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I've been wanting a pair of Meindl Bhutan boots for years and finally decided to get a pair to replace my Salomon hiking boots. For the first few trips to the mountains after buying them there was too much snow, so I needed to stick with my old Asolo mountain boots and crampons. I'd worn the Bhutans a few times around town during the recent snow and they felt fine. A trip to Patterdale, with a forecast of lousy wet weather, looked to be the ideal opportunity to give the new boots a try out.
On the Saturday, I spent a fairly miserable day traipsing around Place Fell and a few other hills in the rain:
Patterdale by
the pointless parasite, on Flickr
The new boots felt OK at the time, although when I went out for a quick stroll in the evening I felt an unpleasant pain just behind the medial malleolus of my right ankle. Hopefully it would by OK the next morning....
No. The pain was still there. At least the weather was looking good:
Arnison by
the pointless parasite, on Flickr
Vets in Patterdale offer some unusual services:
Hartsop Dodd by
the pointless parasite, on Flickr
Gray Crag by
the pointless parasite, on Flickr
Grey Crag ascent by
the pointless parasite, on Flickr
Grey Crag ascent 2 by
the pointless parasite, on Flickr
There was very little climbing to be done after reaching the summit of Gray Crag.
Gray Crag summit ridge by
the pointless parasite, on Flickr
Stony Cover Pike by
the pointless parasite, on Flickr
No mistaking the summit of Thornthwaite Crag:
Thornthwaite by
the pointless parasite, on Flickr
Finding the summit of Mardale Ill Bell was a compass and map job:
Mardale Ill Bell by
the pointless parasite, on Flickr
The summit of High Street was also under cloud but things were clearer further North.
High Street summit by
the pointless parasite, on Flickr
Right ankle very painful while descending to the Straits of Riggindale
Riggindale Crag by
the pointless parasite, on Flickr
I might of already climbed The Knott when I did the C2C, but there was no harm in doing it again:
The Knott by
the pointless parasite, on Flickr
Same with Rampsgill head:
Rampsgill Head by
the pointless parasite, on Flickr
Ramps Gill by
the pointless parasite, on Flickr
Onward to High Raise:
High Raise by
the pointless parasite, on Flickr
My right ankle was still painful, although both feet were perfectly dry despite the boggy terrain. This was the exact reason I'd bought these boots
Wether Hill approach by
the pointless parasite, on Flickr
Wether Hill
Wether Hill summit by
the pointless parasite, on Flickr
Loadpot summit by
the pointless parasite, on Flickr
Approaching the summit of Loadpot, the pain in my right ankle was becoming serious
I had to do something, so I put on another couple of socks to try and pad it out a bit. I was dismayed to find the pain was exactly the same. Walking slowly didn't make a scrap of difference, so the only thing was to just grin and bear it and finish the walk.
On to Bonscale Pike:
Bonscale from Loadpot by
the pointless parasite, on Flickr
Hallin Fell from Bonscale by
the pointless parasite, on Flickr
Ullswater from Arthur by
the pointless parasite, on Flickr
Mell Fell group by
the pointless parasite, on Flickr
Climbing Arthur's Pike, the pain in my right ankle was becoming unbearable
I was constantly wincing and involuntarily yelping out loud every time my foot inverted just a little. Oddly, the left ankle was absolutely fine. This is the exact reverse of the usual situation with my mountain boots, in which the left boot is often agonising while the right is fine.
Arthur summit by
the pointless parasite, on Flickr
Arthur descent by
the pointless parasite, on Flickr
Somehow, despite enduring boot problems for 27 km, I'd managed to time my arrival into Pooley Bridge almost exactly to catch the bus back to Penrith, a full 2 hours before I'd expected
After I'd hobbled back to my house in Sunderland I finally managed to get the dammed right boot off and was greeted with instant relief. There was no pain at all when walking around, so I couldn't have injured it. It was a little red and tender over the medial malleolus but that was it. My ankle has remained pain free ever since.
God knows what to do. I've got a trip to the Cairngorms in a couple of weeks, but there's no way I'm risking wearing the same boots again. I'll see what the snow conditions are like, and chose between my Asolo mountain boots or Salomon hiking boots.
