As sure as night is dark and day is light
I keep you on my mind both day and night
And happiness I've known proves that it's right
Because you're mine, I walk the line
Just when I thought that my night walking was over with until next January, I went and did it again. Last Saturday evening at 7, Joanne, Mags and I made our way to Larch Hill, just outside of Dublin to have our wet gear inspected, our first aid kits checked and our waivers signed. We then stood on the side of a hill for an hour while the midges tested our resolve and we contemplated the 30km hike that lay ahead of us. The intended route was from Kippure mountain, in south county Dublin northwards back to Larch Hill over 6 mountains and along the Dublin-Wicklow way.
It’ll come as a surprise to some of you that I do learn from my mistakes. The sock sodden near trench foot memories of the Art O’Neill challenge of last January gave me the incentive to go and invest in a new pair of hiking boots. The second lesson I learned was that doing something like this solo was an unnecessary hardship and so we signed up to take this challenge on guided. Martin “the weather” King had promised a fine night with clear skies. The day had the look of fulfilling his promise and renewing my faith in the weather forecasters. That was until the heavens opened at 5pm to give us a taste of what was to come. We had decided that the best way to accomplish this challenge was with speed and so we joined the fast group with an estimated speed of 5kph and a finishing time of 8 hours(ish). For the mathematicians out there I know the figures don’t match but they had to take into account food breaks, head counts and losses!! Once we were organised into our group of 11 we waited to be bussed along Military Road to the base of Kippure Mountain.
Once we were off the bus we hit off at a blistering pace and covered the 5km ascent in 35 minutes. The weather took a bit of a turn for the worse at this stage and made the next 8km pretty miserable. Once again there were bog holes to be manoeuvred around and through but we still managed to make it to our checkpoint in 2 hours. After a quick snickers, some oranges and a bottle of water we marched up Military Road.
Between 1800 and 1809 after the rebellions of 1798, the British army were force to build a road along the spine of the Wicklow Mountains to assist them I capturing rebel insurgents who were hiding in the mountains. After our short march we stared into the next part of the challenge, which would bring us to our main food station at Prince Williams Seat. This entailed another 3 mountains and puddles of water that resembled a mix between the Dead Marshes in The Lord of the Rings and the Bog of Eternal Stench in Labyrinth. Most of the time it was a step into the unknown in the hope of landing on something solid but more often than not being knee deep. Thankfully the rain had subsided but the altitude brought blinding drizzle and fog. We marched and waded through conquering the mountains until we reached Prince Williams Seat and took a well-deserved rest with more chocolate, oranges and sandwiches. At this stage we were over half way through the hike and heading onto familiar ground.
I keep you on my mind both day and night
And happiness I've known proves that it's right
Because you're mine, I walk the line
Just when I thought that my night walking was over with until next January, I went and did it again. Last Saturday evening at 7, Joanne, Mags and I made our way to Larch Hill, just outside of Dublin to have our wet gear inspected, our first aid kits checked and our waivers signed. We then stood on the side of a hill for an hour while the midges tested our resolve and we contemplated the 30km hike that lay ahead of us. The intended route was from Kippure mountain, in south county Dublin northwards back to Larch Hill over 6 mountains and along the Dublin-Wicklow way.
It’ll come as a surprise to some of you that I do learn from my mistakes. The sock sodden near trench foot memories of the Art O’Neill challenge of last January gave me the incentive to go and invest in a new pair of hiking boots. The second lesson I learned was that doing something like this solo was an unnecessary hardship and so we signed up to take this challenge on guided. Martin “the weather” King had promised a fine night with clear skies. The day had the look of fulfilling his promise and renewing my faith in the weather forecasters. That was until the heavens opened at 5pm to give us a taste of what was to come. We had decided that the best way to accomplish this challenge was with speed and so we joined the fast group with an estimated speed of 5kph and a finishing time of 8 hours(ish). For the mathematicians out there I know the figures don’t match but they had to take into account food breaks, head counts and losses!! Once we were organised into our group of 11 we waited to be bussed along Military Road to the base of Kippure Mountain.
Once we were off the bus we hit off at a blistering pace and covered the 5km ascent in 35 minutes. The weather took a bit of a turn for the worse at this stage and made the next 8km pretty miserable. Once again there were bog holes to be manoeuvred around and through but we still managed to make it to our checkpoint in 2 hours. After a quick snickers, some oranges and a bottle of water we marched up Military Road.
Between 1800 and 1809 after the rebellions of 1798, the British army were force to build a road along the spine of the Wicklow Mountains to assist them I capturing rebel insurgents who were hiding in the mountains. After our short march we stared into the next part of the challenge, which would bring us to our main food station at Prince Williams Seat. This entailed another 3 mountains and puddles of water that resembled a mix between the Dead Marshes in The Lord of the Rings and the Bog of Eternal Stench in Labyrinth. Most of the time it was a step into the unknown in the hope of landing on something solid but more often than not being knee deep. Thankfully the rain had subsided but the altitude brought blinding drizzle and fog. We marched and waded through conquering the mountains until we reached Prince Williams Seat and took a well-deserved rest with more chocolate, oranges and sandwiches. At this stage we were over half way through the hike and heading onto familiar ground.
The last stage of the walk brought us through the sleeping village of Glencullen and onto the marked out pathway of the Wicklow way, guiding us to the Fairy Castle and Three Rock Mountain. If I could have taken Sunday night’s weather at this point I would gladly have taken it. The sunrise would have been exceptional and would have put the whole night’s adventure on a pedestal. Unfortunately the magic of the Fairy Castle didn’t shine through and so we spent sunrise in the grey mountain clouds. Rumour had it that there were breakfast rolls back at Larch Hill for the competitors and with 6km left the smell of bacon was in the morning air. And so with one last spurt we started our descent on Larch Hill and after a gruelling 7hours and 33 minutes we crossed over the finish line and, true to the rumours, we were rewarded with our breakfast roll and coffee.
The Walk the Line challenge is a great event. €75 of the entry fee go towards Dublin-Wicklow mountain rescue, which like the Clare Crusaders rely heavily on fundraising. It’s an extremely well organised challenge and is well worth a thought for the summer solstice next year.
The Walk the Line challenge is a great event. €75 of the entry fee go towards Dublin-Wicklow mountain rescue, which like the Clare Crusaders rely heavily on fundraising. It’s an extremely well organised challenge and is well worth a thought for the summer solstice next year.
J Walkin