On a cool and cloudy September morning last year, my partner and I rose before dawn, waking up in the misty chill of the first morning light. We set out on a long, challenging day of hiking, leaving our little tent in a campsite nestled in the Yorkshire Dales.
The UK has two “3 Peaks” challenges. In the national one, you climb Ben Nevis (the Cairngorms, Scotland), Scafell Pike (the Lake District, England) and Snowdon / Yr Wyddfa (Wales) in under 24 hours.
As the mountains are far apart, with at least 7.5 hours of driving between Ben Nevis and Snowdon, my brother describes it as “mostly motorway driving with some mountains in between!”
For the Yorkshire 3 Peaks, hiking between the mountains is part of the route. A circular route, summiting the peaks of Pen-y-Ghent, Ingleborough and Whernside, runs for 24 miles and encompasses 1,600 metres of elevation. To put that into scale, the Burj Khalifa in Dubai – the tallest building in the world to date – stands at 828 metres.
Our 2023 ascent of the 3 Peaks was the second time completing the challenge. We had already hiked it a year prior, but the real challenge is hiking it in under 12 hours. Our 2022 time came in at 13 hours, 5 minutes, so we decided to return and attempt to meet the 12-hour threshold.
At this point, I should add I had done very little preparation, unlike my partner, who is a marathon-fit runner. A few months before, in May 2023, we had spent 10 days hiking the Greek island of Corfu from south to north, but any stamina that I had built up waned quickly. I’m sure that a training plan in the summer would have helped me be more resilient for the Peaks.
At the end of the day, we finished by hiking 24.86 miles in 12 hours, 42 minutes. I’m still determined to go back and improve on my time — third time lucky!
On the day, I went through a whole range of emotions. Being on the trail, surrounded by chirping skylarks and passing only 2 or 3 other hikers during the whole day, I felt a peace like no other. I only ever feel this sense of true relaxation when I’m away from any sign of civilization – no traffic noise or advertising or electricity pylons.
But I haven’t yet hiked long distances without feeling some level of physical and mental exhaustion. I remember vividly sitting down on a bridge and removing my hiking boots for a moment’s rest. My feet weren’t blistered, but the soles simply hurt from the impact of walking on stony tracks for miles and miles. Standing up again and starting to walk was so much harder, it probably would have been best to just keep on going.
My goal next time is to really observe and sit with the discomfort without trying to fight against it. It’s interesting to me how physical challenges can have such an impact on your mood. My partner has observed that I tend to go quiet and retreat inwards – this also happens to me when I need food or water!
The weather was an added challenge. In 2022, we had blue sky and could see for miles. But last year, we had poor visibility from the start, so we wore anoraks to avoid getting soaked from the damp mist. I prefer not to feel weighed down so, when possible, I just wore my lightweight hiking T-shirt and walking trousers.
I hope for many more long-distance walks (we’re planning a Greek island route in spring 2025) and to work hard on my fitness and strength, given some health challenges I have with my hip and knee. I’m very reluctant to start having regular steroid injections, although I did have one before hiking in Corfu and the effect was great, albeit short-lived and temporary relief.
The 3 Peaks Challenge in 2024, here we come!
Have you ever done a long-distance hike or run? What tips would you give someone who’s new to endurance activities?
Cultural Life 