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Mangerton

On Sunday 25 March the club outing was to Killarney. Our intention was to do Mangerton / Stoompa
loop. We set off from town at 09.00 everyone had remembered to put their clocks forward.
We arrived at Tooreencormick and parked up. It was a beautiful sunny day and there were a good number of hill walkers about. It’s good to see so many people heading for the hills.
Safety being paramount in the club, we had dispatched a member to scout out the terrain earlier in the morning. Due to the previous heavy rain and melting snow, there was a possibility that the Owgarriff river which would have to be crossed after Stoompa might be in flood. The scout was to do the route in reverse and meet us on top of Mangerton. The clubs two way radios were put into action.
Leaving the car park we headed off through Cormacks Haggard resplendend in our new snoods courtesy of Flahavan’s. “The perfect food for hillwalkers”.
Conditions underfoot were muddy for the first couple hundred meters. We made steady progress gaining altitude, conditions improved. We followed the well trodden path towards the Devils Punchbowl.
The radio crackled into life and contact was made with the scout, who had by now reached the summit of Mangerton. He had a panoramic view of our group an we snaked onwards and upwards.
The views were fantastic over the lakes, towards the Reeks and in the distance the faint outline of the Galtees merged with the sky. The sun shone and one could think of no better place to be.
Finally we made the summit where our scout informed us, that to cross the Owgarriff river he had to remove his boots, socks and fold his trousers up to his knees. Also ground conditions were slippery and the boggy ground was hard going.
We had some welcome refreshments and took in the panoramic view and got a few photos. Well done to those who scaled Mangerton for their first time. They were blessed to have such a clear day. Let’s hope they won’t expect every summit to be as accommodating.It was decided that we would not continue with the Stoompa loop due to flooded river and poor ground. A wise decision. Having reached 839 meters we were happy with our lot.
We retraced our steps and made our way down carefully, keeping in mind that most accidents on the mountains happen while descending.
We all reached the car park safely. We changed and it was decided to call to the Lakes hotel to relax and chat about the day. There is no place at this table for people of a sensitive disposition.
A fantastic day out. Thanks to the scout who braved the unknown so that we migh all come safely home.

 “ No one saves us but ourselves. No one can and no one may. We ourselves must walk the path “

............Gautama Budda, sayings of Budda

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