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 the 490 meter mark. On then to the ridge leading to Tooth mountain. We traversed to the north of the summit then headed south west to Coomacloghane. There was a stiff headwind but we made steady progress. The views were absolutely fantastic towards the Iveragh Peninsula and beyond Valencia island and the Schellig. South towards Kilcrohane and the Sheep’s Head. Across to the East we could pick out the Paps. It was a glorious day to be on the hills and all the effort to climb paid off. On we went keeping the Cummeengeera glen to our left. Following the ridge to Eskatarriff summit all the while spectacular views alround. Eskatarriff east top was next. To our right the rocky ledges of Hungry hills north flank could be seen as well as Glanmore lake. We altered our course here and instead of heading north east over the summit of Lackabane, it was decided to contour around it. In hindsight this was not a good idea. However hindsight always has 20/20 vision.We continued on hoping to pick up the route but ominous clouds formed and soon the rain came pouring down... with a fairly strong gale... Suddenly a great day out was fast becoming not such a great one. Thoughts of Con “Rabach” passed through our head and the faith of the poor sailor caught in similar circumstances...We regrouped and it was decided that we would exit the mountain as fast and as safely as possible..This we did and while we did not get down where we had intended. We got down safe and well...After an extra bit of unintentional road walking and the assistance of a passing motorist we reached the cars.
While our pride may have been dented, everyone really enjoyed the day and the views. It’s a good call to exit the moutain quickly when bad weather sets in....
“ It feels good to be lost....in the right direction “ .............Anon.
Ps. No photos camera waterlogged.
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 the 490 meter mark. On then to the ridge leading to Tooth mountain. We traversed to the north of the summit then headed south west to Coomacloghane. There was a stiff headwind but we made steady progress. The views were absolutely fantastic towards the Iveragh Peninsula and beyond Valencia island and the Schellig. South towards Kilcrohane and the Sheep’s Head. Across to the East we could pick out the Paps. It was a glorious day to be on the hills and all the effort to climb paid off. On we went keeping the Cummeengeera glen to our left. Following the ridge to Eskatarriff summit all the while spectacular views alround. Eskatarriff east top was next. To our right the rocky ledges of Hungry hills north flank could be seen as well as Glanmore lake. We altered our course here and instead of heading north east over the summit of Lackabane, it was decided to contour around it. In hindsight this was not a good idea. However hindsight always has 20/20 vision.We continued on hoping to pick up the route but ominous clouds formed and soon the rain came pouring down... with a fairly strong gale... Suddenly a great day out was fast becoming not such a great one. Thoughts of Con “Rabach” passed through our head and the faith of the poor sailor caught in similar circumstances...We regrouped and it was decided that we would exit the mountain as fast and as safely as possible..This we did and while we did not get down where we had intended. We got down safe and well...After an extra bit of unintentional road walking and the assistance of a passing motorist we reached the cars.
While our pride may have been dented, everyone really enjoyed the day and the views. It’s a good call to exit the moutain quickly when bad weather sets in....
“ It feels good to be lost....in the right direction “ .............Anon.
Ps. No photos camera waterlogged.
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