Thursday was one of those days,that's the only way to start!
Ed,Rusty & myself had been planning a Circular trek in the inner Mournes hoping to take in the Devils coacroad,the Shelter stone & Ben Crom reserve.It was an early start to the day with me catching the 7.15 bus to Newcastle,ed & rusty would be meeting me in Newcastle.
With some time to kill I got some coffee & availed of some free hot water for my instant porridge,the views along Newcastle promenade are excellent
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With some time to kill I got some coffee & availed of some free hot water for my instant porridge,the views along Newcastle promenade are excellent
With rusty & ed now arrived in Newcastle we made our way along the main street towards Donard park,I've always disliked the Glen river path,so we used the other trek through the woods just past the YMCA,reaching the second bridge we noticed lots of forestry work going on,again we turned into the woods taking the inner trial towards the last bridge.
Now onto the trek & past the Ice-house,our pace was quite good & we reached the ascent to saddle,stopping to catch our breath & take in some views.The weather was cloudy,humid,with forecasted rain later in the day we were hoping to by back on the saddle for around three or four o'clock.
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Reaching the Commedagh,Donard col we stopped for food in true "Hobbit" style,sausage,bacon,mushrooms,having filled our guts we crossed over the stile hooking onto the Brandy Pad.
After a while we turned onto the trail leading onto Beg so the guys could have a look down the Devils coachroad,also a good chance to get the Slieve Beg summit geocache.
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We descended slieve Beg into Annalong valley along a gorge,it was at this pont Rusty got a call & needed to get home a.sa.p,so we decided to walk him over to the Carricklittle trek we're he got the Mourne rambler bus to Newcastle.
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Another wee check on the weather,overcast but slightly colder,reaching Blue lough we stopped again for some steaks & coffee.with our bellies full again we crossed over the Binnian,Lamagan col dropping down the steep descent onto Ben Crom reserve,with the first drops of rain hitting us as stepped onto the trial to the Shelter stone,the trek itself was much better the the one on the other bank i took last week.
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On an OS 125 it shows a trek running from Ben Crom reserve back onto the Brandy pad, " it's not there "well nothing more that a broken goat trek,at this point the rain really started to pour down something serious,with some severe scree slope on the Kileel we decided to ascend to avoid the danger.
We were not faced with another obstacle the swollen Kikeel river,our ideal crossing point was a "no-go" so we continued along its bank searching for a crossing point,the pace was slow having to manevoer over boulders,finally we found a spot to cross,I went first with ed just behind me.
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We started the steep ascent towards the Brandy pad & it was great to be on a well trotted trek,earlier in the day we had passed a few spots on the Brandy pad where the scree breaks the path & it now concerned, me as to how much water was flowing down it,reaching this point my fears were now a reality,with
Some carefully placed footing we crossed the first hazard.
Now reaching the castles of Commedagh we reached into Eds pack for our head torches in the failing light,"they were gone " we must have lost them crossing one of the rivers,at this point alarms bells started to ring,it was getting dark,we still had water to cross,& very steep ground to descent without torches.
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Questions & answers were rattling around my head,can we descent without torches,what waters still need crossed,how late are we now from checking in,should we start to contact folk?At this point the wind began to increase
With visiability now down to around 8 feet I decided to make the call !
Making a decision like that's never easy,pride plays a lot on you're mind,it's embarrassing having to ask for help,admitting you need assistance,but with serious risk of hypothermia I swallowed my pride & dialled 999 !
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ed at my folk's house 1am,of course we needed a feed
Dialling 999 for assistance can be one of the toughest decisions you'll ever make in the Mountains but rest assured it can and does save lives. Prompt decisive action can get you the help you need preventing a situation getting unnecessarily worse and ensuring the best possible outcome for all involved. Mountain Rescue Teams and ourselves in particular would never criticise someone for requesting assistance when in any doubt whatsoever, on their part or on the part of someone else. We would like to say 'Well Done' to those who do take such action to call. Dial 999 and ask for the 'MOURNE MOUNTAIN RESCUE TEAM', on call 24/7
taken from the MMRT facebook
I spoke to the operator detailing our grid reference,& our concerns,minutes later we received a call from the MMRT ,we again pasted on all our details & concerns,after again giving a fresh grid reference we we told to sit tight & wait for help,the weather now was very severe with lashing rain & gale force winds,its strange how quickly the body temperature drops when you’re not walking ,at this point I remembered how ‘Bear’raise’s his body temperature so I started star jumps,lol,anyway it really worked,after some time we seen a glare through the hill fog below us,it was he MMRT,& with a ‘whoosh’ two flares lit up the valley in front of us !
We watched as the team got closer, the whole time my mind thinking,”bet Liam’s on of the first guy’s up “ now reacing us I was somewhat delighted not to see his face!The first two runners to reach us messaged back to the rest of the team that we had been located & we both uninjured,next word’s I heard were, “alright john “ ahhh it was Liam & I would never live it down!Sorry mate but I was really gald to see you,but it seems when I slagged off it never stop’s !
We were instructed to put our wet gloves & hats back on as these would heat up as we walked back down,I was given a head torch & marty the team leader asked me to start descenting with two MMRT members,reaching the bottom of the Saddle we were faced with a swollen stream crossing which needed some careful footing to cross,with Ed behind with other team members I ventured along the trek with the raging Glen river beside me,reaching the forest trek I rested in the landrover
Chatting with some friendly team members,soon after Ed arrived & we drove along the road to awaiting car at Donard park.
I’d just like to say that you very much to the Mourne rescue team,sixteen members came out last night in storm conditions to help us,they braved dangerous waters & gale force winds to help guide us off the mountain safety!
In reflection I stand by my decision,I had a judgement to make,not only for myself but for the safety of us both,with the loss of our torches & the swollen rivers descending would have been very dangerous,yes mistakes we’re made we could have joined Rusty down the Carricklittle trek or turned left onto the Brandy pad towards the easier choice Hare’s Gap & the Trassey trek, hindsight is a wonderful thing,it’s easy to sit behind a computer or in an armchair thinking about what should have been done or what you would have done !
At 6.30 am yesterday morning the forecast was hill fog,with the threat of heavy showers towards the evening,not unlike any other day I’ve spent in the hills,yesterdays weather was the most extreme I’ve ever experienced.
Again many thanks to the brave Men & Women in the MMRT.
here's some footage earlier in the day
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Topic: Feasts,down pours & rescue's (Read 25782 times)