TheTrekker Trekkers Mountaineering Club Glenageary Co Dublin www.trekkers.ie Edition 69, January 2021 The Mountains of Mourne, what a wonderful sight The Chronicles of Narnia were inspired by the Mourne Mountains, scenes in Game of Thrones were filmed here. Louise Martin describes her thrilling first hike in the Central Mournes last Banana break in the Annalong Valley where scenes from Game of September Thrones were filmed. Aurimas Parsonis, far right, and Farranan Tannam, beside him, led a group of eight Trekkers on an A walk in the Mournes In every walk with nature, one receives far more than he Mountains, a granite mountain range in South East seeks.” JOHN MUIR Co Down. I inhaled the fresh air deep into my core. I could not wait to see the shape of the landscape, The old galvanised farm gate swung open at the the form of the majestic mountain range, the feel of trailhead and the hike began! YES! The excitement the rock beneath my feet, its energy and touch to and anticipation of what would unfold before my my fingertips. eyes today was palatable. My first time to hike in continued on page 2 Northern Ireland. My first time to hike the Mourne In this Issue Page 3 Chair’s Report Page 7: Social walk in Howth Page 4 Tackling Lugnaquilla Page 8: Profile: Dick Ryan Page 5: Waltzing around Marino Page 12: Coastal walk in Canaries Page 6: AGM report Pages 14-17: Books, TV shows Slieve Binnion, a magical mountaintop Continued from page 1 I was not to be left wanting for anything! Saturday morning. Early start. You can’t be late for the Trekkers. A two-hour drive from south Dublin The Silent Valley, above. Below, looking down into the Devil’s Coach we met at the Carricklittle car park Road gully. in the central Mournes. Great the famous Mourne wall. Crafted from local granite hustle and bustle with the clicking of poles and the using dry stone wall techniques, it spans 22km over rustling of maps. Hikers coming and going, tying 17 peaks and it took 18 years to build. It is a listed boot laces and organising rucksacks. Will I bring my building. wet gear? Will I not? I better! We set off through that gate to pastures greener. A very welcome lunch was had on Slievelamagan, our third peak. Here we were provided with Aurimas, setting a fast pace (ouch!) led us into unsurpassed 360 degree views of the whole range. the Annalong valley about 5km along the river to We could see into distant valleys, reservoirs and the base of our ascent. Gaye, who has fantastic lakes.The mountains of Bearnagh and Meelmore knowledge of the area, pointed out all the different stood proud before us mountains that spread across the Silent Valley. out before our eyes. To We were treated with the left and clockwise, views across the Irish sea Slieve Binnian 746m, with the Isle of Man and Slievelamagan 704m, Lambay in the distance. Cove Mountain 655m and Slieve Beg 596m. Our fourth and final We will be hiking these mountain -- Slieve mountains today but Binnian. A magical anti-clockwise. Ahead, mountaintop landscape Slieve Commadagh and with rocky tors at the Slieve Donard 850m north and south ends. CS (Northern Ireland’s Lewis got his inspiration highest peak). on this mountaintop to write The Chronicles of If you fancy a scramble Narnia. The huge smooth and have a head for boulders resembled heights, this is for you. The Devil’s Coach Road, a sleeping giants ready to open their eyes at any vertical 150m high gully that tears a chunk out of time. Legs tired and lungs busted, we made our Slieve Beg, was just above us on the left. Maybe steep descent along Mourne wall, reaching a next time. Today we took an easier route to the welcome flat terrain; shutting that big farm gate top of our first peak, Slieve Beg, where we walked behind us, we headed back to our cars. Bunched! along the Brandy Pad for a while. An old smuggling route through the heart of the high Mournes, this What a day. 18km over 7.5 hours. Total ascent, path was used in the 1800s to transport, by pony, 1,085m. Clearly, one of the best hikes I have contraband from the coast into the valleys. If only had this year. Thanks Aurimas and Farannan for the mountains could talk! arranging this awesome treat. Cove mountain, the next ascent was made a little P.S It was so good I went back around again the easier with Declan cracking jokes. Here at the top following weekend. I got my first real appreciation of the magnitude of The Trekker October 2020 2 Chair’s Notes CAPTION COMPETITION Welcome to our first Newsletter of 2021 compiled and edited by Fran. It’s a fantastic read with