Mournes Ulster MPC 2005 - De La Salle Scout Group Expeditions Series

Ulster MPC 2005

Above: The two teams from the 3rd and the 7th De La Salle Scout Troops on the Mournes Ulster MPC 2005. Back Row (L-R): Stephen O'Rourke, Cian O'hOgartaigh, Eoin Kelly, Graham Kerr, Ian Grant, Shane O'Neill; Front Row (L-R): Billy Collins, Darragh O'Callaghan, Mark O'Keeffe, Colm Ennis.
Below: In Mourne Country.

We had thought that we were going to be headed to Donegal for the 2005 Ulster MPC but when the maps and route descriptions arrived we discovered we were bound for the Mournes in Co. Down. We escaped Waterford by about 2.00pm on Friday the 21st and we were all almost asleep as we made our way through the traffic on the Naas Road until a wave of filthy mucky water came through an open window and landed on Stephen's lap. In the lead car was the team from the 3rd with Cian, Stephen, Colm and guest from the 7th - Eoin Kelly. A half hour behind was Billy with Ian, Mark, Shane, Graham and Darragh. At Newry, Billy took the sneaky decision to head for Warrenpoint while we battled our way through to Newcastle. Amazingly we both arrived at Carrick Little at the same time, both missed the car park and both drove up the wrong muddy track while trying to find it.

Above: Sunrise over Blue Lough.

In the end Billy parked first and we were a little concerned to discover that there didn't seem to be any MPC guys around. Were they all in the Blue Stacks? There was however a team from Dublin also waiting, as well as a crowd from Cork. It was a bit drizzly and misty so we decided we weren't going to hang around and started up the track for the 5k walk-in to the base camp at Blue Lough. The track became a river every now and again and a short diversion up the Mourne Wall meant Billy's team almost caught up with us. We eventually picked up the track along the side of the Annalong Wood and after a tricky river crossing we struck out for Blue Lough. By now it was a good night with a bright moon and on our left we could make out the huge cascade of water running down from Lough Binnian. We were first to basecamp so we had our choice of campsites and eventually found a good dry spot on the south side of the lake. Billy's lads soon joined us but not before they had made a full circuit of the lake.

Above: Ian, Mark, Billy, Shane and Graham from the 7th and
Below: Looking back towards Blue Lough before the ascent to Slievelamagan.

After a bit of a feed, we hit the bed and could hear loads more teams arriving along for the next three hours - what kept them? The next morning was dry and clear and we had a great view of the sunrise across Blue Lough. We were the first team to set out for Slievelamagan, the name of which means 'clinging with hands and feet'. According to local folklore it was so called because it's steepness meant it had to be climbed on all fours. We didn't quite have to resort to that but it certainly was a good tough climb to the summit. From there we could see our route for the day - across to Cove Mountain, up Slieve Beg, along the Brandy track, up to the Mourne Wall and on to the summit of Slieve Donard and down the wall to Hare's castle. We could also see down into the Ben Crom reservoir with its huge dam at its head.

Above: Ascending Slievelamagan with Ben Crom, Slieve Loughshannagh and Slieve Meelbeg on
the other side of the valley behind and
Below: Staff ascend Slievelamagan with summit tor of Slieve Bearnagh in the distance.

We skirted the top of the cliffs on the Upper Cove of Cove Mountain (named after a cave we never saw). We did a bit of feature recognition there before descending to the col beneath Slieve Beg. We relieved Darragh of some of his four litres of water before filling up with more at the stream at the col. Cian meanwhile was heard to tell Colm to slow down which caused a bit of a shock and there was talks of the leadership being taken over by Darragh. We came face to face with the gully which splits the face of Slieve Beg which is ominously named the Devil's Coachroad. We were told to slow down a bit there as at the rate we were moving we would be down at basecamp at 2.00pm. Next stop was the Brandy track which starts at the Bloody Bridge and was used up to 200 years ago as a smuggling route when brandy and other contraband were carried inland from the coast on the backs of old ponies (shelties). We made our way along it beneath the amazing cliffs of the Castles before heading up to the Mourne Wall in preparation for our ascent of Slieve Donard. The wall itself is an amazing piece of work - it stretches for 36 kilometres and is up to 2.5 metres high in places. It connects the summits of 15 mountains with the purpose of protecting the Mourne water supply which provides water for Belfast and much of the surrounding area.

Above: Walking through the granite formations on Cove Mountain.

