Feohanagh to Cloghane 25 km

Today we did a mountain traverse which some fellow travellers described as life threatening. Mind you they were Australians. We only walked 25 km but it took us 7 hours plus half an hour of stops. The most dramatic and challenging day so far. It was certainly the wettest and muddiest for our shoes.

From Feohanagh there was an hour of boggy and muddy farm tracks before starting the climb proper. It was straight up for about 2 hours. Steep at the beginning but easing off for a while before a long steep section up to the col. We were just following marker posts on open grass fields but the ground was saturated and very boggy. Almost like walking up a stream. There were great views back down to Smerwick Harbour before we got above the cloud and mist line. We had a nice wind behind us pushing us all the way up. The rise was 650 metres which is not huge but the ground being so wet made it quite an effort.

We overtook all but one American couple on the way up. When we reached the top they were wandering around looking for the first marker for the route down the other side. It was total white out and the wind was gale force. You couldn’t walk, the wind was so strong it made you run and we had to jam our walking poles into the ground to slow us down. We looked around for a bit but decided we didn’t want to lose contact with the last marker we had seen at the summit, or the American couple, so went back to the top. We knew the route down was initially very steep. A young European couple arrived next and the six of us all fanned out in a line and started searching. Eventually the route was found and we started descending together. It was steep, very muddy and frankly treacherous. Two lost their footing and did hilarious slides down on their butts.

We got down out of the wind as fast as we could. At some large rocks we stopped for a tepid coffee and something to eat and a bit later at a stone farm building stopped for a rest. Most people seemed to stop here to get some respite from the wind. From here the going was pretty easy on a farm road all the way down into the valley of the Owennafeana River and at the coast the hamlet of Brandon. On the way down we saw pyramids of peat that had been cut and were drying ready for being bagged and taken away. At Brandon we bought some real hot coffee and banana bread ( it was now about 3.15 pm). This was after 19 km and the first opportunity to buy any refreshments. Our guide notes then took us on a 6 km ‘scenic route’ with a lot of climbing to get to our destination of Cloghane. This was a waste of time and could have been totally eliminated by sticking to the road.

So now we are washed, and clean, and dry and warm and fed (great meal and a Tom Crean Brewery ale in the pub downstairs) but exhausted after one of those fantastic epic days.