Backblip 

The weather was much brighter today, although it had poured during the night, and although I could've gone climbing on Wallowbarrow Crag I went walking instead because I thought the rock might've been wet. Apparently it wasn't but never mind.

We picked up the Walna Scar Road, over Dow Crag and down to the saddle, then left and down to and along Seathwaite Tarn and back to the hut.

Halfway down to the saddle we stopped to have lunch and were then joined by several other club members. I recognised the collies before the people! Then G appeared, on his way up The Old Man, and we had a quick chat. G almost always walks on his own, but more on this later.

The rock, all of it, was wet, greasy and absolutely lethal and we picked our way carefully between it.

We got back to the hut mid afternoon and some folks went to the pub for a couple of hours. It was dark when they returned and still G hadn't appeared, but because he usually walks alone and often returns after dark no-one was concerned. 

G turned up at about 5pm, hands covered in blood and a bandage around his head under his hat, blood soaked, saying that he'd got a hole in his head. He'd been over The Old Man, Swirl How and Weatherlam, before walking down to the Tarn as we had. But it was dark and G had neither phone nor headtorch. He slipped near the water, fell forward and gouged a chunk out of his forehead. He didn't think he'd lost consciousness. But he had the presence of mind to wrap a bandage over the wound, then found the missing piece of flesh on his nose (!) and put it under the bandage to keep clean and safe.

R and P immediately took him to A&E. I'd persuaded him to get his phone out of his van so that he could speak to his wife in the hospital. The three of them returned at midnight with G having had 14 stitches. I heard the return but didn't find out until the morning that G had been allowed to leave hospital too.

G is not far off 80, I think, very fit, an accomplished climber and loads of mountaineering experience, but I do hope his wife will read him the riot act after this. I'm tempted to say that he shouldn't go walking on his own, but I can't, it wouldn't be right. However, I hope he'll take his phone and headtorch next time, get back before dark and tell us where he's going!

All's well that ends well, but it could've been much, much worse.

Extra: lunch

6.91 miles
2,209 feet elevation gain