Three Summit Hike - December 2nd 2012

The Three Summit Hike - December 2nd 2012


Not the North Pole but the summit of Tonelagee Dec 2nd 2012 - Wind swept, covered with snow and surrounded in mist

Do you believe in the existence of a 'sanity gene'? Well, I'm convinced it exists and is responsible for keeping us on the straight and narrow. It should, when functioning properly, ensure we make 'sane' decisions. Experts out there who deny the existence of the 'sanity gene' have simply failed to discover it.

Well, I know I lost mine on the night of November 24th 2012 on the summit of Djouce Mountain during a night time hike. I had some reservations heading out that evening but after summiting Djouce Mountain my mind and body were not acting in tandem. My body was tired, in fact I was exhausted, but my mind did not intervene as one would expect it to do in the interest of self-preservation. My sanity gene had escaped. I don't know if sanity genes come in different sizes but I suspect mine was probably small to start with because it often allowed me to do some very stupid things, but that's another story.

This week has provided me with final proof to support my contention that (a) there is such a thing as a sanity gene and (b) I lost mine.

The plan for Sunday December 2nd was to undertake three summits (camaderry, Tonelagee and Scarr) starting out from Glendalough at 9am and completing the hike in about eight hours. the weather forecast included rain, sleet and the possibility of snow. I thought this would be great and I was looking forward to the challenge. Where was my sanity gene?

I met with team in the car park at the Glendalough Visitor Centre at about 9am. There were only ten of us setting off at about 9:15am, seven from the December Kili team, Niamh our guide and two of Anna's friends, Rose and Laura.The team members included Paula, Vincent, Lydia, Anna, Jonathan, Thomas and myself. We were to be joined by others along the route.

          

Lydia's three photos of Camaderry

So, we set off along the trail to the summit of Camaderry. It was a perfect morning for a hike, cool and dry. Have a look at some of the images from Camaderry, smiling faces all round 



Shortly after setting off along the trail on Camaderry - lots of smiles

We approached the summit walking from east to west and made good time stopping for very short breaks and once to get our wet gear out as conditions began to deteriorate.



Half way up Camaderry, still smiling with a snowcapped Tonelagee in the background

Upon reaching the summit we met up with Joe, Aiden and Siobhan who planned to complete the rest of the hike with us. Our descent continued towards the west, alongside the perimeter of the Turlough Hill Power station. We continued downhill, in a northerly direction, along the road until we reached the Wicklow Gap car park. At this point Joe, Aiden and Siobhan decided to leave the team. Sanity genes obviously securely in place. We took a lunch break here in the freezing cold. I could only keep my gloves off for a few minutes. Shortly before setting off again Vincent and Paula had to leave. Paula was soaked through and made the right call to head back towards Glendalough, still a two hour walk along the road.
 
We crossed the road, and heading to the north we started our ascent of Tonelagee. Niamh had warned us about the difficulty of the climb. With no pathways it’s a straight up slog through the bog.


Our first steps into the snow on Tonelagee

The weather conditions continued to disimprove with mist clouding out the mountain above and below us. The climb was very difficult and before long we were walking in snow. This is another hazard because you do not know what’s underfoot, rock, bog or hole. It made each step more difficult as you pulled your tired feet out of one hole and into another.

What a great feeling when we finally reached the summit. Niamh promised it would be all downhill now. I think it was at this point that the third summit was ruled out.

The survivors on the summit of Tonelagee - (Anna's photo)

Niamh led us in a north easterly direction down the far side of Tonelagee Mountain. We passed Lough Ouler on our left, barely visible in the dense mist. We eventually came upon a trail and followed this to the final ‘tricky bit’ (Niamh’s words) and river crossing. We arrived at the Glenmacnass car park and took a short break. It was after 4pm and light was beginning to fail. There was no way we could start up Scarr Mountain so we set off along Military Road toward Laragh, at least one and a half hours away. Darkness was upon us before long and luckily there was very little traffic on the road. About one kilometer before Laragh Niamh took pity on us and took a shortcut through the woods bypassing the town. After fifteen minutes we emerged from the woods and found ourselves back on the road and just ten minutes from the Glendalough Visitor Centre and sanctuary. It was almost 6pm.

I should mention that while we stood on the summit of Tonelagee we met many other groups, some as small as three or four members and others with as many as 28. I noticed many of them ploughing through the snow with eyes scanning the ground, left then right, left then right. I know they were looking for a displaced sanity gene, no doubt there are many scattered across the Wicklow Mountains. Perhaps one day I will stumble across one but I have not yet decided if I would actually retrieve it, right now I’m just enjoying the insanity of it all.

Niamh on Tonelagee summit

NOTE: if I ever get stuck up a mountain in very poor weather conditions, surrounded by saturated bog lands, with no sign of any pathways but have the option to beam in a friend, I know who I will call. Niamh is not just a great guide she is really good company (when you can keep up with her). Thanks for getting us through these hikes in such dreadful weather.

This is my recollection of the route we took on Dec 2nd. Niamh will send official route later