County MPC 2005 - De La Salle Scout Group Expeditions Series

Above: The County MPC 2005 contingent at Foill an Priosun.

The 11th Annual County Mountain Pursuit Challenge took place in the Comeragh Mountains from Friday the 16th to Sunday the 18th of September 2005. The starting point was at the forest track near Coumshingaun carpark and first of all there was a gear check as well as the distribution of emergency rations sponsored by the De La Salle Scout Group (Mars Delights are very tasty). The gear check can be downloaded in pdf format here. As usual it took some teams an amazing length of time to get ready to leave the car park. The biggest mystery of the weekend however was the size and weight of Billy's rucksack. We were sure that he had an icelandic inside.

Above: Basecamp at Foill an Priosun.

Basecamp was at the mysterious Foill an Priosun which is beside the valley of Fauscoum and close to Coumshingaun and the Coum Mahon. It was only a 1.2 kilometres hike in but it had a tough ascent of 200 metres over steep and heathery ground where Neil Doyle became the first scout to fall down a bog hole. Those who arrived later were able to follow the row of flashing lights expertly placed by Sully, John and Colm who had been first on the scene. We had chosen an excellent campsite (we guaranteed a luxurious bed of heather and we delivered) and if you listened carefully you could easily locate the stream.

Above: Early morning at Basecamp and
Below: A September sunrise as seen from Foill an Priosun.

Foill an Priosun translates as "The Prison Cliff" but it also has a second Irish name of Priosun na nGabhar - "The Goat's Prison". As everyone arrived it got cooler and Carlos our new Spanish Scout admitted that its not quite so cold in Spain. The view over County Waterford was made all the more impressive by the amazing full harvest moon which lit up the whole campsite as well as the spectacular cliffs behind. There was a mad variety of hike tents on display but one belonging to one of the event organisers had surely collapsed. How could anyone fit into anything that small?

Above: Grubs up at basecamp.

Saturday morning delivered the fantastic weather which had also been guaranteed by the organisers. The sunrise for those who were up early enough to see it was exceptional and it wasn't long until the sun took the chill off the morning. The teams set off with just daypacks in stages and the first base was with Deirdre and Jessica down at the edge of the Kilclooney Forest who went through how to recognise and treat hyperthermia. Right on schedule, the coastguard rescue helicopter gave us a flyover and checked out our progress.

Above: Tom O'Neill - half man, half goat.

A tough trek through the ferns along the edge of the forest followed, at the end of which Barry and John tested people out with a bit of feature recognition. Just down from them were Gary Sinnott and Sully who were running a compass course while Colm did a base on moving fast on the mountains. The secret apparently is (1) Be Mountain Fit (2) Eat the right food (3) Carry the right gear and (4) Choose the best route. Flapjacks, nutri grains, pasta with loads of calories and chocolate raisins are also essential. They are best purchased of course from your local Caulfield's SuperValu!

Above: Deirdre, Jessica and Gary depart from basecamp.

The next base was run by the South East Mountain Rescue who had two of their jeeps and a load of their rescue equipment along with them. They did a demonstration on how all of their equipment works and also on the techniques they used in mountain rescues. We also learnt that if you have to report an accident in the mountains you should be able to tell the rescue team the exact location and grid reference of the accident, the time it occurred, how many people are involved, injuries sustained and the ground and weather conditions at the casualty site. Thanks to Donal and all the lads from SEMRA for coming along - hopefully we won't see them again too soon!

Above and Below : At the South East Mountain Rescue Base.

After the SEMRA base we headed for Coumshingaun and at the huge rock half way up we had a base run by two local photographers, Aidan Ennis and Emily Dixon who showed us the best way to take pictures in the outdoors and also demonstrated the difference filters and having a decent camera can make. They also had an excellent display of different types of mountain pictures from all over the world.

Above: Getting tips on mountain photography from Aidan and
Below: St. Paul's relax at Coumshingaun.

From there it was on up to Coumshingaun lake for a bit of lunch and to psyche ourselves up for the ascent of the gully at the side of the lake. Not everyone opted for that route but those who did described it as 'interesting'. Before setting off there were even a few that braved a dip in the lake. The hike back to basecamp was tough for everybody and Richard Smith wasn't the only person who completely disappeared down a hole disguised by all the heather.

Above: The wild feral goats of Foill an Priosun.

Back at the campsite, the Foill and Priosun goats were finally spotted and Paschal, Cian and Guinter made outstanding efforts to get a photo of them. Colm and TC also snuck up on them from the top of the gully while Tom O'Neill in the new scout uniform may have actually turned into a goat. After dinner and a group photo on the Foill Rock we took it easy for the evening.

Above: Preparing dinner at basecamp and
Below: Mark O'Keeffe with his hat at basecamp.

The next morning we had a good lie in until TC woke us with the bagpipes which had been especially transported in for the occasion. That made for a fine start to the day. The water levels of the streams nearby the previous day had been checked and it was decided that the 5th annual duck race would have to be postponed until the next county fun weekend. After a thorough clean up of the site, we took our time on the hike out and everyone managed to get back to the cars without any injuries or mishaps. The Hat and Gloves competition winner was announced as Mark O'Keeffe from the 7th who was awarded his prize by Paschal Guilfoyle which had been sponsored by Altitude on Ballybricken. Overall it was a very successful County MPC which had excellent weather, good bases an interesting route and the largest turnout for several years.

Above: Departing from Coumshingaun.

>>> Check out our County MPC 2005 Gallery Page.

Above: Tom Casey pipes in the sun at basecamp at Foill an Priosun.

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