One of the worst ones ever was Kinder Scout on Monday 28th January 2013.  Thawing snow on all the paths and peat bogs made every single footstep a painstakingly slow, careful and irritating experience. You'd think that the initial walk from Barber Booth to Upper Booth along tarmac lanes would be better - but no - black ice everywhere! I was only ten yards into my walk when it got me the first time and tipped me over onto the road, flat on my back.  The rest of the day kind of followed suit.

I ascended onto the Kinder plateau via Crowden Clough, but this was not pleasant, especially when that horrible thawing slippery snow was covering the narrow path right next to the sheer drops on the right! Once beyond Crowden Tower, most of the snow was nicely consolidated and not taking too much of a boot - but you could never be sure and from time-to-time, your leg would disappear. The peat hags appeared to be frozen and good for walking on - and they were in parts. But in other places they were soft, gluey - and hungry! More than once I found myself doing a cartoon 'Road Runner' style battle to keep my feet moving to stop the bog swallowing me whole!

   

So, onto the plateau, and cue the visibility to disappear and the clag to roll in. Great. I continued following the general uphill route as I searched for the spine of the summit plateau, still experiencing physical battles with the dreadful underfoot conditions every few seconds.

Success - I found my first cairn at the top. I was in the AZ, but wanted to find Kinder Low before settling down, as visibility was poor, and I knew my descent route from Kinder Low. Time for a compass bearing. Now my compass had been smashed in two when I fell on the black ice at Barber Booth, so would the main part of it still be working properly? No way to find out, it had mysteriously disappeared, string and all, from my map case.

   

Now I was in a pickle. I knew where I was, but didn't know what direction was what, and limited visibility. I could see the next cairn, but didn't know whether it was east or west!  I recalled from the weather forecast that the predominant wind was going to be westerly, so I progressed by maintaining the wind on the left cheek of my face!  I paused at the cairn with a stick in it (regular Kinder-hoppers will be familiar with this landmark) and noticed that the wind was really blowing the mist around. It was causing occasional improvements in visibility in certain directions. I kept my eyes peeled!

Briefly, came a glance of the trig point and rocks at Kinder Low. And then it was gone again. But I now knew that walking directly into the wind was definitely the right strategy.  A few minutes later, after more bog and snow hopping, I was there.  I began to extend the pole, but soon realised that this was not feasible in this wind. Sadly, the HB1B and accompanying 80-40-30-20 Band Hopper IV antenna would have to wait.

I hunkered down under a large rock for some meagre shelter, and warmed myself up with some carrot & coriander soup. I glanced at the time on my 'phone. 2.30pm!!! Nearly five hours taken already! Proof, if proof be needed that the underfoot conditions were horrible, and that my fitness is well below par.  Still sitting down, I made a call on the VX7R on 2m FM. Immediately, I had a run of 7 or 8 QSOs. No point hanging around then, I really needed to get moving, because at the speed I was averaging for the day, I might be struggling to be back at Barber Booth before dark!

The descent down by Edale Rocks was just as arduous and treacherous as the ascent up Crowden Clough and the peat bogs on the plateau. I prioritised safety over speed, and so it was painfully slow again. What's more, the rain now came in, mainly light, but with one 5 minute period of a heavy downpour - lovely. Once I reached Lee Farm, it was that long and tedious road walk through Upper Booth Farm and back to Barber Booth.

As I took my rucksack off at the car, there appeared my hitherto missing compass, still dangling on red string from my mapcase! It must have got caught up on my rucksack behind me, in my "blind spot"! I finished my soup as I warmed up in the car, and tried to answer texts from Marianne as to where I was. But I couldn't - no coverage! Instead, I drove back up over the side of Mam Tor, pulled in, and sent from there. On 2m FM mobile, my CQ calls were answered by a G0BUB, and a G3CWI, for a natter on the way home.  Definitely up there with the all-time rubbish, disappointing and soul-destroying activations. BUT I STILL GOT SEVEN POINTS - YAY!