Tag 3 Horton in Ribblesdale
Die 2 Highlights des Tages waren: Malham Cove und Pen-y-Ghent.
Malham Cove ist eine mächtige (70m),exponierte Kalksteinwand.Der der Aufstieg erfolgte über angebliche 400 Treppenstufen, allerdings zählte ich 419. Wer könnte das mal bitte überprüfen? Der Kalk hat sich im Karbon gebildet. Oben am Top ist er schön verkarstet und bei nassem Wetter, wie heute, sind die Kalksteine glatt wie Eis. Das war vielleicht eine Rutsch-Party...(streckenweise auf allen vieren). Das zweite Highlight, Pen-y-ghent, einer der berühmten "3 Peaks von Yorkshire" , sieht von weitem aus wie Ayers Rock. Der Anstieg war spannend und erfordere sogar etwas Kletterei, da doch erstaunlich steil.
Mein B&B Gastgeber am morgen war extrem besorgt, dass ich die Schwierigkeiten nicht meistere und gab mir allerhand Tipps, was in Notsituationen zu tun ist. Ausserdem versprach er mich am Abend anzurufen um zu checken, dass ich lebendig in Horten angekommen bin. Bisher hat er sich aber nicht gemeldet (aus den Augen, aus dem Sinn - Männer...).

In the late afternoon I arrived in Horten of "Ribblesdale", which sounds like Rinvendell, the realm of the elven king Elrond. Well, it's not too much Elvish romance here: Again it's raining, and my room in the local Pub smells like artificial strawberries. Too many noisy elves in the Pub are currently getting drunk, there is no wifi or any signal in the house and lasagne is served with chips.. . Otherwise, a perfect, exciting hiking day. It was not so long (26 km) but demanding and spectacular.
Right after passing the first summit (Fountains Fell) , I met a woman, who overtook me earlier, but seemed now very lost. She had no idea where she was, having just started this morning a circular walk. I told her that we had just passed the summit, which she had not realized (though it was marked and there was a great, alas cloudy view from there). To me she seemed like a stressed city person, who wanted nothing but a quick hike in nature before getting back to work without looking left or right. But I think this doesn't work. One needs time to admire nature and let it get into you .
The next person I met was a guy (apparently long distance hiker) who painfully walked along the road. He told me about blisters in the feet and bad knees. It was his first long-distance hike (now he was for a week on the PW) and he was surprised how demanding it was, although he actually is a strong person (his words). We walked a while together and I told him all my wisdom on healing blisters and how normally painful first hikes are. I felt very old, although the guy was about my age.
Luckily, we passed a house and knocked at the door asking the resident if he could call a taxi. He said that's not possible (too remote here), but that he would drive him over to Horton. How nice the people here are.
I continued the walk, of course.