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[mcglynn]

Well, in my intro thread i had mentioned doing a hike through The Mournes, first time on without any guidance!

But yeah, i started off at Donard Park, with 5 days worth of food, a tent, sleeping bag, some spare clothes, wets and of course.. a cooker!

Me an the mate Michael set off quite late, say around 5pm ish..

What we could see of Newcastle from beside Donard Wood:



and some shrooms! lol



a little bit closer to the wall:



and then we hit fog, which was quite annoying having not walked this route before, which left us pretty clueless about how far we had left, and the likes... A bit further on on day one, we could see left to ben crom reservoir, lovely view!





it seems we had a friend with us! :O



our route (the wall haha) with bearnagh's peak in the distance



then the next photo's taken were at trassey river, quite close to meelmore where we popped in to get rid of the rubbish and treat ourselves to a bottle of bpm and lucozade haha

the tent & cooking area:



view we woke up to on morning two!



Decided we would skip out bearnagh as it wouldn't have been great in the fog, caught a snapshot of each of us caught in the fog on route to meelmore peak!

me:



michael:



we felt so lost, and could only laugh at ourselves. I can honestly say i have never been so happy to see a tower in my life, cause it put us right again! (Even though i don't look it haha, not very photogenic!)





cool stone between meelmore and meelbeg where we stopped for a quick snack..







we then proceeded onto Lough Shannagh, and through the fog we couldn't really decide on a place to stay, so onward we went looking for 'Blue Lough' as in the one on top of Binnian! When we got down to the edge of Ben Crom we realised we couldn't cross the damn on foot, not as far as we could see, nor could we have got up the side of Binnian. It looked like 70-80 Degrees so we said to hell with that, it was real late at this stage and we decided we'd head for the road at silent valley...



the picture says it all really! we had to get to that road before pitch darkness, and we did. No photos due to visibility, and we finally arrived in silent valley, were we pitched the tent close to a diner area? Don't think we we're allowed but it was around 11:30 PM and we couldn't care less! Didnt get any hassle, and we got ready to set off the next day leaving no trace!





bumped into a few old friends along the way, so we had to stop and have a chat!



fog!



finally we got to crocknafeola wood. Not sure on the rules around staying here, but we wern't boozing or causing any harm so i gathered it would be ok. It was a day to relax and lighten the load by eating a lot cause of the long walk the day previous!

Drying the shoes around the fire



our camp site setup



only 2 minutes from the road! Dont know whether thats a good or a bad thing!?







The fire was great, easy supply of wood to burn although they burnt hot & very quickly!



How we left the camping area on day 4!



Binnian again!



We decided not to go to knockchree hill straight away, and took a detour to kilkeel to treat ourselves yet again.. country fried chicken, kebab on chip went down a treat! we walked up the road, and camped at white water in a farmers field with permission. Upon getting packed up on day 5 we walked back towards the river again, stripped basically naked and went for a swim in the part of the river near the amenity area! Great fun, just no pictures due to the 'wet' nature haha!

Hope you guys enjoy my boring write up and pics as much as i enjoyed my trip!

[RedLeader]

Awesome writeup. 5 days in the hills sounds brilliant, wish I could free up this sort of time.

[RedLeader]

I didn't like to say but looking at the size of the rucksacks I'd have trouble carrying that lot to the car never mind up a mountain! Oh to be young again

Yup, looked good. I love the idea of that type of trip, but I doubt I would like carrying all the gear & food.

[mcglynn]

haha, the bags killed us! Shoulders got a beating throughout the trip, but i think if we went again it'd be packing stuff a lot lighter and more sensibly organised! We had two cookers with use and everything lol..

I think we might go again, doing the rostrevor to newcastle (mourne way) and do it in two days.. I had a ball in this one so look forward to the next one

[MG1]

Good job lads.

[Matthew]

haha, the bags killed us! Shoulders got a beating throughout the trip, but i think if we went again it'd be packing stuff a lot lighter and more sensibly organised! We had two cookers with use and everything lol..

For extended trips, food is the easiest way to shave Kg's. Wee things like buying spaghetti instead of pasta shapes and getting sauces in packets not tins, dried sauces are even better. Dried soups pancake mix, custard powder, dried fruit and the likes of angel delight are all monstrous weight saving ideas.

Ditching the chairs for a piece of foam and replacing the bath towels with travel towels will help further.

