HIKE PROGRAMME |
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MEET: Burgh Quay
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DEPART: Sundays 10.00 am
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COST: Private bus. €10
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Date |
Route
Description |
Distance. |
Leader
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May 2nd |
Hike in the Mourne
Mountains Meeting time 09.30 hours Cost €15 |
varying |
Tom Kenny/Jim Barry |
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May 9th |
Introductory
Hard Hike Shea Elliot Memorial -Cullentragh Mountain -
Mullacor - Lugduff East - The Spink – Derrybawn Mountain - Shea Elliot
Memorial. |
16km Ascent 750m |
Philip Roche |
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May 16th |
Route: Hell Kettle Bridge - Church Mountain -
Corriebracks - Lobawn |
18km
Ascent 500m |
Noel Kerley |
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May 23rd |
Route: Aughavanagh Bridge - South
Prison - Lugnaquilla – Corrigasleggaun -Glenmalure. |
18km Ascent 850m |
Mark
Campion
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May 30th |
The J. B. Malone Memorial Walk Route Route: J. B. Malone Memorial -White Hill - Djouce -
Coffin Stone - War Hill - Tonduff - Maulin – Crone Wood - Knockree Hostel
(where refreshments will be available). |
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June 6th |
Weekend in Galtees and
Knockmealdowns (staying in Cashel) |
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Jimmy McCullagh |
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June 9th |
Introductory Hard Hike Route: Car Park Military Road G.R. 0137088, Luggala Mt.
Knocknacloghoge, Inchivore River, scar, Paddock Hill, Wicklow Way, Laragh |
16km./ ascent 900 M |
Eoin Moroney |
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Thank you to Pearse Foley for leading an additional local hike on Easter
Sunday.
May 2nd is a Day Trip to the
Mourne Mountains with Hard Hike to be led
by Tom Kenny and Moderate Hike to be led by Jim Barry. Note earlier meeting
time for this hike. Bus fare for this trip is €15.
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.
SUNDAY HIKES
Participants on Sunday Hikes must be a member of An Óige Hillwalkers Club. If
you are not a member of the Club, but are considering joining, we invite you to
participate on our monthly Introductory Hikes.
INTRODUCTORY
HIKES An Introductory Hike is organised once per month for aspirant members.
Participants on these hikes must be a member of An Óige.
CO-ORDINATION
Tickets are given out on Sundays to ensure that participants reserve a bus
place as they arrive.
LEADER The leader has
the right to refuse anyone who is not adequately equipped (e.g., without appropriate boots, rainwear, food, torch, hat,
gloves, etc). 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.
TORCH During
winter months it is essential to bring a (head) torch on all Sunday hikes.
Check your batteries / bulb.
ENVIRONMENT Try to reduce the erosion and widening
of trails, e.g. do not walk on the edge of worn tracks; walk through the centre
of the original track or go several meters into the scruff where the ground is
untrodden, walking parallel to but not on the track.
LITTER Litter
is unsightly and dangerous to animals. Even bio-degradable items like orange
peels and banana skins take years to disappear. Bring all your litter home and
try to include at least one extra item from each day out. Do not bury litter –
animals will dig it up.
WALKING STICKS In the interest of safety and comfort
please keep the pointed end of your walking stick covered, especially when
travelling on the bus.
HIKE
LEADERS If any member is interested in leading a hike, please contact either:
Tom
Kenny Email: tomk2003@yahoo.ie
Philip Roche
Email: philip.roche@boimail.com
Friday 4th
June – Monday 7th June
Trip
to the Galtees and Knockmealdowns
Moderate/Hard Walkers
Welcome
Leaders:
Jimmy McCullagh & Philip Roche
Walking
Itinerary to include:
Galtymore: A classic horseshoe route over the highest peak in the Galtees
with magnificent panoramic views and awesome corries below.
Lough Muskry: A
fine circular walk above a spectacular glacial lake on the northern face of the
Galtees
Eastern
Knockmealdowns: Over the high peaks east of the Vee with plenty of
walking on amazingly bog-free clear
paths.
Western
Knockmealdowns: A relatively gentle ramble over two modest unassuming
summits with lovely views far and
wide.
