Northern Ireland Outdoors Forum - Hiking, camping and more
Information => Outdoor News and Events => Topic started by: LandyLiam on July 23, 2012
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Thanks to Sean for reminding me that this pinnacle event in the Mournes is less than 2 weeks away.
Here's the details
http://www.spartanredsox.co.uk/mourne-seven-sevens-challenge.html
so who else is up for this 18 miles slog over 9 mountains (don't forget to add beg & cove!) with over 2500 metres of ascent? (thats a meter for every forum post i've made!) shall we get a wee group to start together and then break into smaller groups depending on pace? or is anyone going for the solo run?
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If I was doing it I'd be running it. Trying to think which way to do it though!
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Not that I'am doing it but if I was this would be my route,
1 .Glen river,ice house,black stairs,donard sumit
2.donard sumit,saddle,commedagh summit,drop down onto brandy pad bypassing castles.
3.brandy pad hares gap,contour round bernagh,then summit it,
4 vear off bearnagh summit to less steep ground,meelmore,meelbeg keepintothe left of the wall where the better path is.
5.descending melbeg & along valey keeping to the river trek with Doan to the right & Ben crom to the left.
6.crossing between dams ascending binnian,then back down the north tore & up Lamagan
But that's just a plan,not that i'am doing it :)
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I think the runnners tend to go clockwise, maybe the descents are more gradual that way, certainly Bearnagh is. The traditional walkers route is as John described, although most stick to the path up Donard rather than do the black stairs (no point in getting your feet soaked at the start of the day ;) )
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I'm off that day and fancy it yeah ! :-[
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;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D HMMMMMMM
I'm off that day and fancy it yeah ! :-[
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I've a feeling it may be painful and there'll be moments of weakness and doubt. However I also know that when I cross that finish line I'll feel like I've just won the lottery ;)
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I'm planning on doing it with me old mucker Rumblebum.
I'll be doing the tried and tested route, definately getting Donard out of the way first. I think it would destroy me to think I had to finish on it. I like the thoughts of getting to the top of Lamagan and thinking the worst is over.
I had a bit of a run-through a couple of weeks ago. I started in Donard Park and went to the Saddle>Commedagh>Brandy Pad>Bearnagh>Meelmore>Meelbeg>Ben Crom Res>Lamagan>Cove>Beg>Saddle>Donard Park. I left off the two double backing tops just to save time.
It was a fair days walking but gave a good flavour for the walk. It felt pretty good most of the way, I had to dig deep to get up Lamagan but then you always do. I contoured Cove Mountain for the most part. Beg is a bit of a sting in the tail for tired legs and a tired mind.
I have no thoughts of trying to aim for a time, completion will be a sufficient reward. Well that and a pint. It isn't as if I have enough time to get out training as such.
The walk-through helped ease my mind a little. I suppose I am a little concerned about something hitting me from left-field like a bad case of cramping-up. I have a friend who was recently doing the 3 peaks, which was well within his abilities but he got bad leg cramps and could barely stand on his second peak. Someone who came to his aid asked him "haven't you taken magnesium to prevent cramp?" I must admit I haven't ever heard of that.
Has anyone got any other helpful info about dos and don'ts for an endurance event?
I plan to stop for no more than a few minutes at any one time, snacking all day rather than taking a typical lunch break. And of course lots of drinking water. I'm thinking of taking enough water to get to Ben Crom Res, then filling up with enough to see me to the end. Aren't the marshalls always dishing it out there in a bucket-on-a-rope-stylee?
I'm interested in other thoughts or experiences.
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I'm thinking of taking enough water to get to Ben Crom Res, then filling up with enough to see me to the end. Aren't the marshalls always dishing it out there in a bucket-on-a-rope-stylee?
i didn't notice that last year, but then again, the midges were firece down at the damn and i didn't want to hang about, one of my big errors last year was too little water
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i can carry water & food for anybody in NI-WILD to a chosen meeting point :P
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i can carry water & food for anybody in NI-WILD to a chosen meeting point :P
Good lad John, could you meet me in Belfast about 1 today, I forgot my lunch! Lol ;D
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Joking aside, good luck and safe trip to all taking part!
