on the digital negative files to retrieve this. But the TG-6 is a camera I can take to places I wouldn’t risk taking either a phone or a normal, delicate, camera and it can bring back a brilliant shot.