HIKE PROGRAMME
December 2006 / January 2007
MEET:
Burgh Quay
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DEPART:
Sundays
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COST:
Private bus. €12
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- - Christmas Hike Leader:
Frank Rooney Route:
Meet outside Howth
Dart railway station at Public/Own Transport |
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- - New Year Hike Leader:
Jim Barry Route:
Meet outside Fenton’s Public House,
Glen of Imaal at Own Transport |
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- - Introductory Hillwalkers Hike Leader:
Garry Byrne Route:
Scalp * Barrnaslingan
* Ballycorus * Carrigollogan
* Killegar * Knocksink * Enniskerry * Lover’s Leap * Enniskerry. Public Transport: Dublin-Enniskerry bus
number 44, leaves from Screen Cinema at |
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- - Circuit of Derrylossery Leader:
Tom Milligan Route:
Distance: 19km Ascent:
760m |
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- - Ballinastoe to Oldbridge Leader:
Eoin Moroney Route:
Ballinastoe (GR 202 091) * White Hill * Distance: 18km Ascent:
700m |
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- - Glenmacnass to Glendalough Leader:
Stephen James Route:
Glenmacnass Car Park * Lough Oular
* Tonelagee * Wicklow Gap * St. Kevin’s Way * Glendalough. Distance:
17km Ascent:
500m |
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- - Introductory Hillwalkers Hike Leader:
Chris Byrne Route:
Distance:
18km Ascent:
780m |
GENERAL HIKE NOTES
PARTICIPATION Mountaineering is an activity with a
danger of personal injury or death. Participants should be aware of and accept
these risks. People who take part in our club activities do so at their own
risk and are responsible for their own actions and involvement.
INTRODUCTORY HIKES An Introductory Hike is organised once
per month for aspirant members. Any participant on these hikes must be a member
of An Óige.
EQUIPMENT The leader
has the right to refuse anyone who is not adequately equipped (e.g., without
appropriate boots, rainwear, food, hat, gloves, etc). During the winter months,
a torch plus spare batteries and bulb are essential.
LEADER The leader may alter the route from that
described in the program. The leader sets the pace of the hike and walkers are
expected to obey the leader’s instructions at all times.
WALKING STICKS AND RUCKSACKS Remember that walking sticks and rucksacks cannot be
brought onto the bus and must be stowed away in the boot during the journey.
PROSPECTIVE HIKE LEADERS Any
club member interested in leading a hike, please contact Garry Byrne, Tel.
01-8388812
HILLWALKERS AWAY:
THIRD TIME, LUCKY
AGAIN!
The third
successive trip to
Saturday, October 28
The “Hard”
Walkers, led by Frank, tackled Urris Hills, Mamore etc. – quite a task, reminiscent of the Maamturks with so many steep ascents and descents. The
Moderates, a large group of 34 under Brian Flynn’s guidance, took on Slieve Snaght (Inishowen) and its adjacent hills. Over 300m the cloud
didn’t clear until quite late so it was a navigational feat for Brian and his
aide, Philip Roche, with their compasses and GPS to plot their way through
trackless terrain. The emergence of the sun near the end at Tullymore
Hill was an unexpected bonus.
Sunday, October 29
The Hard Walkers,
again under Frank, took on the bulk of the Joey Glover Walk, starting near Dunlewy and taking in Aghla More
and Aghla Beg en route to Muckish
Gap. Quite a number of lakes along the way and some punishing climbs, too. Muckish is a very
steep mountain, resembling an upturned ship as one book has observed, the
descent being particularly so.
Brian brought the
Mods up Muckish from the
north side, across the plateau to the cross and descended north-east, finishing
at Creeslough. Jim Barry led the third group up from
the Gap, across the entire plateau and back down to the Gap again. A most
satisfactory day, as everyone managed to conquer this difficult mountain.
Monday, October 30
The leaders found
a new set of hills for us in the Sperrins near Plumbridge in Co. Tyrone for the half-day walk on the
return journey to
The
Finally, congrats
to Frank and Brian for organising everything so successfully, not forgetting
their extra weekend away doing the many reccies. We
are in their debt once again.