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Can I tag along with any NI Wilders? Not sure of the route / format of the 7/7's ???
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@Spud - ;D
@whoRya - when you sweat, you lose both water and salts like sodium, potassium, magnesium, calcium. For short events a splash of water is ok, or moderate days where you have time for proper meals which probably have salts in them. Long endurance events you'll want to replace those salts/electrolytes along with your water. The added advantages are that the water absorbs a bit quicker so it doesn't slosh as much in you, and if you take too much you'll just need to pee (drinking too much water on it's own can lead to dangerous brain swelling... a bigger health problem with slower marathon runners than dehydration)!
Old school, people used to take salt tablets, or mix salt with some squash. Nowadays you can easily pick up a tube of electolyte tablets in most outdoor shops. High5 'Zero' and Nuun are common brands with lots of nice flavours containing the best mix of all the electrolytes. Around £6 a tube for 15-20 tablets, just pop one in your water bottle each fill. Alternatively some of the carb, or 4:1 powders give you fuel as well as the electrolytes.
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I'm doing this too! Going to run. Need to decide on route, but also unsure about the kit requirements... ideally as little as possible. I imagine most of the runners take hardly the shirt on their back, but the info online seems a bit extensive. Anyone any experience of this? I don't want to be turned away on the line!
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There appears to be two events on the same day using the same Marshalls?
http://www.nimra.org.uk/events/2012/8/4/seven_sevens/ This event is for running and its on a set route.
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We're planning to walk the full wall again on this date so might bump into yous all at some stage.
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There appears to be two events on the same day using the same Marshalls?
http://www.nimra.org.uk/events/2012/8/4/seven_sevens/ This event is for running and its on a set route.
Aye, turns out the runners all start together at 10am and have to follow the order of summits set.
Downloadable entry form shows only the following as essentials:
Boots or fell shoes
Whistle
1:25000 Mourne Map
Compass
Waterproof coat with hood, or waterproof coat with separate hood/hat
Food & water are participant's responsibility. I'll just take a buff and a really light cycling waterproof that'll fit on the waistpack. Was worried overtrousers would be needed, which would necessitate a backpack...etc.
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What is the climb from Ben crom up to Slieve Meelbeg like? Is it deep heather or is there a worn path or the like? That's the Only part I am not familiar with the rest should be fine. Still not sure if I should be doing this having not been running but will see closer to the time.
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I'm not sure. Last time I was that way I came over from Doan and it was a mix of grass and heather that you could pick your way through. Time before was a few years ago doing MMM. There's a path goes up from the dam SW and contours round to the river... we followed that to get to the checkpoint then followed the river up. It was a very wet weekend and I remember it being a slog, pretty boggy higher up. One of the previous 77s threads on here LandyLiam put up a wee diagram showing the rough place of the contour path, but also showing that most of the runners in 77s go straight up from the dam to 390m before contouring to the river. There could be a rough trail but it's one of those areas, you could be 5ft off it and not see it!
Hopefully be able to see where faster people are going when I'm still up on Binnian ;D
What is the climb from Ben crom up to Slieve Meelbeg like? Is it deep heather or is there a worn path or the like? That's the Only part I am not familiar with the rest should be fine. Still not sure if I should be doing this having not been running but will see closer to the time.
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I have a Garmin route from a competitor who done it in 4hours something but it's hard to make out the terrain on the airel view. His heads up and across towards the river then follows it up but it looks like there is a ridge above it. Might be too steep initially to get onto it though.
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Current forecast is for thundery showers on Saturday. I'm wondering about safety if the thunder and lightning comes on? :-\
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I have a Garmin route from a competitor who done it in 4hours something but it's hard to make out the terrain on the airel view. His heads up and across towards the river then follows it up but it looks like there is a ridge above it. Might be too steep initially to get onto it though.
Couldn't send that to me? I'm sure I'll be following the crowd most of the day, but there's one or two places would be good to have an idea incase the weather is bad.
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Would love to see that Garmin Route myself. Really amazed with how quick some people can get around the hills.
