Hanging Stone Leap
I have been meaning to do this challenge walk for a while now so waking up with a hazy Peroni hangover at 6am I decided to get my arse in gear and head off out for a big hike.
The Hanging Stone Leap is a yearly challenge event and GPS details can be found here at this excellent site. I opted for the 24 mile option in keeping with where I want my hiking to progress to this year.
8:30 am saw me waved off by Leanne and Thomas, Pepper joined me again and we headed off in deep mist. The first part of the walk head’s out of Guisborough southwards and climbs up through the woods to Highcliff Nab a rocky outcrop with great views over Guisborough. Some heather moorland scenery took us all the way to Kildale, here is the splitting point of the two walks (9miles&24mile).
I headed South East through Baysdale and past the picturesque Hob hole. This is the first time I have headed this far into the NY moors and it offered a landscape of rolling heather moorland. I must set aside some time to explore the inner reaches of the moors instead of sticking to the escarpment. I had reached just over half way and I was getting hungry, setting off on a big hike without food is a mistake I wont be making again!!
Great Hograh Moor was particularly boggy and my Sealskin socks failed. I must remember to write-up a blog post slating this product. The converted homes at Baysdale Abbey made me slightly jealous of their superb location, maybe its time I called the estate agents. I was glad to pick the Cleveland Way back up as my iphone was down to 10% battery due to a lack of planning and the memory map application was my only means of navigation. I was soon back to Kildale and ready for the last leg of my journey.
The final part of the walk takes in 3 of the best areas to view the Tees Valley from Captains Cook monument, Hanging Stone and Roseberry Topping. However the latter was a final tester in the legs before the easy stroll back into Guisborough and the Rugby Club which marks the end of this great walk.
This is a great walk and has numerous aspects to keep you amused along the route. I was particularly impressed with Great Howgarth Moor. The terrain includes small country roads, forest tracks, National Trail and boggy heather stomping. It took me just less than 8 hours which was bang on my target of 3mph. Its nice feeling the strength building in my legs again and the after effects didn’t have me hobbling around the house.
Not many pictures due to forgetting to juice up the iphone.
UKmase 
I’ve had the same failure with Sealskin socks. The gloves are even worse, just ask Andy Howell about his views on them.
February 20, 2011 at 10:00 pm
Shame really the idea is a good one
February 20, 2011 at 10:35 pm
My experience with Sealskinz is different. I have some socks where the fabric is shot but the liner still does its work, and some others that proved to be a ‘life-saver’ as gloves for someone whose Alpine mitts failed to keep the water out near Creag Meagaidh.
The gloves are not much good if you allow your hands to get wet, but I’ve found them to be excellent and hard-wearing so long as you don’t take them off (you shouldn’t need to – it’s easy enough to operate a camera and a phone whilst they are on) once you’ve put them on dry hands.
Happy memories of Hanging Stone and Roseberry T, BTW – I used to live in Guisborough.
February 20, 2011 at 11:04 pm
The socks are only good for one thing and that is using them in camp to keep your feet dry when your trail trainers are wet. They can handle that quite easily but hike any distance in them and they will fail.
Glad you liked the route , brilliant day out
February 20, 2011 at 11:55 pm
You’ve been unlucky. My experience is different. I wore Inov8s for a while, including some full days on Pennine Way type boggy moorland. The Sealskinz kept my feet dry and have outlasted the Inov8s by far. They do seep after a while, though, and anyone without well trimmed toenails can (obviously) forget it where Sealskinz are concerned. But I certainly wouldn’t consider wearing Sealskinz in camp!
Each to his own, I suppose, and perhaps we should remember that what works (or doesn’t work) for one person (you, me) may be brilliant or awful for another.
February 21, 2011 at 12:12 am
True and i have no doubts they worked well for you there are many people who like these socks as hate them.
Quite a lot of people have had issues with these socks. Info from forums and blogs suggest a 50 / 50 split which is appaling for a product whose main selling point fails regularly. They dont come cheap either which is never a good thing
I will be returning them for replacement, the inner heel has worn away on one sock.
I wonder if any bloggers out there may want to contribute some more on this…..?
February 21, 2011 at 9:47 am
My tuppence worth?
Great concept, no doubt about that.
Gloves are shite, though. Next to useless. Gave up on them 2 years ago. Whether they’ve improved or not who knows.
As for the socks? Love em! 🙂
Gone through 2 pairs now. First was due to wear and tear and the second pair are still going strong. Used em on my C2C last May and still good now.
I think Masey it’s one of those things where the naysayers are heard more than the happy people. Saying that, note what I just said.
But the socks are comfy, warm and do the job as intended very well. I often prefer wearing them to normal socks just on the comfort alone.
February 21, 2011 at 10:03 am
The gloves have definitely been improved. My first pair was bought in 2004 and used on the HRP for two months. They worked ok until you tried to get into them with wet hands. Two to three years ago I got the improved version, which is fine in most non-extreme conditions (subject to the comment above about wet hands). I’ve recently been using them for x-c skiing, where they performed fine up to about -15C, after which I find it hard to keep my hands warm however thick the gloves or mitts. They actually outperformed the bespoke skiing gloves that others were using, in that they breathed better and didn’t get so damp as a result of sweat. Obviously, when using the gloves in rain it’s essential to tuck them inside your sleeves!
That’s it. I’ve had my say!
February 21, 2011 at 11:09 am
glad you had a good walk. plus you enjoyed your chicken & stuffing sarnies leanne brought
for you to eat in car.
the photos look good. we will probably join you for a little bit of a country stroll with caesar in the warmer weather.
February 22, 2011 at 12:25 pm
i cant believe the socks are rubbish the price i paid and trekked to bora oh well,,,,,,,no pics of pepper xx
February 25, 2011 at 8:44 pm