A wet day at the Reeks

GO IRELAND: It may not be his idea of a perfect day out, but BRIAN O'CONNELLenjoys his first-ever hiking experience on Kerry's highest mountain

FOR SOME people, the perfect way to mark the weekend is to pull on a muddy pair of hiking boots and hit the great outdoors. I’m not one of those people. Suffering from a fear of heights and general physical exertion while on holidays, my idea of a day out is a day in.

So, it was with a certain sense of trepidation and reluctance I went on my first-ever hiking experience in Ireland a few weekends back as part of a new initiative in Kerry entitled “Trek on the Reeks”.

Some of Kerry’s best and most experienced walking guides are running bi-monthly Saturday outings from now until September, giving visitors a low-budget way to experience the MacGillycuddy’s Reeks. The full-day treks include Carrauntoohil, Ireland’s highest mountain, which is a Category A trek and ideal for regular hillwalkers who have prior high peak experience or also those who want to experience mountain climbing for the first time.

We set out one Saturday at 9.30am, from the Malton Hotel, where staff had lunches waiting for us at reception. The hotel has noticed a large increase in walking groups and other outdoor enthusiasts in recent years and as a result has sought to tailor overnight packages accordingly, with later dinner settings available, storage space for canoes or bikes, and assistance with accommodation for groups.

Duty manager Mark Bowe says that from May to September there is now a strong walking or hiking market in Killarney and that many hotels are beginning to capitalise on this. It has also led to greener policies being introduced in some hotels. “We are going green with our own vegetable patch and poly-tunnel and are currently building our own herb garden,” says Bowe. “We’re taking about 200,000 tonnes of carbon out of the environment this year by reducing energy use here. Partly that is driven by the visitors, such as walking tours, who are very conscious of the environment.”

The first mistake I made was arriving with the wrong clothing. I learned pretty quickly that a denim shirt and a pair of cords are not quite mountaineering attire. Thankfully, in Cronin’s Yard, one of the traditional starting points for taking on the MacGillycuddy’s Reeks, our guides Niall Keogh and Michael O’Connor introduced me to experienced climber John Cronin, who was able to lend me some proper gear, including a decent jacket and waterproof trousers.

The weather starting out was overcast, but otherwise looked fine, and we joined many other climbers heading up O’Shea’s Gully through one of the most iconic ascents on Carrauntoohil. Along the way there were tourists, students, groups, couples and individual walkers heading in the same direction, and while many of them were setting out on their own, it was reassuring to be in the company of experienced guides leading the way.

One frustration with the mountains, though, was that signage was pretty much non-existent (much of the land is privately owned) and so had I set out on my own, I felt it would have been difficult to identify landmarks. Our hope was to complete about a quarter of the MacGillycuddy’s Reeks ridge walk, and we reckoned it would take about seven hours to go up and down the route.

Along the way, we were told about the history of the area and given some insights into the flora and fauna of this part of Kerry from O’Connor, who recently retired from his day job to concentrate on leading tours through the mountains.

“We give a bit of lake, lore and legend and like to have a chat about the countryside and whatever plants are in season,” says O’Connor. “We’ll always talk about the weather, of course. And we look a bit at the effect of the ice age on the area. We can see into Kenmare Bay and Dingle Bay as well as north Cork from the top of the mountain on a clear day.”

O’Connor points out that tourists have been coming to this part of Kerry since the Victorian era, with these 19th century visitors having named the Devil’s Ladder area of the mountain. The 1851 census records families living on the mountains, and during our climb we saw evidence of the stone walls of their settlement. At one time, even an Royal Irish Constabulary barracks was placed at the Gap of Dunloe, to aid travellers going through. “It was there to guard them from what one newspaper of the time called ‘unlicensed guides selling illicit potions and lotions and soliciting jobs’,” says O’Connor.

An hour into our walk and the weather had suddenly turned quite nasty. The wind picked up considerably and the rain was becoming heavy, especially on the higher ground. We had made it to the foot of the Devil’s Ladder, past an area known as the Hag’s Glen, and had to make a call on whether or not it was safe to continue.

The temperature at the top of the mountain can be significantly lower than at the bottom and the high winds were likely to make some areas of the climb treacherous. While our guide considered the options, adolescent French tourists in jeans and T-shirts scrambled past.

Despite the conditions, the scenery was stunning, but many climbers were turning back and reassessing their positions. The 10 climbers in our group collectively, with the help of the guide’s advice, decided to turn back. I was glad, as despite the assuring presence of O’Connor, it had stopped being fun as the wind and rain picked up and it became difficult to maintain footing.

I could only marvel at other groups who kept pressing on up the mountain, including two troupes of boy scouts. One girl scrambled past wearing hot pants.

Within an hour, we were back in Cronin’s Yard, where John Cronin was serving up bowls of hot soup and cups of tea. We took showers, put on warm socks and sat in beside the radiator. Tom Crean was probably turning in his grave.

Join the walks

The Day on the Reeks treks cost €30 per person. The Walk Killarney 2011 programme also offers an extensive catalogue of weekly walks to suit all fitness levels, starting from only €10 per person. Tel: 1850-566466 or emailwalk@killarney.ie to book. For information on Walk Killarney 2011, see killarney.ie