Has anyone any idea what the average time is to do the 7 7's? Was thinking about doing it but still sore from a walk around the Mourne Wall at the weekend so may give it a miss.
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Previous results can be downloaded (not a great spreadsheet) from the Spartan Redsox website.
Most runners between 4-6hrs, walkers between 7-12hrs (some up to 14hrs... one 5.5... think you should have been running dude!)
I had 6hrs in my head for the run, but it appears I'll be finished earlier than expected if I can finish mid-pack!
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6hrs is very impressive, I'm assuming it's a case of walk the uphill parts and run the downhills? Haven't run on the Mournes before but after my walk at the weekend, I was reminded just how steep and rocky some of the descents are - I'd imagine loads of fun and quite a challenge to run!
Mind me asking what you bring as regards water and food for a run like that?
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I think march the uphills, run anything levelish, and see how crazy you feel on the descents! It's been a while since I ran the steeper parts of the Mournes so I may not have it in me. Bit of dryness would make it all somewhat easier, but that's not likely this summer ::)
Water is a problem as you stay high all day. There is the pipe on Commedagh but the quickest route doesn't go near it so no refill until Ben Crom area, then maybe some of the streams across the Brandy Pad/Glen River on the way back. I'll have a 850ml bottle but you could go through that in an hour if it is hot so lots of pre-hydration and gulp a bit at each refill opportunity.
I'll just eat a gel every 30mins and put High5 4:1 powder in my bottle. It's only about 300kcal/hr, but about the most you could take, even though you could burn up to 1000kcal/hr doing this kind of activity!
For a 5hr run, that's still 10gels and 4 packets of powder to carry in the waistbelt + phone, whistle, waterproof. Map & compass in hand.
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I haven't done the 7 7's but I done the coast to coast which finished with a run from rostrevor to Newcastle taking in the mournes and the brandypad. I had a hydration pack on for the duration and for food I had a mix of sandwiches, bread with nutella, nuts and raisens and gels for if I got desperate.
You really have to work out what works for you and how much you will need. No point carrying stuff you don't need.
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Myself and Mourneman will be at some point on the 7 7's spectating. I'll have a bag full of energy gels, water and Jelly Beans. I'll post where we'll be when I've spoken to Mourneman. If anyone has any requests (plasters, painkillers, etc) shout on here and I'll see what I can do... If you ask for a beer and a bacon buttie to be waiting on your arrival at the top of Donard you may be dissapointed tho!
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I heard Mourneman dragged a keg of beer up their especially for the Runners ;D
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I heard Mourneman dragged a keg of beer up their especially for the Runners ;D
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I heard Mourneman dragged a keg of beer up their especially for the Runners ;D
Ha ha ha ;D
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Now that's an idea,anybody got a pump :)
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Myself and Whorya did the 7 7's earlier and man oh man the legs are weary! Well done to Liam for diverting himself to get involved in a rescue.
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Good to met up with you guys on Bernaghs summit,we were wondering if Liam would get called to the rescue's,well done that MAN,karma ;D
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I thought they were all discussing a training exercise around a map... couldn't see the victim for all the MRT guys who made it to the scene! Only realised when I heard the helicopter. Liam showed me the photos at the end, I'm sure he'll put a few up!
Well done everyone, that's a hard day out no matter what way you tackle it. Wouldn't be like us to complain at the sun coming out, but it didn't help the dehydration! I feel beat up. Took me an hour and a half to get composed enough to drive home. Strava reckons I burnt over 5700kcal so I'm about to spend the evening redressing the balance ;D
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Fair play to you... Well done... Definately tackling it next year as a "walker" then running as much of it as possible for a ridiculous finishing time ::)
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well done lads, cant wait to hear all about it!
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Well done all!
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Well done troopers!
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what a day!!!!!!!
