Skip to main content

Gougane Barra -- A great trip but only for (!!) the foggy weather

On Saturday we went to Gougane Barra and did a big loop on the mountains around the lake and took over 5 hours. This trip could have been fantastic but for the weather. The cloud and the mist stayed right down on top of us all day long. When we started I think everyone had jackets on but not too far out the same jackets were not long coming back off, as even though it was misty and mucky it was still quite warm and the sweat was beginning to flow very early so all the jackets came off.

The conditions were very overcast, foggy, misty and a slight drizzle and you could hardly see a 100 yards in front of you for most of the trip and underfoot it was mucky and with all of this the going was slow as at all times getting the right co-ordinates was high on the list. 
The climb itself was not that hard, after about an hour long gradual climb up all the rest is quite easy and almost level but wet ground and high grasses in places can make the walk very tough.

Lunchtime :)


The picture tells the story about this walk...

The second half of the route might be very challenging in poor visibility as there's no defined path and good navigating skills are essential. Flattish Bealick top with no defined and clearly visible high point gives you an illusion that everywhere you look it's all the same. It's just a very high boggy upland covered with long grass and it's very easy to fall into a bog hole so keep your head down and mind your steps.

As the Club's training officer, Denis O'Mahony had his chance to give the others a little navigation training. Map reading, compass using and measuring the distance as you walk are the three most important things. If you're not familiar with them, always go with an experienced leader especially in poor visibility. 
All the route was navigated with map and compass with a little bit of GPS help just to confirm the position in some tricky places like Bealick top.



Coming down back to Gougane Barra Lake may be a little bit tricky in wet conditions as some rocks can be slippy.




We had a group of 11 and we had good Craic and the banter was lively as usual and we all agreed some other day we would have to come back here again as guaranteed on a clear day this trip would have been spectacular as in the distant at odd times you could see glimpses of places from Bantry Bay to The Paps and with the fact that there was so many nearby lakes this would be a great trip. We took some photos by the lake and had some refreshments in the cafe.





Comments

Popular posts from this blog

The Claragh Loop

 The Claragh Loop is a great walk in North West Cork near Millstreet,   for our Club and our members it is not that far away and in some ways for us it is so close most people never bother doing it, thinking the far away fields are greener.  We use it as a Club Walk once a year but our members often use it go for a walk by themselves or in a small group regularly just to get out for a bit of fresh air or excercise.   To get there you go into Millstreet, turn down the road between Centra & the Church and travel out the Clara Rd. going past the turn off for the Mount Leader Industrial Estate for about a mile until you meet a Grotto and just beyond this you park on the right on the bend. If it is busy around here you may have to go back down to the Clara Rd. and walk back up,  You then proceed to walk up the small road on the town side of where you are after parking until you meet the entrance into the forest on your right . This is the start of the Claragh Loop.You then proceed up

Cumeengeera Horseshoe

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 t

St. Finbars Pilgrim Route -Kealkill To Gougane Barra

On Sunday 8th April the club walk was the Kealkill to Gougane Barra section of the Saint Finbarr’s Way. After leaving town at 09.15 we made our way to Gougane Barra, where we had coffee and left a car with our change of clothes. We then continued to Kealkill to begin our walk. As it was Pilgrim Path week the car park was full so we had to park in the village. We started at Carriganass  ( Rock of the waterfall ) Castle. This castle was an outpost of Donal Cam O’Sullivan Beare. After the battle of Kinsale in 1602, having lost control of his strongholds in Dunboy and Dursey. He led his band of 1000 followers past this castle in mid winter, on a tragic journey to Leitrim. Attacked by both Irish and English on the way only 35 arrived in Leitrim 14 days later. We continued up the road past the castle climbing all the way. After after a little Bantry Bay can be seen.  Two and a half kilometers later we leave the road crossing a stile on our left, climbing steeply towards Knockbreteen hi