Pearse Foley
NAVIGATION TRAINING
Map & Compass Course 2006/2007
The annual Map
and Compass Course commenced on
Many
thanks to the Hillwalkers and its leaders and
instructors for a great course. It was such fun as well as
informative, and hopefully will inspire me to be a bit more adventurous in my
walking. Looking forward to the Comeraghs.
C.B.
… just a note to
say many thanks for the most enjoyable 3 weeks I really felt I learnt something
useful and look forward to putting it into practice. Many thanks also to all
the leaders (Jimmy, Donal, Ita, Joe, Mark, Phillip and Tom for their patience
and good nature it can't have been easy at times. Hope that you have a great
Christmas and New Year. Looking forward to
Training Weekend in the Comeraghs/Knockmealdowns
OPEN TO
HILLWALKER MEMBERS
Background: Would you like to renew or strengthen your Mountain
Skills? Then the Comeragh
and Knockmealdown Consolidation Weekend might be for
you! There will be a small number of
spaces available on the weekend for existing Hillwalker
members who want to refresh their navigation skills. The weekend is designed to meet the
requirements of members who have taken a Map and Compass course in previous
years and who wish to revise skills learned previously or to strengthen
existing skills.
Dates: Fri, Jan 26th to Sun 28th 2007 (travel down Friday evening).
Accommodation: Rathgormack
Mountaineering Hostel, Rathgormack, Co.
Transport: To be
arranged by participants. If pooled, transport cost should be shared among car
occupants. Take the Dungarvan
road (R676) from Carrick-on-Suir. Anyone without transport should contact Jimmy
McCullagh for assistance with car pooling.
Cost: Training and accommodation is €85 per person, payable to An Óige HQ (Tel: 8304555). Booking opens
Map: Laminated sheet 75, Silva 4 compass.
Food: No meals are provided at hostel.
Bring breakfasts and packed lunches for Saturday & Sunday. The hostel is about a 15-min. drive from
Carrick-on-Suir/Clonmel/Dungarvan where there are a
number of recommended restaurants (traditional destination on Saturday
evening). Otherwise bring your own food for Saturday evening.
Queries? Email Jimmy Mccullagh or Donal
Finn
Committee 2006/2007
Chairman Frank
Rooney
Secretary Garry
Byrne
Treasurer Jim
Barry
Membership Donal Finn
Sunday Hikes Garry Byrne
Social Events Steve Buckney
Weekends Mark
Campion
Officer-at-large Eoin Moroney
Newsletter Barbara
Sudrow
Special thanks to:
Webmaster Matt
Geraghty
Distribution Pearse Foley & Cyril McFeeney
Art O’Neill Walk 2007
The Art O'Neill
Walk will take place at
Contact: Tom Milligan
STOCKING FILLERS
Calendar for 2007: Irish Nepalese Education Trust (INET) and
teachers from Alexandra College Dublin have produced a beautiful calendar for
2007 to raise funds to build a primary school in Phuleli
to educate the children of poor, illiterate, subsistence farmers who live in a
remote region 50 kilometres south of
All proceeds go to
*
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Mountain Meitheal
Guide to trail design and construction in
This book, the
first to be published in
Available from
Mountain Meitheal at €10.00 + P+P (€15) or 10 or more
P+P free.
CHRISTMAS CROSSWORD PUZZLE
We would like to
thank all contributors to the newsletter over the past 12 months, in
particular those who sent in articles and photos for
the reading pleasure of all club
members: Betty Kehoe, Brian Madden, Deirdre
McMahon, Eamonn Coyle, Garry Byrne,
Jim
Barry, Mark Campion, Pearse
Foley, and Philip Roche.
To acknowledge
their contributions, the clues for the Christmas Crossword Puzzle below
are based on their hillwalking
reports; a good excuse to read those interesting articles again!
Across:
1. Carlit (2921m) and Canigou
(2782m) are peaks in this Mountain Range “east of
7. Ten Hillwalkers
and one friend went to
these famous Mountains near Aviemore.
