Members Walks.  4th October 2020.

“A”  walk. 

Carrauntoohil via O’Shea’s Gully. Down the Heavenly Gates.

Area;            Kilgobnet,  Hag’s Glen.

Meeting Point;     Hanafin’s bar Annascaul at 09:00

Starting  and finishing point;    Cronin’s Yard.

Distance;     7.6 miles. 12.5 KM.

Maximum Elevation;   3414 ft,  1039 M.

Grade;  Very Hard..

Time;     5 hours.

Terrain;   Rough track open mountainside with sheer cliffs.

Leader,       Tom.

We leave Hanafin’s bar Annascaul at 09:00 and drive to Cronin’s yard near Kilgobnet / Beaufort.

Our walk is South Westerly through the Hag’s Glen till we come to the stepping stones.  Here we follow the Gaddagh River to the Goat’s Lake ane to the base of Beehkeeragh.  Then our climb gets very steep. We follow a precipitous path upwards through the three hanging glens between Carrauntoohil and Beenkeeragh passing the Devil’s Looking Glass (the highest lake in Ireland).  Then we ascend the treacherous O’Shea’s Gully which takes us to the Carrauntoohil Beenkeeragh rddge.  From there its only a short step to to summit of Carrauntoohil.  Our descent is even more perilous. Initially it follows the tourist route towarrds the top of the Devil’s Ladder but above the Ladder we turn North along a faint track which takes us to the Heavenly Gates along a very airy track with a sheer precipice below.  We then have a very steep descent from the Heavenly gates to the track leading down to the Hag’s Glen.

“B”  walk.  The Hag’s Glen Loop.

Area;   Kilgobnet / Beaufort.

Meeting Point;   Hanafin’s bar Annascaul at 09:00

Starting and finishing point: Cronin’s Yard.

Distance;  4.5 miles,  7.3 KM.

Maximum Elevation;   1135 ft,  346 M.

Grade;  Easy.

Time;   4 hours 30 minutes.

Terrain; Wet muddy track,  stony track.

Leader.    Wade.

We meet at 09:00 in Annascaul and drive to Cronin’s Yard near Beaufort.  We have a lovely easy walk today, a loop of the Hag’s Glen.  We initially take the route of the “A”  walkers, Sout Westerly along the Hag’s Glen but we veer more Southerly and follow the marked path below the Eastern Reeks.  If the day is very good we may decide  to climb to the Snake’s Lake which nestles in a fold of the Reeks Ridge far above us. This of course whuld add at least another two hours to our time.  Proceeding along the low path we follow the path towards the bottom of the Devil’s Ladder where the path joins the well trodden track back to Cronin’s Yard.