All is well in Keld, so don’t let my link bait headline worry you.  This is the view out my bedroom window, so you can imagine the worst crisis being that telephone booth lit up all night.  It was an adorable nightlight, really.

Yesterday when we stopped at Nine Standards on the way from Kirkby Stephen to Keld, where nine giant stone cairns had been placed perhaps as a medieval scarecrow to keep marauding Scots at bay, I realized that the hike was nearly half over and I hadn’t accomplished everything I had set out to do, such as write a paragraph long sentence into this blog.

I also meant to collect my thoughts about the new non-profit to which I intend to dedicate time this year, and I hadn’t even started that yet.  I have books to read that have sat in my pack untouched.  The guitar has only made a few brief appearances during particularly long hiking breaks.  Something had to be done!

I made a run for it after lunch, quite literally if you ask any of the hikers I passed on the trail, and arrived at Butt House in Keld at 3pm.  (Compare that to 8 and 9pm arrivals on other days in the Lakes District.)  After bathing, I got right to work in Keynote starting a pitch slide deck for the non-profit.  Then after dinner I read for 3 solid hours, a book I adore called Us by David Nicholls.  I skipped blogging last night because I couldn’t put the book down.  And on the guitar front, I at least memorized some chord progressions while speeding down the trail, even if I can’t play while in motion.  (Maybe I can work up to that skill level?)

Crisis averted, my life (oops, I mean my hike) is back on track!  Half done, and having a blast.