several new features. It is a challenging time for our members and their families so we hope you are all managing. To say we are chomping at the bit to get back up the hills is an understatement but while we wait the committee are working hard to plan and implement our agenda for the year. Top of our priorities this year is to offer training in map reading and navigation. Alan and Mark have created a 12-week module course. Due to the fantastic response from members they will run two courses concurrently, starting at the end of January. We are very grateful to them for giving so much of their time to bring this course to members. A little reminder: last August we sent the members Karen Doyle’s (Maple Clinic ) physio exercises for maintaining fitness during Covid – we will send them again as they are very useful to keep our flexibility. What is happening to these Last but not least, Monty Tinsley, our keeper of records and club Trekkers? Our caption archivist, has brought to our attention that the 3,000th walk of competition is back – there’ll be the Trekkers is fast approaching. We are planning to celebrate a prize for the winning entry. this extraordinary achievement with details to follow. Send entries to Fran O’Rourke We continue to follow Government guidelines as notified to us at [email protected] from Mountaineering Ireland and will be in touch with updates as labelled Trekker caption. they are received. Keep well. SAVE THE DATES Fiona The Committee has agreed Editor’s Notes dates for this year’s social events, Covid regulations Welcome to Trekker newsletter Trekkers recommend books allowing. They are: number 69. In spite of being about walking as well as the Summer Social: locked down for much of 2020, books and TV films/shows that many Trekkers embraced they’ve enjoyed. Saturday, July 24, National Yacht the opportunity to get out as Club Many thanks to Mary Murphy, soon as restrictions were even for her invaluable help to me Memorial Day: partially lifted: reports include in producing this newsletter trips to Lugnaquilla, to Marino, Saturday, September 11, Glenmalure and to all the contributors. to Waterford and even a Inn With luck, Trekkers will be able coastal walk in the Canaries. to get back out walking again AGM: Veteran hillwalker Dick Ryan soon and I’ll be looking for Tuesday, October 19, National Yacht talks about the changes pictures and reports for the Club he’s seen since he started next edition. Send comments, Christmas Party: hillwalking in the 1960s in contributions and suggestions our Trekker profile on page to [email protected]. Sunday, December 12, Killiney Golf eight. And on pages 14 to 17, Fran Club Letters to the Editor We’re starting a new Letters column in the next Trekker Newsletter: if you want to share your thoughts with other Trekkers, email your letter -- short & pithy please -- to me at [email protected] The Trekker October 2020 3 Have you ever climbed Lug? Geraldine Boland and Ann Carroll recommend that all Trekkers should try climbing Wicklow’s highest mountain Alan Kane led seven Trekkers on a B walk up Lugnaquilla in August. Below right: a challenging descent via Fraughan Rock Glen It was a sunny August day, with the lightest of how lucky we were to have perfect visibility in every breezes when Alan Kane led a group of seven direction from the Lugnaquilla summit. enthusiastic Trekkers on a B walk up Lugnaquilla. Our descent via Fraughan Rock Glen was With co-leaders Frances Gillen and Fiona O’Sullivan, challenging, but with attention to stepping carefully we were well led on a rare day of freedom in a year in a terrain of rock and ferns, it is an excellent way of restrictions. of making this a circular route back to the starting Parked at Barvore carpark in the Glenmalure valley, point. we set out for Art’s Lough, crossing Bridge 1957. An advantage is that some sections of this descent Visibility was excellent and our view of the corrie run alongside the fast flowing Fraughan Rock lake – Art’s Lough -- was striking. Stream, with fine views of the Glenmalure valley Climbing up Clohernagh (792m) was a steady and sounds of water tumbling over rocks. pull, but the excellent views over Glenmalure Lugnaquilla is the highest mountain in the Wicklow valley as we made our ascent were memorable. Mountains National Park, and at 925 metres it is Traversing the expansive ridge from Cloghernagh to the highest point in Ireland outside of Co. Kerry. Lugnaquilla has to be one of the most memorable There are many potential routes up this mountain; final ascents in Ireland.