All in all it looks like you guys had a fantastic trip away. Well done

Matthew

[mcglynn]

For extended trips, food is the easiest way to shave Kg's. Wee things like buying spaghetti instead of pasta shapes and getting sauces in packets not tins, dried sauces are even better. Dried soups pancake mix, custard powder, dried fruit and the likes of angel delight are all monstrous weight saving ideas.

Ditching the chairs for a piece of foam and replacing the bath towels with travel towels will help further.

All in all it looks like you guys had a fantastic trip away. Well done

Matthew

Haha yeah we had realised that by day 3 and just ate a lot more than we would normally eat, and of course **** more than we usually would lol! Those are some great idea's, i'll hafta keep them in mind.

My idea was basically set out a meal plan instead of just packing loads (like i did last time) then i would get through a lot better! the stools we're an essential, and for all the weight of them i had to bring them! I had too much clothes, and too much food, their the only thing i would change really

Thanks btw!

[twentyclicks]

Well done lads! Nice to hear about the trip and see the photos.
As a few have suggested there are some ways you could ease the shoulder burden next time, but looks like you enjoyed the luxuries and had fun. More-so, you just went out and did it 
The best way to learn what you can do without or lighten up anyway is to just go with what you've got and assess when you get back. My first multi-day to Scotland, my mate and I took way more than you guys... although we didn't have wee chairs to enjoy! We thought we were being clever taking the older roll of duck tape because we wouldn't need a full 25m 

[mcglynn]

haha thanks for the feedback, doing it was definately as you say the best way to learn! The experience is worth a thousand how to's alone! Just can't wait for the next trip now

[Greyfox]

Yes i agree it looks like u had a great time guys. It is all about getting out and doing it. How are your feet? It looks like you both did it all in shorts and TRAINERS!! A wee tip from me, if you make a fire dont ring it with stones its unnecessary and it leaves you with more to clear up. Clear the ground back to bare earth and put your fire on it. Keep it up guys and look forward to seeing the pictures of your next trip!

GF

[LandyLiam]

very impressed with the "just get out there and do it " attitude, just love the big gas stoves, i'm sure some people would have laughed at you as you walked by with them strapped to your rucksacked but i bet you had more fun that week than they did    looking forward to your next epic trip writeup

[whoRya]

Fair play, you must have been busted after that.

[cerbera147]

Looks like a great trip guys 

Great attitude of get out with what you've got; I like it.

Your friend seems to have an affliction with his hands when you point a camera at him lol 

[whoRya]

Your friend seems to have an affliction with his hands when you point a camera at him lol 

No, didn't you know he's just throwin' the new NI Wild gangsta' sign.

It's all the rage now!

[mcglynn]

Yes i agree it looks like u had a great time guys. It is all about getting out and doing it. How are your feet? It looks like you both did it all in shorts and TRAINERS!! A wee tip from me, if you make a fire dont ring it with stones its unnecessary and it leaves you with more to clear up. Clear the ground back to bare earth and put your fire on it. Keep it up guys and look forward to seeing the pictures of your next trip!

GF

My feet we're blistered badly LOL. Trainers or else Caterpillar boots were my only option, and the trainers were a lot less like lead weights so i chose them in the end haha! The stone/fire setupd was already there, so i just used what was there for us. I'll deffo reember that for future, but i'd be afraid of it catching onto something in a wooded area? Thanks for the tip bud!

very impressed with the "just get out there and do it " attitude, just love the big gas stoves, i'm sure some people would have laughed at you as you walked by with them strapped to your rucksacked but i bet you had more fun that week than they did    looking forward to your next epic trip writeup

Haha we had two gas cookers with us, i'd get a trangia and methylated spirits, but i just can't bring myself to buy one and try remember how to use it lol! Maybe when i have more money (I live off cuttin sisters gardens and washing their cars, and no funds from the parents as their fleeced too haha). I had great fun, the best for me was jumpin into white water at the amenity center on the last day, pity i've no pictures but sures I cant wait for my next one too to be honest

Fair play, you must have been busted after that.

Haha busted indeed, was well worth it though. Great experience

Looks like a great trip guys 

Great attitude of get out with what you've got; I like it.

Your friend seems to have an affliction with his hands when you point a camera at him lol 

Haha he's an oddball i agree! We're two opposites aswell so we'd good craic keepin at each other throats throughout LOL!

Your friend seems to have an affliction with his hands when you point a camera at him lol 

No, didn't you know he's just throwin' the new NI Wild gangsta' sign.

It's all the rage now!

Haha epic photo, i'll have to get some signature pose for you'se guys and gals to all laugh at, watch out! lol

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