[10]
10. This National School in Co. Wicklow is the
starting point for a well-known Marathon Walk. [6]
Down:
2. The Water of
3. Cryb Goch, Y Garn and Nantlle Ridge
are all located in this National Park, a favourite
destination of the Hillwalkers
Club. [9]
4. These
their colourful calcite terraces. [7]
5. The MCI Summer Meet 2006 took place at
this Location in the French Alps. [6]
6. These Falls are the secret haunt of
Irish canoeists and the site of an adventurous
Sunday Hike
earlier this year. [8]
8. Namche Bazaar
is a traditional town in this roof-top Country. [5]
9. Wet weather and unseasonal
snow put an early end to a walking holiday in
this Valley in the Austrian
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This competition
is open to all current paid-up members of An Óige Hillwalkers Club.
To enter, please
send the completed crossword grid, together with your name and address to:
Barbara
Sudrow, 24 Glenmalure Park,
Closing date:
Name:
......................................................................................................................................
Address:
...................................................................................................................................
OUT ON THE TRAILS:
El Camino de Santiago
There I was on
THE
My first use of
the passport was in a beautiful town on the French side of the
It seems now that
Irish people’s preference is for a pilgrimage to
The route which
Claire and I had chosen was the French way. This starts on the French side of
the
The logistics to
the start of the Way were straightforward: flight to
St. Jean Pied de
Port is a very attractive town with a 17th century citadel and narrow cobbled
streets. We stayed in a very nice Albergue in Rue de
la Citadella. The house was full for that evening
with walkers intending to start the Camino. Many of the people we met that
evening we would continually meet along the walk each day. It was like a
community on the move, each one ready and open to talk to the next person they
met.
Day 1- St. Jean Pied de Port to Roncevaux
This route
through the Basque country goes over Col de Lepoeder
with a total distance of 27km and a climb of 4500 ft - not recommended in bad
weather. Historically, it was the easiest route over the
Day 2-
An imposing abbey
dominates
That morning we
started the walk in the mist and headed for the first town of
Day 3 - From Larrasoaña
to Cizur Menor
This walk is for
a total distance of 25km. The route goes through a pine and
Day 4 - Cizur Menor to Puente la Reina
From Cizur Menor it’s a steep climb
with stunning views to windmill-topped Alto de Perdón.
These dirt lanes ascend through Zariquigui which has
a fountain - very important for water refills. On top of the mountain you see
the rest of the walk laid out before you in a sweeping view of the countryside.
We took a diversion to Eunate, which had a 12th
century octagonal Romanesque church that was surrounded by fields of
sunflowers. This church is said to have belonged to the Knights Templar.
Afterwards, we walked on to Puente la Reina, a town
with one long street and an 11th century bridge - a most interesting place. We
stayed beyond the town in a modern Albergue.
Day 5 - Puente la Reina
to Estella
This is a lovely
walk that crosses four rivers and passes through fertile vineyards and several
tranquil hill towns. Curauqui is one of these towns,
with its narrow cobble streets and its twelfth century church. It’s well worth
lingering over a café con leche. A section of this
walk is on a roman road, which also has a roman bridge that was being repaired
at the time. Estella is a lively town with a very attractive square. In the
evening the square comes alive with people of all generations. Estella has a
bull-running event similar to
Day 6 - Estella to Torres
The start of this
walk plods through the suburbs of Estella. However, Fuente
del Vino is soon reached.
There is a tap of free wine provided by Bodegas de Irache.
Benches are nearby for resting while enjoying the delights of the fountain.
The walk
continues to ramble along fields and woodlands. It also goes through a number
of small villages where coffee can be sipped as you watch the other walkers go
through. Los Arcos is eventually reached; there we went into the Gothic
cloisters of Iglesia de
Torres del
Day 7 - Torres
On our last
walking day, the first part of the walk was through pleasant vineyard country
to the town of
The following
morning we got a bus to
According to
legend, around the year 812, a religious hermit discovered the long forgotten
tomb of the apostle James. Once the presence of his remains was confirmed,
faith drove millions of pilgrims to undertake the long, arduous journey to Compostela.
The
Frank Rooney
BEHIND THE SCENES
Newsletter Distribution
It is a happy
joint venture between Cyril McFeeney and myself. And, indeed, it’s the easiest job to do in
connection with the magazine. The current editor and her predecessors deserve
all the praise; it’s a responsible and time-consuming job.
