The Cumbria Way is our local thru-hike. It’s a 71-mile (112km) trail that winds its way through the Lake District national park. The trail starts and ends quite gently but in the middle it goes through Langdale and Borrowdale which both feel remote. My partner and I hiked the trail northbound from Ulverston to Carlisle in early April.
Even though the Cumbria Way is relatively short, it still demanded a full gear list because we chose to camp each night. Compared to my gear list for the PCT, I carried much more on the Cumbria Way. I felt like I could take more ‘luxury’ items because we were walking shorter distances and stopping earlier each day.
Backpack
Before the Cumbria Way I had never hiked with a Prospector, so this was a good opportunity. It’s heavier than my Pulse or Atom, but I wanted to carry much more kit for this trip and the Prospector was able to carry everything with ease. I made sure to reshape the frame to match the curvature of my spine before the hike and I found it extremely comfortable throughout. I always thought that I would be able to feel that it was a heavier backpack than the Pulse, but it carries weight so well that it felt lighter if anything. I'm also a convert to load lifters...
Sleeping
Sharing a tent meant that we could carry half each, sharing the weight, but we still needed to each carry a sleeping bag, mat and pillow. I have always used my down jacket as a pillow to save weight and I would choose to do that again on longer trails, but for this trip it was a lovely luxury.
Cooking
This was a big difference for me because I went stoveless on the PCT.
Our method for cooking was simple– boil water and add things into it. The best foods for this, in my experience, are cous cous and instant mash. Before we started, my partner made some daal and dehydrated it to add to the mash. It was great! I always said that I didn’t miss my stove on the PCT, and I stand by that, but having a warm dinner did give me a boost on the chilly evenings in Cumbria.
For breakfasts we had cereal bars as we hiked, but we wouldn't leave before our morning coffee which we made with coffee bags.
Lunches were a classic thru-hiker staple of wraps with cheese, houmous and something crunchy like pepper or carrot.
Clothing
I hiked in my usual clothing of a buttoned shirt and running shorts. I wore a cap on my head which doubled as sun protection and a peak to stop rain getting in my eyes. For this trail I chose to wear boots rather than trail shoes. The Cumbria Way is well-trodden but it’s quite rough in places with chunky rocks and plenty of stream crossings so I decided that boots were a more comfortable choice for this trail.
For evenings and sleeping I brought the same long johns that I used on the PCT, but also a long sleeved merino top. It was a good feeling to take off my hiking shirt at night and put on a cosy dry one!
I brought a heavier rain jacket than on the PCT and I wore it for more total time on one day than on the entire PCT. Believe it or not, it rains a lot more here than in California... The other difference was that I took an insulated jacket that was filled with synthetic insulation rather than down, just in case it got wet.
Ditty Bag
This was much the same as on the PCT. It was the same DCF stuff sack and inside I had my knife, spoon, lighter, first aid, toothbrush and toothpaste, power bank, phone cable and headtorch.
Other
The Cumbria Way was very much a holiday for us, so we brought our sketchbooks and film cameras to get some nice memories on paper and film. These were definitely luxury items but for this trip it was great to have them. We also brought a miniature chess set that we left in a hostel halfway because we didn't play.
I used a sit pad for the first time! It was great. It might be a permanent fixture on my packing lists from now on.
I didn't feel like I could smash 30 miles a day like on the PCT, but that wasn't the point of this hike– balancing weight and comfort all depends on the experience you want to have. For this trail I'm really glad I chose to pack differently because taking my film camera and doing some sketching made the hike really fun. My base weight was about 8kg, but for a local hike this was perfectly fine, and The Prospector made it feel easy.
