I set off for Silver How and Blea Rigg thinking these would be an ideal short jaunt, and unlikely to attract a dedicated visit in the future. The walking is fairly easy up to Silver How from High Close, but paths are indistinct and the terrain variously boggy and rocky within a few steps. the first small hill, Dow Crag I think it was on the map gave me a nice shot of a little tuft of Stonecrop - a lovely plant - often wish I'd got some in my garden.
Silver How isn't the most impressive or inspiring fell in the lake district but it affords some nice views and must be lovely on a fine day. I saw Helm Crag from an angle I hadn't seen before and thought I'd press on as the weather was looking threatening.
The weather did indeed turn and I trudged on to Blea Rigg in full waterproofs cursing the rain. On the summit of Blea Rigg two blokes sat immovable on the summit cairn (well, dog's grave would be more like it) and with rain belting down, I though "Stuff the camera" and fled the scene. I was hasty. By the time I got down to the rock shelter below (see Wainright guide for details) the rain was easing and five minutes later it stopped and brightened up markedly. I decided I would plod on towards Sergeant Man and get a better view of Pavey Ark and Loft Crag. I misread my map thinking Sergeant Man to be High Raise, and thought this protuberance must be High Raise... 
I must say, it struck me that the vague crag in the middle ground didn't seem to merit a chapter in Wainright's book if that was all Sergeant man had to offer. Nonetheless I figured I could bag two more tops for a little effort and decided to tread on. About halfway up I stopped to take a couple of photos and consulted the guide at which I realised the whole of what I could see was Sergeant Man, so I figured I may as well finish it now. You know how the Lake District is - it pulls you in somehow. 
As you can see from this photo on the shoulder of Sargeant Man, the weather God's were looking to swap rain for fog. Oh Good. But before long I was at the summit.
I suppose High Raise is not that high really but for the sake of half a mile it is silly to overlook it I thought, so I sat to have my butty and ponder the scene - which is where it all started to go Pete Tong. A madness took me - I decided I was Aragorn or Gandalf or summat and seeing as I was this far, why not do Thurnacarr Knott and the Pikes too. After all, how much longer could that take? Well, too bloody long as it turned out, but I'm getting ahead of myself. The path from Sergeant Man to High Raise is not exactly exciting, but is more Peak Districty than Lakey - all bog and peat, but easy enough and I was on High Raise fairly soon..
I also got to see Honister Crag (steep "V" in the middle distance) and the Dale Head Group from a new angle.
Thurnacarr Knott is described by Wainright...well, its not,; more scorned by him actually, but not alone in that, so I expected little from it. Its not so bad really. Rocky, a bit deceptive as it suffers a long sweeping depression in the lead up which is worse than it looks at distance. 
Harrison Stickle and Loft Crag look fierce together from Thurnacarr Knott. Nonetheless, the view of Pike O Stickle is impressive and I headed off thataway next...Pike O Stickle looks worse the closer you get to it and it has a good side and a slightly more dodgoire side like many fells. I decided to clamber up the dicey bit, proper putting the wind up myself. Still I made it and taking this photo from the top began to realise my timing might be a bit faulty - it was getting dusky, especially as the low cloud was making it dark. I'm trying to decide what this moody shot is, but I can't quite put my finger in it - its that thing about some fells looking awfully different from unfamiliar angles. If anyone can tell me, please do. It looks more like Blencathra than anything else to me, but I can't quite decide if it is or not. (Update - I've now decided. Its Skiddaw).
Some sheep seem to get in the most inhospitable places too...
You can tell from these pictures its getting murky now, so Loft Crag and Harrison Stickle became a bit of a race. Getting up and of Loft Crag was OK,but by the time I was up on Harrison, it was deep into flash photography territory. Here's the summit of Loft Crag with Pike O Stickle in the background..
And this gloomy outlook is my final top of the day Harrison. Inviting eh? 
I'd love to report on the view from Harrison Stickle, but I couldn't see bugger all! The sun sets the last few degress like a lid slamming shut on a schoolroom desk so I decided to give Pavey Ark a miss, as I would get nothing much from the experience and started back to the lower shoulder of Sergeant man on Stickle Tarn side. Big mistake. A rocky, steep, treacherous hillside in the gloom meant it was totally dark by the time I found the Blea Rigg path. Took me about an hour to get no ore than a mile. Thankfully I could remember enough features of the path to know I had found it again, and took a compass bearing every now and then to get as far as the rock shelter where I rested, and even dropped off to sleep for a while - it wasn't actually that cold. In the end it took a good couple of hours to slowly and carefully navigate my way back to the car, using Knipe's Law and my decent map skills, upon which I found someone had pitched a tent exactly where I'd planned to put mine, so I ended up brewing up, making some instant risotto and flopping out in the car. I was woken just as it was getting light by the most torrential rain I can remember, so to whoever it was nicked my tent spot - I thank you! All in all, a ludicrously unplanned walk and one I would love to do a gain in good weather and with an early start. Its easy to consume hours going no-where and doing nothing on the fells and that requires better planning if the weather posed a threat - not too much of a problem in July, though I still carry my heat sheets and survival bag etc. Actually having mentioned Knipe's Law ("Use a head torch in the dark, idiot!") I just remembered that mine started flashing every 20 mins or so to warn me it planned to run out of battery before long. In the end it was still going strong back at the car, but I was kicking myself or not transferring spare batteries from by big pack to my day sack.
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