5 mountains, then a helicopter rescue, then abandoned the 7 7s and got the land rover back to donard park, hung about for couple of hours to see whorya & rumblybum finish, then a lovely pint in o'hares with them, then another callout, missing 7 7s competitor, so back up the hills again for a search in fading light (i did ott track to ben crom dam) the missing person turned up, didn't get home til after midnight, so a very late dinner, and worst of all, the offies were closed >:(
carlsberg don't do days in the mournes, but if they did .........
and the pics
(http://i1222.photobucket.com/albums/dd496/landyliam/2012/P1200650Small.jpg)
the view of the mournes from Clough this morning, enveloped in cloud
(http://i1222.photobucket.com/albums/dd496/landyliam/2012/P1200654Small.jpg)
numero uno, slieve donard, 1hr 20mins
(http://i1222.photobucket.com/albums/dd496/landyliam/2012/P1200655Small.jpg)
deux, commedagh
(http://i1222.photobucket.com/albums/dd496/landyliam/2012/P1200665Small.jpg)
the queue going up the bearnagh steps
(http://i1222.photobucket.com/albums/dd496/landyliam/2012/P1200669Small.jpg)
catching up the the ni-wild brew between bearnaghs torrs
(http://i1222.photobucket.com/albums/dd496/landyliam/2012/P1200671Small.jpg)
bearnagh summit, number 3
(http://i1222.photobucket.com/albums/dd496/landyliam/2012/P1200679Small.jpg)
meelmore, number 4
(http://i1222.photobucket.com/albums/dd496/landyliam/2012/P1200684Small.jpg)
meelbeg, number 5
(http://i1222.photobucket.com/albums/dd496/landyliam/2012/P1200702Small.jpg)
then a mountain rescue
(http://i1222.photobucket.com/albums/dd496/landyliam/2012/P1200710Small.jpg)
bringing strecther to suitable point for helicopter evacuation
(http://i1222.photobucket.com/albums/dd496/landyliam/2012/P1200735Small.jpg)
(http://i1222.photobucket.com/albums/dd496/landyliam/2012/P1200741Small.jpg)
(http://i1222.photobucket.com/albums/dd496/landyliam/2012/P1200798Small.jpg)
(http://i1222.photobucket.com/albums/dd496/landyliam/2012/P1200810Small.jpg)
then met Craig at the finish who had done a superb sub 6 hour run :o
(http://i1222.photobucket.com/albums/dd496/landyliam/2012/P1200813Small.jpg)
and finally a well earned pint ;D
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What a day you had Liam,you more than earned the 7,7's today,well done to all the NI-wild folk taking part
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Man I am wrecked, poured myself a beer last night and couldn't finish it...had to go to bed. That was a hard walk, it definately got a bit tougher when they sun was beating down. But we could take the odd moment or two to pause to gaze at the scenery ;) Not much left in the tank at the end of the walk, I don't reckon I had much more to give. A wee bit of a navigational blooper added 15-20 minutes but otherwise we kept moving for the most part.
Huge credit goes out to Liam for giving up his day to do his duty for the MR guys, I'm sure the casualty was greatly assured by the arrival of Liam on the scene. And then to top it off Liam had to supp up and do it all again. I couldn't think of anything worse at that time then heading up into the hills again.
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oh my legs hurt today :( only one cure for that, gotta do another hill ;D (only a wee one of course)
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well i hope to finish it later this week, tempted to get dropped off at ott car park and do ben crom, binnion, lamagan, cove & beg.
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remember this morning i said my legs were sore, well they're worse now! anyone else suffering?
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Good for you Liam, get it finished. Don't expect anyone to be impressed with your time though, they'll probably think you have done it in a deep-sea diving suit for charity.
My legs feel pretty good considering, I do swear by a long soak in a radox-fuelled bath though. I had pulled a wee muscle in my chest before the event and it has been getting sorer all day today. My arms feel like they have been working hard too. Probably from the couple of wipe-outs I had in the mud.
@ TypoOn Rumblebum and I finished with a time of 10 hrs 21 mins. We picked the pace up a bit past the ice house and down through the forest when we realised we could keep it under the half hour mark. I was a rare sight running across the car park with both calf muscles cramping up :D
I can't remember what time twentyclicks did it in, I'll let him answer that. Needless to say he shaved a few minutes off our time ;)
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I meant to say, are there any other forum members or regular forum viewers that were doing the seven sevens yesterday? Why not log-in or register and let us know how you got on, which bit did you find toughest, did you improve on a previous time, shorts or trousers, jam sarnies or energy gels, fell running shoes or boots etc.
