Ominous Cloud

Edit: this is a right old ramble... to myself. I've always said Blip is a record of my journey and some days I write more than others. You don't have to read it... just enjoy the view and move on if you prefer! There's a nice flowering butterwort in extras too.

The social weekend in the Yorkshire Dales over, Peter & I headed over to Windermere for a couple of days; him to 'work from home' at Jo's house and me to get a couple of extra log book / practice days in the hills.

Today, by choice, was a tricky micro navigation day, as, of all the areas to be assessed, this is the one I find hardest, I know a lot of people do, and bearing in mind I'd never used a compass and barely used an OS map before I started this training, it's not hugely surprising that it doesn't come naturally. That said, I'll readily admit I'm pretty jealous of my two friends Lois and Alex with whom I walked over the weekend, who barely glance at the map and yet can always locate themselves in a flash. Apparently they see the contours in 3D! I'm not sure if it's like learning a language and suddenly (when immersed) one day you just find you can, or if it's like perfect pitch: you either have it or you don't.

So I've been working hard at it, and yes, like most things in life, if you put in enough effort you reap rewards. Today's micro navigation from Three Shires Stone below Pike O'Blisco was good. Very good in fact; not excellent, (and being a perfectionist that's tough), but very good. Good enough? I don't know. I'm very hard on myself but this I can say, I've pushed myself to the absolute limit and done my best.

To be fair, the weather today was better than expected and it was good to feel the sun on my face at lunchtime. Later however, the sky was rather like my mood. I feel my assessment looms over me like an ominous cloud and it's weighing down on me. That, combined with the need to organise numerous Guiding & Scouting hillwalking events and coordinate other peoples' training plans has left me feeling stressed, jaded.and tired. A change is needed, to take the pressure off; in brief a day for me. Just to enjoy the hills without trying to learn something, or be scrutinised or tested. A day for the spirit.