GO WALK:The prospect of sodden feet is one of the perils facing hillwalkers during the wet season, writes DEIRDRE DAVYS
TO CROSS OR not to cross, that is the question. Whether ’tis nobler in the mind to suffer sodden feet and possibly a complete ducking or to avoid rivers and in so doing have no fun is another question. (With apologies to Shakespeare.)
This could well be the dilemma facing many a hillwalker during any of our wet seasons. Crossing a river swollen by snowmelt or more typically in Ireland continuous rain is not to be recommended unless one is pretty sure of what one is doing.
The following walk, which necessitates the crossing of the Glenmacnass River, should therefore only be attempted if your party is sure-footed, not too nervous and likes the odd bit of adrenalin.
Before you undertake this walk, you will have to judge for yourself whether the river is crossable on the day in question. The good bit is that as you will be leaving a car at the exact spot where you will be crossing the river at the end of the walk, even if you do fall in and hopefully survive to tell the tale, you will be able to change into the dry clothes which you will have had the foresight to have left in the vehicle.
So you have parked one car on the R115 at the parking spot near the Glenmacnass Waterfall and now you drive back to Laragh and head for Glendalough but take the R756 towards the Wicklow Gap. Keep going for another 2.5km until you get to Glashaboy Bridge. About 200m after the bridge on the right hand side, there is a forest road which is the beginning of this walk.
While the map shows what appears to be solid forest, in fact much of it has been cut down. Interestingly, Coillte is replanting the area with thousands of tiny saplings. Stopping for a chat with the forestry worker, we discovered that he had already planted hundreds of trees that morning and that the soil in the area is excellent.
While we were very impressed by his industry and thought that it was a grand job being outdoors all day in a beautiful place, he advised our companions, transition year boys, “to stay in school and not have to be out planting trees for the rest of your lives”. So much for romantic notions.
Start your walk by going along the forest track for about 1km until it makes a sharp turn to the left and then climb up the bank onto the open hillside. Take a bearing on the col between Stoney Top and Tonelagee and follow that bearing if it is at all misty. From the col, start heading south climbing steadily upwards.
This will be the most strenuous part of the walk as it is quite steep and, just when you think you are at the top, another bit of mountain juts out to thwart you. Finally you reach the 817m summit and now you are on the top of the third highest peak in Wicklow.
Coming up from this side is not too hard, but should you be feeling a lot more energetic you could do this walk in the opposite direction. On the northeastern side, steep cliffs surround a beautiful heart-shaped lake, an ideal spot to propose marriage or at least to sit with a loved one and feel romantic.
However, if you decide to do this, you will need to cross the river at the start rather than at the end of the hike which is a much more serious matter, for setting out on a walk in wet clothing would be downright dangerous, and if the intention was to get all romantic up at the lake, things could go badly wrong.
It is important to use your compass before leaving the summit. Looking northeast, which is your direction of travel, it seems as if you have another mountain to climb and, particularly in misty weather when you see nothing and suddenly the clouds lift for a few seconds, there seem to be mountains looming up ahead.
You could be forgiven for thinking that you are in for another long climb. Don’t despair. It really is downhill almost all the way from here. What looks like another mountain is really only a hill. As you descend, the ground will be very steep as it falls away into romantic Lough Ouler, one of our many corrie lakes.
Having reached the spot height 668m, keep walking along the spur heading towards the river down below you. On a clear day, you will be looking up towards Kanturk and Scarr with Mullaghcleevaun out to your left. The ground is usually very wet around here, and the chance of suddenly sinking up to your knees in mush is quite high.
Now comes the river crossing. Transition year boys with long legs only needed two or three steps on the almost submerged rocks and they were across. Sometimes there are stepping stones and some times not. It all depends on how much rain there has been.
Smaller people or the more timorous could perhaps find a large stick in the forest and use it to balance themselves as they cross. However you manage it, it will be fun and a nice finish to your day. Always remember, however, that river crossing can be dangerous.
Route Tonelagee, Co Wicklow
StartNear Glashaboy Bridge on R756.
FinishAt the parking spot on the R115 above the Glenmacnass Waterfall.
TimeThree hours.
DistanceAbout 6km.
MapOrdnance Survey Discovery Series, Sheet number 56.