For Cyril and me,
it entails a monthly visit to
The number of
copies required is determined by the number of address labels, but we run off
additional copies for display in the public office. The copier, whilst not
without its troubles every so often, is an “all singing, all dancing affair”,
printing automatically on both sides of the sheet and stitching the pages
together as well.
Cyril normally
looks after that and also puts the envelopes through the franking machine. In
the meantime, I have been putting labels on the envelopes, and, after they are
franked, we insert the copies in the self-sealing envelopes (no more licking of
envelopes, thankfully!). A number of members receive the newsletter via email
which reduces the volume of work, and more importantly, the postage costs.
We are very
grateful to Marie and her colleagues in the office for their cheerful help,
especially with the temperamental copier.
The whole exercise
takes up between 1 and 1.5 hours which is very little in a calendar month. And
as we are both retired (for more years than we care to remember), it is no
inconvenience.
Pearse Foley
CLUB NEWS
Pub Quiz for
Moderate walkers
Adrian and Catherine are going to
Venue: Gate
Bar, Crumlin,
Date:
Time:
Contact: Mick Heneghan, Tel: 01-6570244
Mick’s pub
quizzes are legendary, so it’s going to be a good night out for all! Also,
donation of prizes most welcome!
SOCIAL CORNER
PAST EVENT: Going to the Dogs
The latest social
event was a repeat trip to the dogs, this time at the Harold’s Cross venue. In
all, 14 people came, and most of us staked out a patch of floor space upstairs,
on the periphery of the crowd. We were not in time for the more salubrious
seats lower down, but managed even so. No major wins or losses as far as I know.
Later, most of us
adjourned to the pub next door, known as either Flanagan’s or Peggy Kelly’s. It
was all over by 11.30 as 11 of the 12 participants at the pub fled for the last
no. 16 bus to town - one of the many advantages of having a bus driver in the
group.
Another bonus of
the night was that 2 people independently came up with the idea of the next
social event (see separate listing below).
Steve Buckney
FUTURE EVENT 1:
Venue:
Date:
Time:
Cost: 16 Euro per person includes skate
hire
Booking: Will
need to book in advance so interested persons please contact Steve Buckney
Après-ice: Drinks at
The Cobblestone Pub
FUTURE EVENT 2: Orienteering by Night
Venue: St.
Anne’s Park in Raheny
Date:
Time: Between 6 and
Cost: Small registration fee
This is similar
to last year’s orienteering event but will most likely take place in a
different part of St. Anne’s Park. Further details including meeting place,
post-match drinks etc. will be available mid-January.
Contact: Mark Campion
Other suggestions welcome!
Please contact
our Social Organiser Steve Buckney.
BANK HOLIDAY WEEKEND
An Óige Hillwalkers Club
Easter Weekend
2007
Thursday 5th
– Monday 9th April 2007
Visit to the Wild and
Llanberis Youth Hostel, Llanberis, Brecon, Caernarfon, Gwynedd
Moderate/Hard and
Easy Walkers Welcome
Two grades of organised
hikes daily including Monday plus numerous short walk options for easy walkers
Leader: Jim Barry
Boat & Bus
Trip Only
Weekend Itinerary will be chosen from the following:
British Ordnance Survey Maps: 1:50.000 Landranger Series, Sheet 115
Notes
Accommodation: Youth Hostel close to
Booking: €180 NON REFUNDABLE deposit to An Óige Head Office by credit card or cash deposit (8304555).
Balance of €150 to be paid before Friday 9th March 07, as hostel has to be paid
in full at this time. Booking facilities will be available from 3rd Jan 07.
Cost: €330
(approx.) (includes 4 Bednights, Meals &
Transport costs)
Meals: Available at hostel (included in the price of the
weekend)
Food: as
above; stopping at local shops for extras (STERLING CURRENCY REQUIRED).
Bring: Suitable Walking Boots/Winter Rainwear &
Clothing/Towels/Toilet Gear/ Flask/Torch/First Aid Kit/Camera/Binoculars/Valid
An Óige Membership Card.
Meeting: Stena Line Departure
Terminal,
Departure: Holy Thursday from
Return: Monday evening from Holyhead on 1530hrs Ferry after
bus journey from Llanberis to arrive back in
Welcome Aboard