Stretton Club Run - 28/12/2010

The post-Christmas run was just me and Mark Agnew yesterday night.

We picked our way up through the Rectory Wood (higher route - icy) and on up Townbrook Valley on melting snow with some ice patches. I found the going quite tough higher up and struggled a bit generally. We then went up to Boiling Well and onto the Portway, which was very slushy.

From the Portway we headed onto Haddon Hill, but lost the path in very poor (5 to 10m) visibility. From the point where we lost the path (just south of the north west top of Haddon Hill at SO 435956), we got disorientated surprisingly quickly, crossing the col between the two tops in an easterly rather than southerly direction. At this point we realised the fall of the land was on the wrong side of us and tried to relocate. Neither of us had map or compass, so we had to rely on the (poor) GPS in my phone. We headed south expecting to hit the steepening ground at the top of the slope down to Carding Mill Valley, and when we reached this we turned east and popped out right at the corner of the golf course fence (SO442953). A GPS track of our wondering in this area is at the top of this item.

From here we had a safe navigation handle (the fence) which we knew would lead us across Bodbury Hill and Stanyeld to the path above the golf club house. The descent of Stanyeld was extra slippery and more dodgy than usual.

When we got back to the car park and realised I'd dropped the car keys somewhere, so Mark kindly helped me search back in a few obvious areas, but didn't have much success. A very kind Mrs Agnew took me to Shrewsbury for the train to Telford and a cab home, and I retrieved the car this afternoon with the spare.

So the run was a good learning experience - keys need to be VERY secure (much better than in the clippy thing on my OMM bum bag), and the Mynd is a pretty confusing place in 5m visibility however well you know the route (I've run over the spot we lost the path three times in the last four weeks). ALWAYS take map and compass in poor visibility - we knew it would be murky and should have had one.

Todays stats were 7.1 miles and 1,200' of ascent. The Kanadia TR3 shoes go on impressing - I think the grip is better than the TR2s were when they were new.