Skip to main content

A simply sensational October day on Ireland's Highest

This was definitely the best day we had so far on the Reeks. We were a little bit afraid about the weather while driving to Killarney as the fog was very thick and it looked like was going to stay with us for the day giving us no chance  for the good views. But then it suddenly disappeared and by the time we got to Lisleibane car park the day turned out to be the most beautiful warm and sunny and it felt more like July than October. Absolutely unbelievable...

Heavenly Gates


We decided to climb up the Heavenly Gates and go down the Devil's Ladder.
The Sun shining all the way up and no breeze made us all feel very warm and at some point all the spare layers of clothing we wore came out and landed in our backpacks. It was a day for t-shirts and shorts. 





Heavenly Gates is a nice route and a good alternative to two other popular ascent routes: Devil's Ladder and O'Shea's Gully. The other two routes can be very busy at times especially when the weather is so good. There's a mountain rescue hut on that route just in case somebody has to stay overnight when the conditions are too bad to make a safe descent. We always show it to everyone doing that route for the first time and so we did this time too. 

Heavenly Gates

But our best place is definitely a ledge at the Heavenly Gates where you can get amazing views of the Hags Glen. And the views today were amazing!
At the top you could still stay in your t-shirt. Sunny, warm with no breeze... So unusual in that place even in the summer... There's no words to describe the feeling and the clarity of the views. 





At the top

The view towards Hags Glen and Eastern Reeks

Beenkeragh

Beenkeragh Ridge
Going down the Ladder


We descended via Devil's Ladder this time as we don't really like the long Zig-Zags route. Always remember to be careful and take your time while going down the Ladder.

We did our hike in 5 hours and 20 min including our lunch break which was a good time. 

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

The Claragh Loop

 The Claragh Loop is a great walk in North West Cork near Millstreet,   for our Club and our members it is not that far away and in some ways for us it is so close most people never bother doing it, thinking the far away fields are greener.  We use it as a Club Walk once a year but our members often use it go for a walk by themselves or in a small group regularly just to get out for a bit of fresh air or excercise.   To get there you go into Millstreet, turn down the road between Centra & the Church and travel out the Clara Rd. going past the turn off for the Mount Leader Industrial Estate for about a mile until you meet a Grotto and just beyond this you park on the right on the bend. If it is busy around here you may have to go back down to the Clara Rd. and walk back up,  You then proceed to walk up the small road on the town side of where you are after parking until you meet the entrance into the forest on your right . This is the start of the Claragh Loop.You then proceed up

Cumeengeera Horseshoe

Now that my biro has dried out the blog can finally be written. On Saturday 15 Sept. the club had originally planned to do the Gougane Barra loop,however it was changed to the Cumeengeera Horseshoe route. This is in the rugged Beara peninsula bordering Cork and Kerry. We set off westwards towards Kenmare on a dry morning. Arriving in Kenmare we stopped for tea / coffee, before heading through Lauragh and to the start of the hike at Shronebirrane stone circle. This is at the head of Rabach’s glen.  Called after Cornelius “Rabach” o Sullivan. Rabach means violent in Irish and Con earned his nickname well. In 1800 he murdered a sailor who called to his door one bad stormy wet night looking for shelter. He later murdered a woman who had witnessed the crime and had threatened to inform the police. Eventually he was caught and hanged in Tralee Gaol in 1831.... We climbed the Horseshoe in an anti clockwise direction. The weather was excellent but the climb was a thigh burning slog to reach t

Gougane Barra

On Sunday 8th September the club walk was in Gougane Barra. We left town at 08.30 on a dry autumnal day. Reaching our destination we parked up and had tea / coffee at the restaurant overlooking the tranquil waters of the lake. We made our way by the lake, before turning north along a narrow road to reach a gate that gave access to the mountain. Conditions underfoot were not great, it was wet and boggy as we started our ascent. There is no defined path here and our aim was to make the crest of the ridge. As we progressed, the ground didn’t get any better in fact it got worse. Coarse grass , covering knee jarring holes and slippery rock. Then there was some rain and in the mist visibility was not great. On a clear day the views would have been worth the hard slog, but not today. After some time we rested up and had some refreshments. Continuing through the inhospitable ground conditions , we trudged along. Eventually our progress was brought to an abrupt halt , as we came to a