Those who followed Mike and my journey in 2023 will recall a day that Mike dubbed “The Bog Slog.” This phrase beautifully summed up the day we walked from Kirkby Stephen to Keld via the Nine Standards Rig. Once we crossed the peak on which the standards sit, the path took us across a featureless bogland where the invisible path required us to navigate ravines filled with mossy muck that could be knee deep in places. We only managed to continue after stopping on a dry patch to change socks.
But no more! The folks who manage England’s national trails have since been through with helicopter-delivered paving stones and footbridges. Crossing the bog is now a skip through the park.
If you look at the sky in this picture, you will understand a little about today’s crossing. It was an English smorgasbord of sunshine, pelting rain, howling wind and just plain clouds. Consequently, the bogs were the smoothest portion of today’s adventure despite being traversed in the rain. Once I began the descent beyond the ridge you see in the distance, the trail was damp and muddy through many areas. The footing was quite irregular and, unfortunately, numerous turns of my right ankle aggravated the tendonitis that plagues me. All of this meant that I adjusted my pace to “slow and steady” to win the race.
When Mike and I walked this stage in 2023, we made a decision after surviving the bogs to walk the final miles to Keld along the macadam roadway from a place called Ravenseat Farm. We just could not accept more climbing and scrambling after the trauma of the Bog Slog. Today, I followed Alfred Wainwright’s prescribed route through the farm and along the ridgeline that goes straight to Keld. Despite generally wet ground under foot, I’m glad that I accepted the challenge because the views from that prospect are stunning. And the distance traveled is more than one mile shorter! I will add though that the business of Ravenseat Farm seems to be sheep and mud farming. My mud-caked boots are recovering in the drying room as I sit here now.
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Today’s premier of the 2026 C2C was to honor my father who was born in Marshalltown Iowa on this date in 1910. He was the kindest, gentlest soul that I have ever encountered in my journey through life. It is no overstatement that the life I have had is owed entirely to his influence. Not a day goes by that I don’t think of him. Happy Birthday Dad!
A young Joseph Clement McCarten
5 thoughts on “The “Bog Slog” is no more!!”
Rain and mud and spectacular terrain. No better way to honor )Dad.
Happy birthday Dad!
Hi Den
It looks like some beautiful country you’re passing through, but pretty uninhabited and far from Help if you’re getting in trouble. So I hope your cell phone connections are all good just in case. I am sure you told me but seeing your pictures gives me pause that you are doing this without any companions. Enjoy, but please stay safe. More photos, please.
Nice work! And take care of that ankle!
Those footbridges look like the world’s biggest Eagle project! We would have no problem approving that one ;-). This sounds like a great start to your grand adventure. I’m with Riley and Ryan, driving across the stretch of Ontario between Niagara Falls and Lake Huron, on our way the long way round to Cleveland. We are reading through your blogs together in the car, and are looking forward to reading the rest! We hope you rested that ankle and support it well!