Ordnance
Survey Maps: 1:50.000 Discovery Series Sheets 74
Hostel
Accommodation: Cashel
Holiday Hostel, John Street, Cashel, Co. Tipperary (062)62330
Cost:
EUR 110 (Includes bus transport from/to Dublin, bus transport for hikes and
hostel accommodation only. Meals will not be provided).
Booking:
EUR 60 non-refundable deposit to an Ōige Head Office by credit card or
cash deposit (01-8304555). Balance of EUR 50 to be paid before Friday 21st
May.
Meals: Please
note that food will not be provided in the hostel. The hostel has a fully equipped
kitchen where hikers can prepare their meals, packed lunches etc. The hostel is based in the centre of Cashel
Town with easy access to shops, restaurants, coffee houses etc.
Bring:
Suitable walking boots, rain gear, change of warm clothing, towels, toilet
gear, flask, torch, first aid kit etc.
Meeting
Place and Departure Time: Meeting outside Custom House Quay
at 4:30pm Friday 4th June. Bus will be leaving at 5 pm.
Return:
Plan to return to Dublin for 7pm on Monday 7th June.
Annual Blackstairs Walk 2004
The Blackstairs walk is a mountain walk along the
Carlow-Wexford border. The walk begins at Killanure (Grid Ref. S 890 537) of
the R746 (L32) road from Bunclody to Kiltealy, and ends at Byrne’s Pub in Glynn
(Grid Ref. S 745 395).
Date of walk: Saturday 15th May 2004
Length: 26 kilometres. (16.2 miles)
Ascent: 1525 metres. (5000 feet)
Duration: Average of 9 hours.
Map: Ordnance Survey Discovery Series No
68.
Entrance Fee: €5 (payable on the bus)
Bus Fare: €5 (payable on the bus)
Two buses will leave at 6.45am for
the start of the walk. One bus will leave from St. Mullins (the campsite) the
other from Glynn. Participants are advised NOT to drive to the start, as there
is NO official transport from the finish back to the start. The bus should be
used to get to the start.
A get-together meal at the hall in
Drummond has been arranged for after the walk.
The cost is €12 per person. As numbers are limited, you are advised to
book early.
Payment for meal must be made at least one week in
advance of the date of the walk.
It will not be possible to provide a choice of menu
due to limited catering facilities. However, a small number of vegetarian meals
can be provided, but it is absolutely essential for the vegetarian option to be
ordered in advance, as the caterer is
unable to take orders for the
vegetarian option after 9th May 2004.
All
enquiries/reservations to: Gerry Griffin and Gerri Skehan. Email: ggriffin@indigo.ie
Ring of Imaal Walk, Saturday June 19th 2004
Distance: 35
Kilometres/Ascent:1900metres Full
details in April Hillwalker
Volunteers are required for checkpoint, roll up and
registration duties.
Contact: Jim Barry or leave message at Head
Office(01-8304555).
Sponsorship cards are available through Pat Doyle (086-3311345) or Marie McDonnell (01-8377411(h) / 01-8822560(w)) or from An Óige’s Head Office on 01-8304555. We hope you will again support us with this exciting project.
For further
details see April Hillwalker
ADVANCE NOTICE:
Blackstairs
Hillwalkers’ Club Day Trip to the Blackstairs on Sunday, June 27th
Departure from usual spot on the Quay, but at 09.30hrs.
This trip will be led by Philip Roche.
Cost: €15
Lost and
Found: Walking Stick
Denis Kenny found a blue walking stick with a
brown plastic handle baggage terminal at Dunlaoghaire after the Easter trip.
This has been handed into An Óige Headquarters, where it may be collected by
its owner.
Hike Leadership Workshop
2-6p.m.,
Saturday, 22nd May,
An Óige
Headquarters, 61 Mountjoy St. Dublin 7
Tel; 01-8304555
The Club is holding a Hike
Leadership / Discussion Workshop to provide an opportunity for members to
explore issues that relate to hike leadership by pooling and sharing the wealth
of leadership experience that already exists within the Club. Everyone who
currently leads or who hopes to lead hikes is cordially invited to come along
on the day.