I was speaking to a friend who felt a whole lot better and lighter than the previous year by changing what he was wearing.
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remember this morning i said my legs were sore, well they're worse now! anyone else suffering?
I thought I was ok yesterday, but sore enough today!
5.49 was my time... Happy I made it!
Unfortunately quite sunburnt and hundreds of midge bites.
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Well done to all taking part. Looked like an eventful day. I didnt make it down as I had other things on. Still on my to do list!
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Well done to all involved. I'm still sorry I didn't do it but toying with the idea of a re-run one day in the coming weeks. If any of you want to do it again for giggles give me a shout when I post the invite on here! Also best routes anyone can suggest?
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As an aside we did the full Mourne Wall on the same day. Brutal as always. 12 started the walk, 6 completed it but all got home safely. It took us an embarrassingly long time as we had some very slow participants. Let's just say it took us about 14 hours last year and longer this year! By the time we reached the Bog of Donard it was dark but we were lucky the moon was out!
We saw the flare going up and the rescue of the guy with the broken leg (think we were on Carn Mtn. at that stage). Was a bit disconcerting as two of our slower guys had just taken a shortcut up Bann's Road to avoid Slieve Muck, but I was pretty sure they couldn't have made it that far!
We camped in Annalong Forest and left all our rubbish behind cos were too tired and hungover on Sun morning to carry it ... but don't worry, I went up yesterday and collected it! I also got four mackerel at Donard Cove y'day, my first in years, must've been karma for collecting the rubbish!
We're going to put together an elite team for next year and attempt the wall in under twelve hours.
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As an aside we did the full Mourne Wall on the same day. Brutal as always. 12 started the walk, 6 completed it but all got home safely. It took us an embarrassingly long time as we had some very slow participants. Let's just say it took us about 14 hours last year and longer this year! By the time we reached the Bog of Donard it was dark but we were lucky the moon was out!
We saw the flare going up and the rescue of the guy with the broken leg (think we were on Carn Mtn. at that stage). Was a bit disconcerting as two of our slower guys had just taken a shortcut up Bann's Road to avoid Slieve Muck, but I was pretty sure they couldn't have made it that far!
We camped in Annalong Forest and left all our rubbish behind cos were too tired and hungover on Sun morning to carry it ... but don't worry, I went up yesterday and collected it! I also got four mackerel at Donard Cove y'day, my first in years, must've been karma for collecting the rubbish!
We're going to put together an elite team for next year and attempt the wall in under twelve hours.
Did the Mourne Wall myself the previous Sunday starting and ending at Carrick Little - second time I've done it and as you say, it's pretty brutal. Got around in 9hrs 27 minutes. Fair play for doing it as part of a group, it's the kind of walk where different people will struggle at different times (I didn't enjoy the pull from Hare's Gap up to Commedagh but got a second wind after that). Did you do a write up for on here?
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Well my legs have now recovered to an almost normal level, i even might try a wee run tomorrow. Was speaking to one on the 7 7s runners tonight, he went for an 8 mile run on monday (only 2 days after the event), impressive, especially as he's a pensioner :o
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my legs were most sore on Tuesday...and then I had a bad fever for 48hrs :(
Must have really depleted me! Over the worst of it, just feel weak and yucky. Compared to after the ultra - I'd say my legs were more stiff after the ultra, but more actual muscular pain after 7 7s.
Have to say, I'm pretty sure I saw one of the leading women out for a brisk run on Sunday. The very thought of even a short recovery run seemed too painful for me.
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Did the Mourne Wall myself the previous Sunday starting and ending at Carrick Little - second time I've done it and as you say, it's pretty brutal. Got around in 9hrs 27 minutes. Fair play for doing it as part of a group, it's the kind of walk where different people will struggle at different times (I didn't enjoy the pull from Hare's Gap up to Commedagh but got a second wind after that). Did you do a write up for on here?
Yea people do tire at different stages. Muck is difficult, as is the Commedagh ridge. Bearnagh always looks brutal but I don't think it's as bad as it looks. The descents of Binnian and Donard are tough too.
