Splitting the Theshthwaite Round - Thornthwaite Crag and Gray Crag

Since I now know every boulder in Threshthwaite Cove pretty much by name, I was back behind the wall on top of Threshthwaite Mouth in just over an hour from the Hartsop car park.

Conditions were a sharp contrast to the glorious sunshine that graced my last visit. A bitter northerly wind had set in, and prospects for the ascent of Thornthwaite Crag itself looked bleak. The reality was even worse - it was, in short, a bit of an epic.

It must have been ten years since I was last here. The scree has never been pleasant, but "traffic" seems to have converted "challenging" to "abominable". The gusty wind and generally gloomy conditions also played their part in making this a serious bit of climbing, but just as I finally began to feel I was getting the upper hand, confidence was further eroded by the appearance of thin films of drifted snow. Snow - in May!

However, as I finally laid a thankful hand on Thornthwaite Beacon, everything changed. My trip thus far had once again been a lonely epic, but suddenly there were people everywhere, the sun came out, and it seemed that I'd walked into a different universe.

Thanking my lucky stars, I turned for home and literally ran down the ridge to Gray Crag and began the long descent back to Hartsop.

It had been a strange day, topped off by one final curious incident. Lying beside the track, I found a curious steel flask with a big dent in its lid. I'll always pick up "fell litter", where practical, so this one came along with me while I tried to work out what it was. It had a curious button on the side, but looked altogether too much like a bomb to risk pressing it. There was some sort of attachment on the base and another button labelled "lock". Hmm.

But then, when I finally reached the dismal gravel track serving the hydro work, more mysteries awaited. Resting on a gate were further mystery items:

Item 1: Some sort of neatly folded waterproof Item 2: A smart long tube suitable for carrying a telescope or similar. Brand new and with its maker's label still dangling from it Item 3: A pair of glasses, scratched beyond repair.

Since item 4 - comatose body was absent, I decided that this was the official fellside lost property department, added my "bomb" to the top and cleared off.

It had been a strange day.

PS. According to Claude, who seems to know most things, my bomb was probably a "smart bottle". This leaves me none the wiser