“I like what you did yesterday but today you need to get out and do something” said Martin the hostel manager with his thick Polish accent. The day before I did nothing but as I contemplated what to do Thursday morning Martin gave me his opinion like a coach. “Yes, of course, today I will bike and hike Mt, Carountohil, the highest mountain in Ireland”, said I. “Ok, let me get you a bike, time is not on your side, you need to get going!”, said Martin.
Actually, the timing was just right. It quit raining for the moment and when I’m motivated I can move pretty quick. My runs in France and the 8 days of walking along the English coast had whipped me back into shape. I quickly threw a day pack together and hopped on a bike for a ride that would take me an hour to get to the trailhead.
I didn’t have a map but I have a funny knack for visually remembering directions and prices of things. Go figure? I took a photo of a simple map at the hostel for backup and headed on my way. With no problem I found the trailhead and starting walking up an open valley full of green and cloud enshrouded mountains.
About 30 minutes into the hike I caught up with a Kiwi father and son bound for the peak as well. Kiwis are what you call people from New Zealand. Anyway, we got to talking and hiked together. Such is the way these things often work out.
The actual climb was pretty straight forward. Up the valley, up a steep gully with rocks and scree to a saddle/pass, then take a right following cairns (rock piles marking the route) and don’t get lost in the thick fog, mist, and rain. Staying on route in such conditions is best managed by going cairn to cairn because fog and cloud mist can be very disorienting. The hope in climibing during such conditions is at some point the clouds will briefly clear to allow for some kind of view.
The crux was a steep rocky scree gully known as the “Devils Staircase” with a stream running through it but relatively speaking the rock was quite stable and it really wasn’t too difficult to navigate. I kind of thought the wet red colored rock interspersed with green vegetation added to the atmosphere and beauty of it all.
In Ireland the weather changes every 15 minutes and the forecasts, from what I can tell, are pretty much useless. Since mountains tend to create their own weather regardless the general rule, in Ireland, is to just go and do whatever you want to do and be prepared for sun, wind, and rain.
Even in thick cloud mist it’s hard to miss the summit of Carountohil with its large iron cross and hand piled stone wall structure for wind protection. We caught up to a couple of other groups on top with everyone waiting it out a bit in hopes of the clouds opening up a little. A minute here and a minute there would revealed a view off to one side or the other but after awhile the cold wet wind started to get pretty uncomfortable so we headed down.
As we descended the cloud ceiling began to rise and we could see a nice grassy ridge opposite of the Devils Staircase. The ridge revealed a nice, yet little longer, high loop option that offered a very scenic and much more pleasant descent route. Absolutely beautiful. As the clouds stuck to the summit of Carountohil the surrounding area began to clear with spectacular views.
Back down in the valley it was a pleasant stroll to the trailhead parking lot where I took a cup at a local tea shop before heading back to Killarney on my bike. Despite vairiable weather it was a great introduction to the mountains of Ireland. I'm sure I'll find my way to the top of a few more before I leave the country.
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