As Spring finally started to reveal itself, the planning of a Lake District fastpacking adventure was soon in motion. The arrival of the new MSR Hubba Hubba LT range got me giddy and I was fortunate to get my hands on the MSR Hubba Hubba LT 1 Person tent, just in time for my adventure.
I set myself a challenge of summiting the top 10 highest mountains in the Lake District with a camp somewhere on route. Whilst I didn't quite manage all 10 due to a niggle flaring up in my knee from a previous injury, I still had a full day in the mountains followed with a camp. In a nutshell, the idea of my adventure was to run/hike in the Lakes and pitch the tent somewhere to spend the night, so I still class it as a success.
I parked the van at Chapel House Farm and ran to Seathwaite where I followed the route up Grains Gill. My route then took me on an out and back under Esk Pike to summit Bowfell and join back onto the path to Great End. The sun was shining, I was very lucky with the weather, perfect conditions with a slight breeze keeping me cool.
Summit of Bowfell - Looking into the Langdale Valley.
From Great End I took the path past Broad Crag, across the boulder field and along to Scafell Pike. Sat at the summit removing stones from my shoes I was treated to the fighter jets doing a flyby, always an amazing sight!
My next summit was Scafell. I had never dropped to Mickledore to do both summits in one go, so I opted for Foxes Tarn instead of Lords Rake. I dropped about 100m to Foxes Tarn and climbed up Foxes Rake to Scafell for my 4th summit of the day.
It was a steep decent into Wasdale which I think is one of the causes of my knee issue later on. I do think though that it is one of my favourite views looking down into Wasdale from Scafell. Once I made it to the bottom I popped into the National Trust Campsite shop where I picked up a sandwich and refilled my water ready for the next section.
Wast Water from the Scafell descent.
From Wasdale I made my way up Black Sail pass where I was to do an out and back on Pillar. My original idea was to do leg 4 of the Bob Graham and head up Yewbarrow, but I figured the Black Sail Pass route would be quicker and less tiring on the legs.
Once I got to the summit of Pillar I received a call from Andy who was heading from Lingmell to the summit of Great Gable. I made my way back down to Black Sail Pass where I joined a path that took me underneath Kirk Fell and to the start of the Great Gable climb. By this point I was tiring so the climb up was very tough.
Waiting at the summit was Andy and Shep. Andy gave me a scotch egg and Shep gave me a sloppy kiss on the cheek.
Me and Shep on the summit of Great Gable.
Andy was also stopping at Chapel House Farm, we all made our way off Great Gable and took the back section of the Bob Graham Leg 4 down to Honister Pass and then down into Seatoller.
As it was Andy's birthday and I wasn't against the clock, we went to The Yew Tree Pub for a beer and some chips.
After a brief pit stop and a refuel, we parted ways and I took the Wainwright Coast to Coast path through Grange and along the side of Derwent Water back to Keswick. At this point I was still feeling good as I made my way to Booths to grab some more food then to make my way up Skiddaw.
As soon as I started the climb up the Cumbria way along the side of Latrigg I felt the niggle in my knee. I pushed on but soon realised it was only getting worse. I made the decision to find a spot lower down than originally planned so I could get some rest and re-evaluate in the morning.
The MSR Hubba Hubba LT 1 Person - Looking towards Keswick
The MSR Hubba Hubba LT 1 Person was a perfect choice for my adventure. This 1 person, 3 season tent weighs just 1230g and fits a wide mat perfectly (yes I opted for comfort). When sat in the tent it felt I had plenty of head space which was nice! Inside the tent is ample storage pockets for bits of kit and a washing line for hanging clothing. I had space at the end of the mat for my bag and shoes to go so everything was inside. Luckily I had good weather on my side, but if wet weather was to be forecast, the Hubba Hubba LT would have been more than capable to handle it. The floor features a 20D ripstop nylon with a 1800mm waterproof rating and the flysheet features 20D ripstop nylon with 1200mm polyether and PFAS-free silicone coating for reliable waterproof protection.
As I opted for the 1 Person, this meant the tent was smaller and weighed less. I managed to fit all my kit in a 30l pack and the overall weight came to 7.2kg including 1 litre of water. I'll write my full kit list out below.
I was woken by a few early birds trudging up Skiddaw so I decided to get up and catch the morning views. Whilst I was pretty happy with my spot and could have sat there all morning, the breeze was bitter so I decided to pack the tent away and get moving.
I tested the water by doing a little jog and a bit of climb up the path but my knee was still not happy. I have a few other adventures planned this summer and a big race I'm training for at the end of September so decided it would be best to not carry on and summit the other 4 top 10. I was gutted but I'm since feeling better with my decision as my knee has recovered well over the last couple of days, training can resume shortly.
Thank you Lawrence and Cascade for allowing me to test out the new MSR Hubba Hubba LT tent! I'm super impressed.
If you're in the market for a reliable, lightweight, 3 season tent that won't weigh down your pack or take up much space, this is the one.
Follow the link to the MSR Hubba Hubba LT 1 Person tent here for more in depth information regarding the tent. Also if you have any questions, please feel free to give us a call! We're always happy to help.
Full kit list:
- Tent: MSR Hubba Hubba LT 1 Person
- Bag: Rab Veil XP 30
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Sleeping Bag: Rab Mythic Ultra 360
- Mat: Big Agnes Zoom UL Wide Regular
- Pillow: Sea To Summit Aeros Premium Pillow
- Poles: Leki Ultratrail FX.One
- Upper Layers: Patagonia Micro Puff, Rab Downpour Trail Light Jacket, Rab Alpha Flash Fleece, Patagonia Cap Cool Daily T-Shirt, Rab Vital Windshell, Rab Sonic LS Tee
- Lower Layers: Patagonia Terrebonne Joggers, Inov8 Active Tights, Inov8 Stormshell Waterproof Trousers, Bridgedale Trail Socks
- Accessories: Vaga Cap, Black Diamond Mont Blanc Gloves, Rab Vapour Rise Gloves, Inov8 Beanie, Ultimate Direction Race Belt, Food (Chia bars, Precision Fuel chews, Clif Bloks), First Aid Kit