Workshop Programme
|
Time |
Topic |
Speaker |
Summary |
|
1330 1400 |
Tea
/ Coffee will be served between 1.30pm and 2.00pm |
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|
1400 1415 |
Welcome |
Prionnsias MacAnBeatha |
General Welcome, Workshop Objectives
Overall Programme |
|
1415 1455 |
Leadership
Qualities & Attributes |
Philip
Roche |
The personal attributes that help in formulating good hike leaders |
|
1455 1535 |
Hike
Preparation & Planning |
Jimmy
McCullagh |
What to do to ensure that you
undertake the best preparation possible |
|
1535 1600 |
Break |
__ |
Tea/Coffee will be served |
|
1600 1640 |
Leading
the Hike |
Tom
Kenny |
What to do on the day to ensure
everything runs smoothly |
|
1640 1720 |
General
Issues |
Donal
Finn |
River hazards, Weather. 1st
Aid, MSA/ML, References, Resources |
|
1720 1800 |
Mountain
Rescue |
Dublin/Wicklow Mountain
Rescue |
Invited Presentation |
|
1800 2000 |
Closure
and Adjournment |
TBA |
Closing comments/Adjournment to the
Chapel Restaurant |
In order to promote
further discussion after the event, a complimentary light meal will be served
provided at the hostel restaurant (6.30 - 8.00pm)
To
facilitate timely planning for the organisers, we would ask interested
participants to register their attendance at An Óige Head Office by May 17th.
A welcoming
tea or coffee will be served to early arrivals on the day
The club continues to support members who wish to undertake the Mountain Skills Assessment. Further details from Jimmy McCullagh.
The Challenge will take place over two days with graded walks available each day. Exact routes will be finalised at a later date.
10K on Wicklow
way
in aid of
Sat 15th May 2004
Depart: Crone Forest Car Park -
10.30am sharp.
Finish: Roundwood - 4.00 pm approx.
Terrain reasonable.
What you should do:
For further information: Sinead Hannaway 01-2950359
Gladys O’Connor 01-4943666
You Participate At Your Own Risk!
Run by Oxfam and the Gurkha Welfare Trust, the
challenge of Trailwalker is to get your team of four across 100km. In less than
30 hours, to help overcome poverty and suffering. Further information is
available from website www.oxfamireland.org or by email: james@oxfam.ie
While the official deadline is April 30th,
we are reliably reassured by member and participant Stephanie Casey of Oxfam
Ireland, that the deadline can be extended to the end of May to facilitate
interested Hillwalker participants
With a view to practising navigational skills in a
smallish area, we decided (Paul, Irene and myself) to try a low ridge just to
the west of Blessington. After coffee in the hotel, we were attracted by the
sound of the bells ringing from the
little Church of Ireland church nearby. We were invited in by a parishioner to see the bell ringers at work.
What a delight! Unfortunately, it turned out to be impracticable (something to
do with a funeral) but our hearts were warmed by the kindness.
We parked the car on a track at grid reading 962137
(OS Map 56, of course) and set off soon meeting an old farmer and his grandchildren who were
securing in some farm animals. He pointed out that the track, now a muddy
boreen, was part of the old road to
Naas; it would hardly take a four-wheel
drive vehicle today! Further up the track, we passed horses and met the old
man’s son and some of the same children who were on holiday and obviously
enjoying the animals and wearing wellington boots in the rough and muck around
the farm. We received much advice about the location of a ring fort we were
aiming at - despite protesting that we wanted to locate it using map and
compass - and as we spoke a horse standing beside nearby showed uncommon
interest in my backpack.
Further up the track, we encountered the first of a
number of sheep carcasses and remains. No doubt, each farmer would be aware of
the cause of each. Up then, into and across a farm ‘yard’ we had been directed
to but, suddenly, we were challenged by
the owner from his doorway. Paul’s calming tones, however, resulted in a
softening of attitude and we were shown, not only his bull, numerous dogs and
lambing sheep but also directions to a neighbour (‘over them fences and across
that green field’) to get information on the ringfort.
We passed from one dispensation into another: the
neighbour’s farm was impressive in its layout and order: reminiscent of the
order one sees on the road from Omagh
to Strabane on the way through the ‘Wee North.’ As we approached, we saw those things one used to see and hear on
a farm but seldom does now: hens, the cock, ducks etc as well as, in this case,
a splendid peacock and its hen. We spent
a while talking to three people about location, direction, land use
and even local matters, the visit to
the neighbour. Mention was made of the funeral that had taken place in
the church we had visited as well as the recent deaths of young Irish
sportsmen.
