A light rain blows across the Yorkshire Dales in sheets, obscuring the peak ahead as I climb up the trail. But for a soft mist soaking my face, the rest of me remains warm and dry inside my Mountain Equipment Makalu Jacket and rain pants. The drops blow against my hood with a soft patter and bead on my pant legs in a pleasing manner. My hiking boots splash through the small rivulets streaming down the trail, and the landscape has a haunting, magical quality as landforms around me loom in and out of obscurity.
The last time I hiked here was in 2020, during that scorching hot summer of lockdown, and I shared the trail with a logjam of sunburned hikers in flip flops. Today, there are just a few of us out here, which is no surprise given the weather.
