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Size: 
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A moderate hike along Stonethwaite Beck from Rosthwaite in Borrowdale.
MANY people dream of swapping their humdrum city existence for a tranquil outdoor life in a stunningly beautiful place such as the Lake District.
Millican Dalton made that dream come true living for nearly half a century at first in a tent, then in a split-level quarried cave half way up Castle Crag in Borrowdale, returning south to a hut in the Chilterns, in Buckinghamshire, in the winter.
He was born on April 20, 1867, to Quaker parents at Foulard near Nenthead, in the lead-mining area around Alston and started in a comfortable career as an insurance clerk in London before, at the age of 36, finding the call of the outdoors irresistible. He quit his desk in the City and went to Borrowdale, where he offered the first multi-adventure holidays to the unsuspecting public. The challenges offered by the self-styled Professor of Adventure included: "Dangling over the precipice, climbing the Needle, varied hair-breadth escapes, being lost in a mountain mist, a midnight row on Derwentwater and a sunrise breakfast by the lake."
A waterfall poured through the roof but Millican found shelter behind a pile of slate debris and kept the worst of the draughts at bay with an old blanket. A small wood fire gave out a little light and warmth and even in his late 70s, Millican would spend the nights lying on the hard rock floor, covered by an eiderdown he'd had for 50 years.
He lived off his wits. A dump in the nearby village of Grange provided basics such as old pans and materials he could make into camping equipment. He survived on what little he earned as a climbing guide on Napes Needle and the other crags he knew like the back of his hand, his only luxuries being coffee, as dark and thick as treacle, and a constant supply of Woodbines. Nothing was allowed to interrupt his chainsmoking and he would hold his cigarette between his toes as he kneaded his bread, stirred his porridge, or brewed his coffee.
Dressed in a style all his own, Millican was an eye-catching figure. A slouch hat sheltered his tanned, heavily bearded and weather-beaten face, home-made shirt and jacket were roughly put together and left unhemmed, and trousers which could be converted into shorts - which he claimed to have invented.
In 1940-1941, Millican - always addressed as The Skipper - braved snow, ice and sub-zero temperatures to remain all winter in the Cave Hotel and keep well clear of the London Blitz. A visit from a Keswick air raid warden prompted Millican, a pacifist, to put out his campfire and candles and to write to Churchill demanding an end to the war because it was interfering with his liberty!
Intelligent and well-educated, Millican, a teetotaller, was a man ahead of his time who loved to pit himself against the elements. He climbed trees in winter to keep fit for climbing, built a raft named Rogue Herries and on his 50th ascent of Napes Needle, lit a fire at the summit and made a pot of coffee. He was one of the first pioneers in lightweight camping equipment and pioneered many climbing routes throughout the world. In reality scores of climbs were discovered, inspected and attempted with successful achievements left unrecorded - and the reason for this - his fun loving philosophy and lack of self-glorification.
During the cold winter of 1947, his hut burned down but undaunted, he moved into a tent. Millican - a distinguished member of the Fell and Rock Club - contracted pneumonia and spent his last few days in hospital before dying in Amersham on February 5, 1947, aged 79 years. Unfortunately few will remember his spirit of adventure which saw him roam the world for over 50 years searching relentlessly for thrills and danger. He will remain a ‘Neglected Climber.’ However, this will probably be the most befitting end as that is how Millican Dalton wanted it.
Don’t !! Waste Worrds – Jump to Conclusions is carved into the wall of Attic Cave and signed MD. Millican was renowned for being argumentative, stubborn and for simple living - so the phrase fits him well. The words may possibly not have been his original work, but in the absence of any evidence one way or the other we have to assume that Millican Dalton executed the carving and stood by the words.
The cache is located just above a lower cave and opposite a wall of Rock Art. Millican Dalton’s caves, now a site of Scientific Interest, are just beyond the spoil heap above and to the right of the Rock Art at 54 32.038 - 003 09.540 and well worth the trip up – we think.
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Oruvaq n fgbar fyno ba n fznyy ebpx snpr bccbfvgr gur ebpx neg.