The Hags Glen at 7am is a magical place. As I walked through the Glen ,surrounded by Irelands largest peaks, the only sounds are from the river Gaddagh and the odd bird chirping as the Sun rises up from the East.
It's about a 2.5 mile trek to the base of Carrauntohil, and the closer you get , the more daunting it seems.It was a good day for climbing.Cool but not cold. Virtually no wind.So no excuses!!
The route I chose was up through 'O Sheas Gully and assuming all went well I planned to descend down through the aptly named "Heavenly Gates".
I managed to reach the summit after about 2.5 hours, a little bit out of breath , but none the worse for wear. I had the summit all to myself(first time this has happend for me).
Unfortunately by the time I had reached the top, the clouds descended and shrouded the summit.Visabilty was down to about 30-40 feet.
Soon, others started arriving, one guy was setting up a checkpoint for a charity hike.He told me that there were about 50 people taking part.
Another thing which caught my eye was this little plaque that was at the summit.I think it goes to show that the old saying "your health is your wealth", really is worth remembering, especially in our current economic climate.
I have since found out that the plaque was left here by Gerry Walker.
Gerry suffered from Cystic Fibrosis, and recieved a double lung transplant from Martin.
He has since gone on to climb the 4 highest peaks in Ireland,Scotland,Wales and England.
More info here....http://www.4peaks4life.ie/index.html
So getting up was one thing and now my journey down...
From the summit, I headed down towards the Devils Ladder, before I got to the start of the Ladder,I turned left and was able to pick up the path to the "Heavenly Gates".
It's about a 2.5 mile trek to the base of Carrauntohil, and the closer you get , the more daunting it seems.It was a good day for climbing.Cool but not cold. Virtually no wind.So no excuses!!
The route I chose was up through 'O Sheas Gully and assuming all went well I planned to descend down through the aptly named "Heavenly Gates".
I managed to reach the summit after about 2.5 hours, a little bit out of breath , but none the worse for wear. I had the summit all to myself(first time this has happend for me).
Unfortunately by the time I had reached the top, the clouds descended and shrouded the summit.Visabilty was down to about 30-40 feet.
Soon, others started arriving, one guy was setting up a checkpoint for a charity hike.He told me that there were about 50 people taking part.
Another thing which caught my eye was this little plaque that was at the summit.I think it goes to show that the old saying "your health is your wealth", really is worth remembering, especially in our current economic climate.
I have since found out that the plaque was left here by Gerry Walker.
Gerry suffered from Cystic Fibrosis, and recieved a double lung transplant from Martin.
He has since gone on to climb the 4 highest peaks in Ireland,Scotland,Wales and England.
More info here....http://www.4peaks4life.ie/index.html
The Plaque which caught my eye at the summit.
From the summit, I headed down towards the Devils Ladder, before I got to the start of the Ladder,I turned left and was able to pick up the path to the "Heavenly Gates".
View from the Heavenly Gates
This is probably the easiest and most scenic route down from Carraun.It takes you down past the Kerry Mountain Rescue hut, and eventually down under the famed "Hags Tooth" until you reach Lough Gouragh .From there its a lovely trek back through the Hags Glen, to Cronins Yard.
This is probably the easiest and most scenic route down from Carraun.It takes you down past the Kerry Mountain Rescue hut, and eventually down under the famed "Hags Tooth" until you reach Lough Gouragh .From there its a lovely trek back through the Hags Glen, to Cronins Yard.
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