We were out in front with a team from Dublin - so who would finish the 280 metre climb from the col to the summit of Slieve Donard first? Colm was having none of this coming second craic and the team were ordered to get to the summit first whatever way they could. In true scouting style he declared that anyone who fell behind could "just follow the wall". The smallest member of the Dublin team was by far the fastest and put up an excellent fight for the first 100 metres but he didn't know what he was up against. Colm overtook him and powered on and Stephen despatched him soon afterwards At 1.21pm he became the first scout on the summit. The fast guy from Dublin was next followed by Cian and Eoin who also put in good performances. Darragh arrived respectibly with the rest of the Dublin team to make the summit very crowded.

Above: Stephen approaches the summit of Slieve Donard and
Below: Cian, Darragh, Stephen, Eoin and Colm on the summit cairn.

We couldn't quite see the Harland and Wolfe cranes in Belfast from the summit but we did have a spectacular view of the sea and the coast all the way down to Carlingford Lough with the Cooley mountains on the other side. Slieve Donard at 850 metres is the highest mountain in Ulster and the mound of stones on the top are all that remains of a small oratory that is said to have been built by St. Domangard, a hermit and disciple of St. Patrick in the fifth century. Donard is thought to be a corrupt form of his name. The Mourne Wall also meets at the top and Colm of course had to ignore the "Belfast Water Works - No Trespassing" sign and climbed on to the summit trig point on top of the stone shelter. After a long lunch we got a slightly unhappy hillwalker to take a summit shot and we prepared for the tough descent down to the Bog of Donard.

Above: Eoin treads carefully on the Mourne Wall from the summit of Slieve Donard.

Back down at the bog we met up with Billy and the lads from the 7th and a few other teams who were preparing for a run to the summit. In fairness to Ian, Mark and Shane (steel toecap boots and all) they all made the trip to the top while Graham ran half way to the top twice. We followed the wall to the checkpoint beneath Rocky Mountain which we reached at 3.22pm. We were warned then that we had better get back to basecamp soon as otherwise we would have to eat our dinner in the dark! We decided to risk all and sneakily headed for the summit of Rocky Mountain, our fifth and final peak of the day.

Above: On the summit of Rocky Mountain.

It was good to leave the track for a while and we discovered that the top was indeed quite rocky. We had a good view across on to Chimney Rock, Blaeberry and Spences mountains which were used in the past by local fishermen to guide them to their fishing grounds off the Mourne coast. On the way down, a so called leader was seen to have a fall but had sorted himself out by the time we rounded Hares Castle for the last descent to high camp.

Above: Darragh at Hare's Castle and
Below: Eoin and Darragh set a new Hydra tent pitching record.

At high camp, Cian had a staring match with some poor girl while Eoin Kelly and Darragh O'Callaghan set a new group record when they became the first ever scouts to pitch a Vango Hydra without standing up. This was harder then it even sounds and included an impressive squirm underneath the tent by Darragh. For dinner, Cian annoyingly roasted his socks while others ate only soup and hotdogs. Billy and Colm had to have a packet of scrounged ginger nuts with their scrounged tea in their scrounged mugs. Mark demonstrated his new teeth brushing finger attachments while Stephen destroyed the squeegee which Billy had been given by his mother 35 years earlier after she had bought it especially in Winstons in Waterford (now closed) for two shillings and a penny. The squeegee had been used to remove the burnt remnants of Denny's jumbo sausages and dairygold light butter which had in fairness been used in the preparation of some tasty sausages the previous evening and earlier that morning. Billy however was devastated and his mother, informed by text, was inconsolable. After plenty of cattle noises, we eventually we settled in for a good thirteen hours of sleep.

Above: Cove Mountain, Slieve Beg and Clieve Commedagh and
Slieve Donard in cloud as seen from High Camp.

It was another perfect morning - almost unbelievable for the end of October. At the Scouts Own the weekend was compared to one of the first MPC's in 1992 when the weather hadn't been quite so good and quite a few teams had been washed away when one of the rivers had burst its banks. All of the mountains that we had climbed the previous day were the backdrop while we collected our badges.

Above: The Scout's Own on a perfect October morning.

We took our time on the way out as we had advance warning that our cars were blocked in. Eventually we manoeuvred our way out from behind a slow shower from Cork (of course) and hit the road for the border. We of course didn't stop at Ireland's largest fireworks store and somehow Billy and Pat O'Connor both overtook us on the motorway - could they have been driving faster than 120kph? Colm and the lads did however get through the golden arches in Carlow before Billy's crew. After 403 miles we finally made it back to Waterford City after an excellent and challenging mountaineering weekend.