Following directions, we arrived at the ring fort (at grid reference 956152), now just
a grassy mound about 25’ in diameter)
and had our sandwiches with a beautiful
view over Pollaphuca with the background of
Lugnagun, Black Hill, Moanbane and Silsean with Mullaghcleevaun peeping
up from behind. To our rear, the flat lands of Kildare encroached on the ridge. From there we navigated to the source of the
stream north of Slievemore, then round a thickly-gorsed and securely-fenced
hilltop but were unable to get access to the tower at the summit (grid
reference 953142).
We then set out for the spot height 304’(at grid reference 952135) but had to
pass along roads to get close to it. There we found , not another ring fort as
we were led to expect, but what looked
like two joined-up shallow scups of a
wide hollow. Much speculation as to what it could have been!
We decided to return to the car taking in other
navigational features. It was necessary to cross down through a field so we sought permission from a
farmer working nearby. ‘No
problem at all!’ Conversation followed naturally: where we were from; how difficult it was to get planning
permission. When asked about the large hollow on his land, he told us that
mortar for building used to be dug there. Mystery solved!
At the bottom of the field, we discovered a dead
sheep and Paul went back to tell him. It transpired that it must have happened
that previous night, the probably cause of death being pneumonia brought on by
the recent chilly nights. But before taking his leave, he directed us to yet
another fort or rath-like structure on our way back. Significantly, neither he
nor the first farmer we met had any problem with our climbing over his fences - perhaps, assuming correctly,
that we would take care. (Aren’t we angels?)
So, a different kind of walk, different place and
pacing, time to meet and talk with people and take in the beautiful views
eastwards over Blessington and the man-made lake. My guess is that the small
size of the group was important: making
us seem less of a threatening phalanx of
outdoor walking gear. We will return to Blessington (at least, I will)
with a new appreciation of place and people and feel encouraged to take other
roads less travelled. As Frost said in his lovely little poem The Road Not
Taken, ‘It makes all the difference.’
With Paul ‘O Carroll and Irene Moran
Just outside Blessington, Co Wicklow
Club President and Chairperson: Prionnsias
MacAnBheatha
Secretary: Frank Rooney
Treasurer: Jim Barry
Sunday Hikes: Tom Kenny and Philip Roche
Membership Secretary: Barbara Sudrow
Training Officer: Jimmy McCullagh
Editor: Deirdre McMahon
Members-at-Large: Donal Finn, Joe Kellegher
In addition,
four club members work behind the scenes as follows:
Distribution: Cyril McFeeney & Pearse Foley
Webmaster: Matt Geraghty
MCI Environmental Officer: Patricia
Goodman
The Walker's Haute Route
July 2003
A high-level trek through the Swiss Valais/Wallis
region,
from Chamonix, France to Zermatt, Switzerland
normally undertaken over 14 days
by
Donal Finn
Tuesday May 18th, 8.30pm
An
Oige Headquarters Mountjoy St.
This is a spectacular and demanding summer walk: a strenuous high-level traverse in the French and Swiss Alps, which commences in Chamonix, France and finishes in Zermatt, Switzerland and is normally undertaken over about 14 days. The route traverses below the summits of ten out of the twelve of the highest peaks in the Alps, and crosses several high passes, the highest being a shade under 3000m at 2964m (9,800ft).
Although walkers encounter at one level a world of
glaciers and towering, snow-capped peaks, one also meanders through green
alpine valleys with flower-covered meadows and picture-book villages. As the
route progresses, walkers pass from France into the Swiss Valais or Wallis
region, which consists of two distinct French and German speaking cultural
regions with different architecture, rural environments and customs.
The early season from June to mid July is the
quietest and most beautiful, however, hikers most be prepared for old snow on
the higher paths which can be icy and in some cases even dangerous and makes an
ice-axe an essential piece of equipment (which we did not bring!).
Barbara and I completed the route in early July 2003
over a two week period of almost unbroken sunshine and this slideshow will give
our photographic impressions of the trek.
Websites:
http://www.nbfenn.freeserve.co.uk/pages/hols99.htm
http://website.lineone.net/~skennedy/haute1.htm