We’ve been planning this trip for a while now…….but, the freakiest coldest weather for many a year during the last days of March had changed the game a bit!
That didn’t put us off….much!
This is what we saw as we arrived and prepared to set off [below] …..we knew there was still snow on the north facing slopes but we had no idea what to really expect…..I think!
I could go on and on about the slow trudge upwards to Hares Gap…….it was tough……really tough……..the snow just sapped our energy….but, it was worth the effort! Even though I lay face first in the snow at one point and considered pitching my tent right there where I lay!
Anyway we made it up to Hares Gap [below]
I took the picture below on the return journey and it gives a bit of an idea of the climb…..it doesn’t really do it justice.
It was cold down at Ben Crom reservoir but sheltered from strong winds……in fact it, it was peaceful and almost idyllic!
So, this was the view from my tent…….[below]
It would be a huge lie if I said i enjoyed a good nights sleep.
I wasn’t cold at all……I was toasty warm all night………but, we had limited space to pitch three tents as best as we may have liked……..the ground was hardly silky smooth flat………as if it would have been eh? And I hastily pitched up with the smallest of downward slope in & around my shoulders…..so, felt like I was sliding downhill even though I wasn’t! I’d say I slept in 30-60 minute slots with as much if not more time spent awake in between…..
The other guys have their own stories of cold feet, chattering teeth and snoring……
Yesterday morning we got up, ate, packed away our tents, cleared all trace of us on the site and were moving for 7am. The climb back up to Hares Gap was tough…..often on deep patches of snow…….I lost count of how many times one of us sank suddenly through snow to knee depth…..occasionally waist depth……
The Mourne Mountains have been vastly different every time I’ve been……with only one constant……..it’s always always tough on my old legs!
Got to say though, the 24 hours in the wild was great fun……
More pictures [link]