My mate reckons with a good team we can do it in 10 hours next year but I'd be happy with 12!
Wsn't gonna do much more of a write-up than the above but I might start a thread for people to share experiences of the Mourne Wall Walk (if there's not one already?).
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Did the Mourne Wall myself the previous Sunday starting and ending at Carrick Little - second time I've done it and as you say, it's pretty brutal. Got around in 9hrs 27 minutes. Fair play for doing it as part of a group, it's the kind of walk where different people will struggle at different times (I didn't enjoy the pull from Hare's Gap up to Commedagh but got a second wind after that). Did you do a write up for on here?
Yea people do tire at different stages. Muck is difficult, as is the Commedagh ridge. Bearnagh always looks brutal but I don't think it's as bad as it looks. The descents of Binnian and Donard are tough too.
My mate reckons with a good team we can do it in 10 hours next year but I'd be happy with 12!
Wsn't gonna do much more of a write-up than the above but I might start a thread for people to share experiences of the Mourne Wall Walk (if there's not one already?).
Sounds like an idea. Think there may have been a thread yonks ago as I remember posting here about my first round of it which was back in 2010.
Muck is a bit of a killer alright but represents something of a marker for me as when you get there from Carrick Little, you have 1/2 the ascent done (in 1/3 of the distance). Fully agree about the descents, very steep coming off Binnian and heading down to the bog from Donard is a killer on the knees at that stage.
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Sure just start a new thread, the more i hear about this walk the better, hoping to try it myself before the end of the month
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As an aside we did the full Mourne Wall on the same day. Brutal as always. 12 started the walk, 6 completed it but all got home safely. It took us an embarrassingly long time as we had some very slow participants. Let's just say it took us about 14 hours last year and longer this year! By the time we reached the Bog of Donard it was dark but we were lucky the moon was out!
We saw the flare going up and the rescue of the guy with the broken leg (think we were on Carn Mtn. at that stage). Was a bit disconcerting as two of our slower guys had just taken a shortcut up Bann's Road to avoid Slieve Muck, but I was pretty sure they couldn't have made it that far!
We camped in Annalong Forest and left all our rubbish behind cos were too tired and hungover on Sun morning to carry it ... but don't worry, I went up yesterday and collected it! I also got four mackerel at Donard Cove y'day, my first in years, must've been karma for collecting the rubbish!
We're going to put together an elite team for next year and attempt the wall in under twelve hours.
[/quote
By any chance did you speak to anyone on the top ofCommedagh?
]
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Yes, was talking to a guy who was camping up there. You per chance? We'd just past the water pipe, it was excellent. I was the one with the umbrella.
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Yes, was talking to a guy who was camping up there. You per chance? We'd just past the water pipe, it was excellent. I was the one with the umbrella.
Yes, that was me. Wandered done to the pipe just after you headed off to replenish my water sourcepack. Very useful to know it's there. How did you guys fare up down in the wood? Did you get lit up by the heli searchlight?
Sorry you didn't have the time for a longer chat.
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I'd gave our map to the boys taking the shortcut via the Brandy Pad so we picked the wrong wall going into Annalong Wood (the third one instead of the first one!) and ended up having to struggle through boggy undergrowth in the dark to find the track. A lovely end to the walk!
We weren't lit up by the searchlight as far as I noticed. Good that you found the water pipe. It was easier to find than I thought cos we'd always walked on the other side of the wall before.
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I'm glad you made it safely. You guys did well especially in the misty weather and fading light.
Perhaps us NI-Wilders need a code word so we can identify one another? Or just wear a badge?
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I thought you might be an NI Wilder - next time I'll ask!
Mist wasn't bad after Donard. Was moonlit whole way back which was lucky.
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Well done to everyone who gave the 7s a crack, nice one Liam to do a few 7s with a rescue inbetween. Makes me realise how little time I spent in the Mournes this year, though these days the stairs leave me seeing stars :)
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though these days the stairs leave me seeing stars
have you been banished the the attic room with the skylight again ;D
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Luckily I'd never make it that high without a rest and a cup of tea.
though these days the stairs leave me seeing stars
have you been banished the the attic room with the skylight again ;D